CMO's Guide to AI and Digital Transformation in B2B Marketing
In a 2024 AI Connect webinar, four OneMagnify executives explained how B2B CMOs can lead digital transformation with generative AI. They covered cross-team collaboration, custom GPTs, data risk, the shift in search and the skills CMOs need.
By The AI Enterprise Magazine Team4 min read
Key takeaways
- Same goal, higher stakes. Dianati said delighting customers has not changed, but AI has raised expectations.
- One team from the start. Hammerschick said marketing, IT, data science and analytics should work together, with pilots judged on business potential.
- Start practical. Sutton recommended custom GPTs; Prantner suggested spreadsheet extensions and learning by doing.
- Use a public-domain test. Sutton trains GPTs on public voice and tone, and escalates to the CTO for anything involving IP.
- Search is shifting. Panelists said AI answers will blend brand content with reviews, so CMOs must rethink search marketing.
In a 2024 AI Connect webinar, four OneMagnify executives laid out how chief marketing officers can lead digital transformation in the age of generative AI. The panel included Kamelia Dianati, Chief Technology Officer, Jonathan Prantner, Chief Analytics Officer, Mark Hammerschick, Digital Solution Strategy Lead, and Jeremy Sutton, Director of Marketing, Experience and AI. The session, held in June 2024, focused on B2B marketing and was moderated by a AI Connect co-founder.
What role does the CMO play in digital transformation?
Dianati said the best CMOs she has worked with deeply understand both the product and the customer, and become "custodians of the customer journey" from inception through retention while protecting the brand. Prantner added that B2B CMOs serve many stakeholders at each client, unlike B2C, and need strong relationships with the CIO, CTO and other technology leaders.
AI has pushed marketing from funnel stages toward an always-on model, Prantner said. It helps teams understand when to speak to customers and when to stay quiet, based on behavioral data.
Sutton said boards now expect CMOs to adopt AI, and called it "like throwing fuel onto a marketing fire" when used well. Dianati said the goal of delighting customers has not changed, but expectations, and therefore the stakes, have risen.
How should marketing work with IT and analytics?
Dianati said data integrity remains the lifeblood of AI work, and "garbage in, garbage out" still applies. Larger AI companies can survive outages and public missteps, she said, but smaller companies have a smaller margin for error.
Hammerschick said marketing, IT, data science and analytics should be on the same AI team from the start. He said the most successful pilots focus on "business potential, not on technical feasibility."
The panel also suggested a formal task force or regular roundtables across marketing, IT, data and legal to avoid surprises. Dianati recommended "making the implicit explicit," meaning every stakeholder, from the CEO to the CMO, should understand the trade-offs being made.
Where can marketers start with generative AI today?
Sutton said almost 80% of his workflows involve AI. He recommended custom GPTs, saying he had built about 20 for specific workflows. He also trains GPTs on Google's quality rater guidelines so content follows what Google considers a good user experience. Marketers should educate and train, he said, because AI "is only as good as you lead it."
Prantner suggested starting with tools teams already use, such as Excel or Google Sheets extensions, to transform large data sets with a limited learning curve. Prantner also described an "AI powered focus group," in which a system standing in for customers responds to content and does not tire of follow-up questions.
Dianati cautioned that if precision and accuracy are the goal, traditional BI and data warehousing may be more appropriate. Generative tools suit trends and ideation, she said.
How do you balance speed with security and compliance?
Sutton described a simple test: is the content or data already in the public domain? He said he is comfortable training a GPT on a brand's public website voice and tone, but if the task involves intellectual property, he talks with the CTO about risk and security.
Hammerschick urged vigilance on personally identifiable information, with strict anonymization and encryption. Dianati noted that in B2B, a vendor's risk profile must also match the client's.
Dianati pointed to Apple's announced partnership with OpenAI, which, she said, would ask users for explicit consent before sending information to ChatGPT. The panelists treated this as news at the time of the June 2024 session.
How will AI change search and the CMO's skills?
Sutton said he now often searches in ChatGPT first for informational queries, and said CMOs who rely on organic or paid search should watch the shift closely. Prantner added that AI models will synthesize a brand's own site with blogs and review sites, so a brand's message becomes one of many voices.
On skills, Sutton said he learns most by using AI products directly and iterating through conversation. Prantner said teams should learn by doing and keep an eye on AI features arriving in existing tools such as CRMs. Dianati cautioned that "the technology is not the end," only a means to something greater, and urged tying AI to measurable productivity or customer delight.
Where can you hear more from data and AI leaders?
AI Connect, formerly AI Connect, hosts 24 free live webinars on its 2027 schedule, and runs The AI Enterprise Conference 2027 on Tuesday, August 31, 2027, at Pier Sixty in New York City. Registration is coming soon. See /webinars/ and /events/ai-enterprise-conference/.
Frequently asked questions
What role does the CMO play in digital transformation?
Panelists said CMOs act as custodians of the customer journey and brand, and must build relationships with technology leaders to respond to where the market is going.
How should marketing and IT collaborate on AI?
Hammerschick said marketing, IT, data science and analytics should be on the same AI team from the start, with pilots focused on business potential.
How do you decide what data is safe to use with ChatGPT?
Sutton said he asks whether the data is in the public domain; for IP or PII, teams need CTO review, anonymization and encryption.
How can CMOs get up to speed on AI?
Panelists recommended learning by using AI tools, starting with easy wins, and watching AI features added to existing tools like CRMs.
This article is based on remarks by Kamelia Dianati, Chief Technology Officer; Jonathan Prantner, Chief Analytics Officer; Mark Hammerschick, Digital Solution Strategy Lead; Jeremy Sutton, Director, Marketing, Experience and AI; all OneMagnify at AI Connect webinar on June 21, 2024. More coverage: Webinars.
Filed under: AI Use Cases & Applications, AI Strategy & ROI, People, Culture & Leadership
