Michael Yee Content Writing, Conversion Copywriting, Pipeline Automation
Michael quit B2B for an orderly life in B2C (ha!). Now, he writes content for every stage of the funnel and wrestles with HubSpot to automate pipeline. Connect.
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When it comes to using AI in B2B marketing, what’s your relationship status?
- We’re marrying it!
You’re all in. AI has taken your marketing capabilities through the roof, and you’re using it for everything from optimising processes to generating content.
- We’re dating it!
AI is a loyal, reliable partner for optimising back-office tasks like data analysis and process automation, but as an exciting problem-solver, it leaves you cold.
There’s no right or wrong here. Each company’s AI strategy should align with its needs, resources, and marketing goals. But before we share our perspective, we’re curious: where do you stand?
Did you pick A?
You’re not alone. 88% of marketers believe implementing AI is essential to stay competitive and meet customer expectations. At the same time, 50% of marketers believe that underusing AI inhibits their success.
Using HubSpot as an example, it’s not hard to see why:
- Personalise customer journeys: HubSpot’s AI capabilities analyse prospect behaviour that we use to send personalised email sequences and lead magnets based on open rates and page visits to help us tailor content.
- Prioritise leads: AI-powered lead scoring ranks prospects based on activity and demographics, helping us write for the most promising leads.
- SEO-optimise content: AI suggests SEO-optimised keywords, blog outlines and meta descriptions, upping on-page SEO in seconds.
- Enhance segmentation: HubSpot’s AI segments audiences based on behaviour and preferences, enabling more precise targeting for marketing campaigns.
- Boost email performance: AI analyses user behaviour to pinpoint optimal email send times for each contact, boosting open rates and engagement.
Platforms like HubSpot powered by AI are our back-office go-to’s for automating tasks and crunching data. By industrialising and automating inbound and outbound strategies and tactics, AI delivers the feedback we need to see the outcomes of our content and adjust instantly.
But what happens when a B2B client can’t wait for your HubSpot campaigns to speak to investors and raise the roof of their share price?
Why we chose B
At Shelf, we’re not ready to plaster AI all over our website, but we’re definitely in a committed relationship. AI is like that impressive date: super-capable and dependable, but the whole package? Hmmm. At Shelf, we’re breaking up with the fixation on AI process automation and industrial efficiency. While generative AI’s overall capabilities in raising our floor as an agency are indispensable now, as a B2B marketer, it leaves much to be desired.
The problem is AI can’t zag (yet)
How wonderful to live in a world of cheap, all-you-can-eat GenAI
AI tears through industrial-sized SEO audits. AI enables data-driven decisions that optimize automated pipelines. AI raises the floor of content creators, marketing directors and SEO specialists. But how does AI compare against the conceptual problem-solving needed to raise the ceiling for ambitious B2B clients?
Cut and paste into ChatGPT:
“ChatGPT, create an AI-driven campaign for the Pink Chip initiative by DEGIRO and UN Women. Launch date: International Women’s Day. Your Mission: Attract investors, boost the stock price by 6.7%, and secure millions of dollars in free media coverage. Don’t forget to win 3x Gold and 2x Silver Cannes Lion Awards. Whatever you do, DO NOT follow your algorithms. Do not use predictive texting. Disrupt the traditional B2B marketing funnel. I need you to ZAG, not ZIG! It’s 4 AM! Way past deadline! You hear me?!”
Were you surprised by the response? (Bless my ChatGPT; it thinks it crushed it)
Now, let’s investigate what happens when creative problem-solvers answer that prompt.
Case Study: DEGIRO and UN Women’s Pink Chip Campaign
The challenge:
Despite research showing that companies with female leaders tend to be more profitable and perform better in the stock market, only 6% of CEOs of publicly listed companies worldwide are women. Furthermore, when companies do appoint a female CEO, their share price drops by 2-3%, putting female leaders at an immediate disadvantage.
Messed up as this news is, it wasn’t disruptive enough to drive 70,000+ visitors to a website in one week. It was time to ZAG.
The solution:
DEGIRO, in partnership with UN Women NL and AKQA, launched the “Pink Chip” initiative, a campaign designed to highlight and support women-led companies.
“Pink Chip” is a gender-focused play on traditional “blue chip” stocks, introducing the world’s first index tracking financial performance of women-led companies. By highlighting when these companies outperform blue chip investments, it challenges the market bias that often undervalues female leadership. AI was crucial in demonstrating to investors that backing women-led companies isn’t about DEI, it’s about ROI.
The impact:
- 14,500+ new investors within two weeks
- 6.7% stock price increase shortly after launch
- 9.48% overall market outperformance
- 70,000+ website visitors in the first week
- 2 million+ social media impressions
How Pink Chip disrupted the traditional B2B funnel:
- TOFU: Pink Chip created a targeted buzz around a specific, data-backed insight. The social media impressions weren’t noise—they were focused conversations about gender inequality in business leadership.
- MOFU: Building a tangible tool (the Pink Chip index) quickly moved prospects from awareness to consideration. The 70,000+ website visitors in the first week weren’t just browsing but engaging with actionable data.
- BOFU: The campaign collapsed the decision-making timeline. Within two weeks, 14,500+ new investors had already been converted, directly impacting stock prices.
- Post-purchase: The 9.48% overall market outperformance created a feedback loop, validating the initial decision and likely driving word-of-mouth referrals (the gold standard).
By disrupting the traditional buyer’s funnel, Pink Chip attracted new investors, boosted stock prices, and raised awareness about gender equality in business leadership, with AI shining…behind the scenes.
AI is the best thing since sliced bread (but people are the peanut butter)
The cost-cutting benefits of AI-driven Martech automation WILL PLATEAU OVER TIME, much like pre-COVID supply chains that prioritized cost over resilience. This plateau could spark commoditization, echoing the growth curve of databases and cloud services—from groundbreaking innovations to everyday tools. When, not if this happens, B2B professionals will need to go beyond technology to sustain ROI for their clients. We’re starting now.
