A Study on Effective Consequences and Customer Preference Towards Machine

Learning Techniques in Digital Marketing during Post Covid-19 Era Using Design
Thinking Approach

G. Gowtham1, V. Priyanka2, D. Divya3

Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce with Computer Applications, Dr.SNS Rajalakshmi
College of Arts and Science, E-Mail ID: gowkavi1995@gmail.com.

Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce with Digital Marketing, Dr.SNS Rajalakshmi College
of Arts and Science, E-Mail ID: priyanka7708899548@gmail.com.

Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce with Professional Accounting, Dr.SNS Rajalakshmi

College of Arts and Science, E-Mail ID: divyadamodaran1995@gmail.com.

Abstract
Artificial Intelligence has been under researched. Machines with deep learning
abilities can take digital marketing to new heights with their Artificial Intelligence making all
the difference. This research aims to identify the outcomes from the study of Indian
customer’s responses across varying demographics to machines and their abilities to sell,
which will well be the future of digital marketing. In the tumultuous times we face, data
science has been at the forefront of detecting and predicting COVID-19.
Organisations like Tableau offer trackers and community-based visualisations that
provide intuitive and insightful information about the pandemic. Data scientists at
John Hopkins have been leveraging machine learning to predict risk scores for the
disease based on clinical data. However, the impact of the pandemic indicates that
uncertainty would be a significant hallmark of a post-COVID world. Consequently,
data science would consider the ambiguous nature of the environment to play a key
role in the coming times. A look at how the world has altered hints at the changes to
come.
Keywords: Design Thinkers, AI, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Digital
Marketing in Post Covid-19 Era
1. Introduction
1.1 Empathy Stage
Looking at the post-COVID period through a data lens augurs an increase in
the variety of data generated. Social distancing and lockdown ensured that everybody
stayed in. This is an obvious precursor to a change in consumer behaviour. A recent
McKinsey report indicates that consumers have gradually adopted digital and online
channels to interact with firms.
Machine learning is a game-changing technique in digital marketing which records,
analyses, and reuses the clicks and the comments about brands learning the emotions relating
to the brand. This analysis helps marketers to personalize the sales tools toward individuals
empowering the marketers to customize their sales calls to each potential customer. The
techniques backed by machine learning helps in enhancing customer’s visits by categorizing
the various reactions in the form of clicks toward brands engaging them at a much-
customized level (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). The massive cache of data created every day is
categorized into various sectors and analysed to establish patterns by deep learning about
digital customers helping understand him better.
Table 1.1: Empathy Stage

Design Thinking Stage Potential Questions

Empathy 1. While adopting AI in Digital Marketing, is
there any changes in Customer Service and
Marketing Segmentation?
2. How AI in Digital Marketing is Impacting
Customers as well as the Marketers?
3. Are AI is helping Efficiency and
Effectiveness of Marketers?
4. Is there any changes in Customer Services
after applying AI in Digital Marketing?

Organisations have begun to respond by investing in immersive technologies

like virtual reality to engage consumers. Intelligent chatbots handling customer
service will be the new norm to ensure contactless transactions. Apart from these
responses, companies would also look at using IoT devices that would gather real-
time data. This could be a remote sensor at home gathering pulse rates or glucose
levels for intelligent health care systems or a sensor monitoring water/electricity
consumption. These changes would provide greater access to a variety of data formats
like location, video, voice and image.
2. Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this study is to understand the current situation of Artificial
Intelligence in Marketing, analysing how AI currently impacts Marketing and the impact it
will have in the future.
  Identifying the key sectors of implementing AI in digital marketing.
 To study the machine learning techniques in digital marketing at the post covid era.
 To assess the key challenges and ethical aspects of integrating AI in Digital
Marketing Sectors.
2.1 Define Stage
Marketers use machine learning to find patterns in user activities on a website. This
helps them predict the further behaviour of users and quickly optimize advertising offers. ML
is being implemented in digital marketing departments around the globe. Its
implications involve utilizing data, content, and online channels to increase productivity and
help digital marketers understand their target audience better. But how, exactly, are ML tools
being used in digital marketing strategies today? The experts at Smart Insights have compiled
a few examples of how ML can make its way into your digital strategy, including:
Content marketing: In recent years, digital marketers, bloggers, and businesses of all sizes
have been busy creating content of all types to engage their target audience. Whether it’s in
the form of informative blog posts, customer testimonial videos, or recorded webinars,
content is everywhere online.
Table 2.1: Define Stage

