3 Marketing Tactics That Stand Out When AI Is Everywhere

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Key Takeaways

- Focus on creating authentic connections to build a customer base and long-term growth.

- When prospects can physically experience your brand, it proves you’re real — and worth trusting.

- Record and share customer experiences to increase trust and build community around your brand.

If you have mixed feelings about AI, the truth is this technology isn’t a passing trend. It’s the new reality. AI adoption broke records — faster than both smartphones and social media. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months, and 52% of Americans use AI platforms every week.

While the presence of AI has changed some routines in day-to-day business and marketing, the basic principles on how to generate leads and win customers remain.

Now that I’m averaging over two million a week in revenue and last year generated an all-time high of 149,028 leads for my business, I can look back and see which marketing decisions really mattered.

Here’s what you can focus on right now, despite the AI buzz, to accelerate your business growth.

Focus on creating authentic connections to build a customer base and long-term growth

When I started my business PostcardMania 28 years ago, I only had a phone, a computer, and of course, my postcards. Yes, technology has changed how individuals communicate day to day, but nothing quite compares to a good ole phone call.

Currently, we have more than 100 sales staff who are client-facing — meaning they are doing the hard work of calling small business owners every day to see what their needs are. Even our online live chat is run by real people here in the U.S. On average, one sales team member has 20-40 conversations on the phone every day.

I made the decision to prioritize our “real human” customer service — despite the costs being higher than other AI-driven solutions — because it improves our relationships with clients, our sales go up, and satisfaction overall is higher.

This is a crucial marketing strategy I’ve invested in, while many others are replacing humans with AI. By prioritizing one-on-one, real conversations, you’ll improve conversions and also garner a reputation for being reliable and authentic.

When prospects can physically experience your brand, it proves you’re real — and worth trusting

We’re living in a world where just about everything can be generated, automated or mimicked. AI can write emails, build websites and even simulate human connection. And because of that, something interesting is happening: People are starting to question what’s real.

When a message shows up physically — something you can hold, look at and interact with — it immediately stands apart. In an AI-saturated world, the businesses that win won’t be the ones shouting the loudest online. They’ll be the ones that feel the most real.

So the problem isn’t that you need more exposure; you need a tangible marketing medium that can be touched and held, like direct mail.

Currently, consumers believe direct mail to be more personal (+11%), more likely to catch their attention (+17%) and more trustworthy (+17%) in comparison to email messages.

A tangible mail piece says, “We’re established, and we invested in reaching you.” That feeling of credibility lowers skepticism and increases the likelihood that someone will remember you and maybe even contact you.

When trust goes up, conversion rates follow. People who respond to direct mail are often more serious, more qualified and further along in their decision-making. I know because I mail over 232,000 postcards every single week just to advertise my own business.

If you are hesitant to invest in direct mail, I suggest you start with direct mail automation. These types of mailings are triggered by prospect behavior or life events, such as when someone visits your website and doesn’t fill out a form or moves to a neighborhood you’re targeting. You set up the automation one time with your design and targeting options, and from there, it runs on its own.

Because direct mail automation is responsive and highly targeted, quantities and costs are lower. This is a good way to test this tactic for yourself — just make sure you track results closely with unique phone numbers, tracking links and landing pages.

Record and share customer experiences to increase trust and build community around your brand

Studies show that 70% of purchasing decisions are driven by emotion. So you might be able to convince someone that your brand is the logical choice, but most of the time, it’s a person’s emotions that determine the decision.

This is where reviews and customer-driven stories can come into play. Ideally, look beyond the basic service or item and find the emotional story behind it. That’s something that AI will never be able to recreate.

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