First you say you do, then you say you don’t
The great Ella Fitzgerald sang “Undecided” with these lyrics:
First you say you do
And then you don’t
And then you say you will
And then you won’t
You’re undecided now
So what are you gonna do?
Our approach to AI is often undecided isn’t it? The main indecision comes from what we’ve just examined: the balance between automation and personalization. Projecting yourself in front of your customers starts with your website, so if you’ve built a website based on “templates,” you’re going to look robotic, won’t you?
We have clients incorporating AI into their websites now that decided “they do.” But the other day in examining the website, the AI wasn’t working. What kind of impression does that leave on visitors? You already know how it feels when you click on a link and it leads to the OOPS sign.
Frankly, there is no substitution for YOUR (the human) experience.
Balancing automation with personalization
Over-reliance on AI can make interactions feel robotic. Here are a couple of suggestions to consider when staying in front of your customers.
- Use AI-driven chatbots only for initial customer queries but provide an easy option to escalate to a human agent when needed. Automate routine follow-ups but personalize high-value conversations.
- Instead of sending a generic offer or “howdy,” AI can analyze a visitor’s past behavior (based on IP address) on the website and make suggestions based on their past journeys. Though somewhat intrusive, AI can adjust the tone of interactions based on sentiment analysis (e.g., if a visitor is frustrated based on repeated clicking, AI can respond with empathy). One client does this in the background by watching customer journeys for specification sheets. On a Sunday evening, someone was observed visiting one specification sheet for a door component on the client’s website. Upon analysis, this visitor (name was unnecessary for this exercise in AI logic), worked at a major business campus in Northern Illinois that made medical equipment. Lots of buildings, with in theory, lots of doors. Logically, there was only one reason for the visit: the person needed a part for their door. We hatched an “audit” strategy for out client after identifying the target from LinkedIn who was the director of facilities. The strategy was to get the appointment to do a “door audit” throughout the facility’s buildings, which was comprised as a mean-time-between failure on the client’s door parts – for no charge. The offer was irresistible, and the client scored big with a new ongoing maintenance contract where none existed before. Analysis of behavior patterns if one of AI’s strengths.
Keeping up with constant change
AI and digital trends evolve quickly, requiring businesses to adapt. “All things are a-flowing,” Heraclitus said about change. But, what he didn’t say is how fast that river could be flowing. COVID-19 and the reactions to it created a tsunami of change that has rocked our world. Our blog series Navigating Change Post COVID has powerful information on how that virus changed behaviors. And now it’s AI’s turn.
In sales and marketing, regardless of the type of business you are in, you will never do anything the same. Ever. And that’s where AI can help. Our blog series — How to Target and Hit the Right Customers: Deep Dive Insights into Our Brave New World – is all about change and how to handle it, so check it out.
Value Proposition in a Digital Environment
In today’s digital-first business landscape, your value proposition is more than just a tagline—it’s the core of why customers choose you over competitors. With increasing competition, digital distractions, and rapidly changing customer expectations, businesses must define and communicate their value clearly, concisely, and compellingly across digital platforms.
Your value proposition needs to:
- Resonate with your target audience
- Differentiate your business from competitors
- Showcase measurable benefits that solve real problems
- Be optimized for digital channels and engagement
Your value proposition should answer the fundamental question: “Why should a customer chose you instead of the competition?” One of the best “tests” we like to run is the “So what?” question. If your statement doesn’t clearly show how your business improves your customer’s life when you ask “so what,” go back to work on it. Some of the key elements are who you serve, what problem you solve, how you solve it better, and results you deliver.
Your value proposition must be adaptable for the digital space, where attention spans are short and competition is fierce. Be clear, short, direct. You have seconds of attention you are dealing with.
Your value proposition should be strategically placed across multiple touchpoints:
| Digital Platform | How to Communicate Your Value Proposition |
| Website Homepage | Use a hero statement above the fold that instantly communicates your key benefit. |
| Social Media | Create snackable content (tweets, LinkedIn posts, reels) reinforcing your unique offering. |
| Email Marketing | Lead with a strong subject line that highlights a key benefit. |
| SEO & Content Marketing | Optimize your blog, white papers, and case studies with keywords that align with customer pain points. |
| Landing Pages | Use clear, action-driven copy to reinforce your unique value and drive conversions. |
In other words, a strong digital value proposition is not static—it requires ongoing refinement based on customer feedback, market shifts, and digital performance metrics.