Design Thinking Stage Inference

Define 1. How many sectors implementing AI in
Digital Marketing?
2. How Digital Marketing has the Penetration
on the application in Machine Learning
during the Post Covid-19?
3. Is there any Ethical aspects of Integrating
AI in Digital Marketing?
4. What are the Challenges faced by the
Digital Marketers by Integrating AI in
Digital Marketing?

 – Understand the key challenges and ethical aspects of integrating AI in

Marketing.
 – Understand the key challenges and ethical aspects of integrating AI in
Marketing.
 – Understand the key challenges and ethical aspects of integrating AI in
Marketing.
 – Understand the key challenges and ethical aspects of integrating AI in
Marketing.
3. Scope of the Study
 Machine learning has wide scope in digital marketing. Machine learning provides
multiple areas of scope to an organization; a few are as follows:
 Machine learning helps in effective and faster customer service.
 Machine learning helps in the customization of benefits provided.
 Machine learning helps in advertisement performance.
 Machine learning helps in marketing automation and many more.
3.1 Ideate Stage
For marketers, ideas are a valuable commodity. They are the sparks of success, but
they require the right tools and resources as well as careful nurturing if they are to develop
into powerful campaigns.
Table 3.1: Ideate Stage
Design Thinking Stage Inference
Ideate 1. The Optimization and analyses can be done
Develop the ideas to conduct through following methods:
 Percentage Analysis
experiments for collecting data
 Linear Trend Analysis
required.
2. The analysis can be initiated followed by
sample survey and pilot study. The pilot
study helps the researchers to avoid
irrelevant data collections.
3. Collected data were experimented using
statistical package for Social Science
(SPSS) for analysis the data and developing
the concepts.

4. Methods of data collection

The data has been collected through internet and journals. The researcher has used
both primary as well as secondary data. The research was conducted only in Coimbatore
district.

Primary Data
The primary data have been collected through a structured questionnaire. The
questionnaires were distributed to 110 Export Marketers from Coimbatore district.

Secondary data
Secondary data have been collected from various sources namely from journals,
magazines, other research work and also from other authentication websites.
Sample size:
Sample size is the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a
sample. The sample size is 110 in numbers.

5. Experimental Procedure
A marketing experiment is a form of market research in which your goal is to
discover new strategies for future campaigns or validate existing ones. For instance, a
marketing team might create and send emails to a small segment of their readership to gauge
engagement rates, before adding them to a campaign. It's important to note that a marketing
experiment isn't synonymous with a marketing test. Marketing experiments are done for
discovery, while a test confirms theories.

 How can marketers reach out their brand through online social marketing?
Table 5.1 Marketers Branding through Online Social Marketing
PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
Designing 27 24
Labelling 23 21
Taste & Odour 34 31
Demonstrating Logo 12 11
Loyalty 14 13
TOTAL 110 100

Sales
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Sales

5.1 Prototype Stage

Design Thinking Stage Inference
Prototype The table presents the marketers branding through
Develop and apply the tools online social marketing and customer preferences
 and techniques to analyse the towards choosing the product while purchasing.
data. The Majority of the respondents shows preferences
towards while choosing the products by preferring
Taste and Odour Shows (31%) in Hierarchy.
Demonstrating Logo (11%) stands least count
while customer preferences towards purchasing the
product.

6.Testing Stage

Testing strategy helps in creating a benchmark for the digital marketing campaigns. It
helps in identifying the right audiences, marketing channels, vendors and creative which
eventually helps in running highly optimized marketing campaigns increasing revenue and
saving money.

 How to create testing strategy between customers?

Table.6.1 Creating Testing Strategy between Customers
Testing Component Respondents Percentage (%)
Audience Segment 12 11
Message Type 8 7
Offer Type 17 15
Creative Type 14 13
Advertisement 21 19
Media Channels 27 25
Vendors 11 10
TOTAL 110 100

Testing Component
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

6.1 Testing Stage

 Design Thinking Stage Inference
Testing The network shows the level of testing strategy
The network has to be tested between customers to determine the marketer’s
competition. In hierarchy, the testing strategy for
to evaluate the performance in
media channels stands in higher position of (25%)
predicting the testing strategy with accurate statistics.
between customers.

7. Literature Review
Analytical tools streamline strategic planning and help organization mark operational
decisions faster and more efficiently. In the past, strategic planning was usually based on data
and information that were gathered in the organization over the past periods. In the current
dynamic age, it is important to regard strategic planning as a live, ever-changing process.
Whether it is a process of analysing past events or predicting future events, strategic planning
is supported by advanced marketing analysis and analytical tools utilizing recent IT
innovations.
(Trabucchi & Buganza, 2020) has stated that Facebook and Amazon are excellent
examples of how machine learning can take the digital marketing to the next level. Starting
from connecting people to connecting group of players, from selling books to creating a
platform were employers meet employees and vice versa.

8. Various Modes of Digital Marketing

 Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing
 Data Analytics in Digital Marketing
 Machine Learning in Digital Marketing
8.1 Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing
According to Wikipedia, the term "artificial intelligence" is used to describe machines
and computers that mimic "cognitive" functions that humans associate with other human
minds, such as learning and problem-solving. It is an area of computer science that attempts
to understand the essence of intelligence and produce a new intelligent machine that thinks,
responds and performs tasks based on the data that is being fed into it, just like humans do.
Some of the activities associated with AI are highly technical and specialized, such as
robotics, speech recognition, image recognition, natural language processing, problem-
solving, etc.
8.2 Data Analytics in Digital Marketing

Data analytics is the field of research that transforms raw data into insights. The study
of data previously fell to mathematicians and statisticians but now relies on automated
processes. In turn, data analysts need to be familiar with the algorithms that make up the core
of the profession and how to apply them to different data sets.
The importance of data analytics in digital marketing stems from the ability to
pinpoint the information that observers would otherwise miss. At its heart, data analytics is
the ability to spot patterns. Current methods of digital marketing utilize big data - massive
collections of information from multiple sources. Data analytics processes this data to
provide a company with actionable insights. Target marketing is an example of how analytics
informs a company’s decision-making. By developing rich, informative content that appeals
to the core values of its target consumer group, a business can start building a community. As
each user visits the content, the company gleans information about the user. It can then
develop profiles that encompass all of the members of its community, allowing it to improve
its advertising.

Additionally, by collecting data about products that are the same as or similar to a
business’s product, the company can adjust its pricing to be more competitive. For massive
markets, having access to this data enables companies to formulate better sales strategies.
Furthermore, lower pricing can attract potential customers who were previously loyal to
another brand.
8.3 Machine Learning in Digital Marketing
Machine learning and artificial intelligence are two separate entities that just so
happen to complement each other. While artificial intelligence (AI) aims to harness certain
aspects of the “thinking” mind, machine learning (ML) is helping humans solve problems in
a more efficient way. As a subset of AI, ML uses data to tech itself how to complete a
process with the help of AI capabilities. As an advanced tool that uses data to provide
effective solutions to a host of complex digital marketing problems, ML can benefit
businesses by helping them find hidden knowledge in available consumer data to streamline
marketing processes.

9. Trends in Data Analysis: Current and Predicted

The field of data analytics is growing rapidly, with companies recognizing the
importance of utilizing technological innovations to drive marketing. In the past, marketing
was about hitting as many people with the company’s message as it could and hoping it
impacted some of them enough to close a sale. Today’s marketing is more streamlined thanks
to data analytics. The business only sends its marketing message to the customers most likely
to buy. The following trends in data analysis are likely to continue:

 Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and
ML form the most cutting-edge advances that technology can offer the world. In the
field of marketing, there has been a push to increase automation by incorporating self-
correcting ML algorithms. Additionally, AI engines have been developed to manage
data classification and storage. Some of these innovations may fail to make their
expected impact, as is often the case with experimental technology. However, many
of them will survive and find their way into the system as useful tools.
  Increased Cloud Adoption: Another cutting-edge advance available to digital
marketing is cloud architecture for storing, accessing, and processing big data. Thanks
to the massive volume of data coming into the system every minute, it would be
increasingly difficult to process data with a traditional relational database model. As
companies start adopting big data, the necessity of cloud computing will also increase.
 Focus on Customer Experience: Customer experience remains crucial to a
business’s success. By leveraging AI chatbots to offer more “human” assistance —
and then making adjustments based on customers’ questions — a company could
offer consumers a higher level of service. Furthermore, incorporating ML into these
chatbots could allow the system to learn from the questions and responses, enabling it
to provide optimal answers to an increasing number of complex questions.
 Social Media Marketing: With platforms such as Facebook and Instagram offering
easy access to demographic targeting, the use of social media advertising is likely to
skyrocket into the near future. By using data analytics to collect information on
consumers, a business can better inform its marketing department of the people it
should be targeting for its digital ad campaigns. The campaigns, in return, generate
more data through conversions, creating a positive feedback loop.
10. Future of Machine Learning in Digital Marketing Strategy
To begin the process of applying machine learning to your digital marketing strategy,
digital marketers can start in a number of areas. For example, ML techniques can help solve a
variety of complex problems, such as processing large data sets and creating personalized
content drips for users almost instantly.
 ML tools and chatbots are enabling future-forward market research to take place
much faster than a human could ever manage while developing meaningful, personalized
relationships with involved users. For the modern marketing team, ML allows us to uncover
predictive knowledge with the help of artificial intelligence. By harnessing this data
analysing ability, your team can use ML to your advantage to engage with hyper-targeted
prospects at multiple touchpoints along the sales funnel.

11. Findings
Although the long-term implications of ML are unclear, it’s already impacting
the digital marketing landscape as we know it. ML tools have the ability to analyze
extremely large sets of data and present understandable analytics that marketing teams
can use to their advantage. In organizations using ML tools, marketing teams can find
more time to specialize in other areas and use ML findings to gain new insights,
optimizing their marketing strategies.
ML is being used by businesses to expand the understanding of their target
consumers and optimize their interactions with them. However, with more information
comes change, which will occur much faster than what digital marketers anticipate.
This year, IDC Futures capes expects that 75% of developer teams will include some
type of AI functionality in at least one service or application. In addition, by 2020,
85% of customer interactions will be managed without human intervention, according
to Gartner. Regardless of the buzz, ML isn’t here to take over the jobs of digital
marketers. Rather, its main use is to help enhance digital marketing strategies and
make the jobs of digital marketers easier. By utilizing ML tools and capabilities, you
can streamline your digital strategy and align yourself with an AI and ML-dependent
future.
12. Suggestions
According to research, the future of marketing lies in the way digital marketers
work alongside machine learning (ML) based tools. Not surprising, considering
artificial intelligence (AI) is already playing a huge role in streamlining marketing
processes and making businesses more effective. As ML & AI become more
commonplace in the digital marketing landscape, it’s imperative that digital marketers
learn how to apply ML to their digital marketing campaigns.

13. Conclusion
 In this Study adoption to Machine Learning Techniques and Digital Marketing
Strategy, Research Stated that to begin a career in digital marketing, a person must be driven,
passionate, and willing to adapt to changing professional landscapes. With a seemingly
endless online content pool and data points, the job of a digital marketer has transformed
from a business storyteller to a technological manager. To streamline processes and increase
productivity, digital marketers – both present and future – must begin to use ML tools to
automate processes and utilize data most effectively.
Digital marketing is an industry ripe with opportunities and challenges, and it isn’t
showing signs of going anywhere anytime soon. If the goal of digital marketers is to increase
engagement and brand awareness with leads, it’s vital that they understand their customers.
ML won’t replace existing digital marketing jobs. Rather, it will help broaden the capabilities
of the modern digital marketer, providing a base to do and be better at what you do.
As we move into the digital future, machines and people will begin to work together
to take marketing initiatives to the next level. No longer will marketing products or services
be a tireless campaign of creating, curating, and sharing high-value information. Instead,
digital marketers will be able to spread brand awareness in a way that’s more efficient and
personal than ever.
Embrace the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to level-up the
capabilities of you and your marketing team, and start making a future-forward impact that
inspires engagement and meaningful relationship development.
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