INBOX INSIGHTS, October 16, 2024: Do You Need to Be An AI Expert, Economic Indicators Part 3 - Trust Insights Marketing Analytics Consulting

INBOX INSIGHTS: Do You Need to Be An AI Expert, Economic Indicators Part 3 (10/16) :: View in browser

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Do I Need to Be an AI Expert?

The past few weeks, I’ve been talking about how to approach weaving AI into your end-of-year planning. And maybe you’re thinking, “But I still don’t know that much about AI!”

That’s ok!

One of the big misconceptions about new tech is that you need to immediately be an expert in it.

What you really need to be an expert in is critical thinking. Fads, trends, and tech will come and go. But being able to assess the situation in a grounded way will never go out of style.

Critical thinking includes:

Questioning – ask questions. Lots of them. Turn over every rock and see what is underneath it. This might be the most important part of critical thinking. When you’re evaluating AI for your marketing plans, you need to ask a lot of questions. Questions like, “What happens if this doesn’t work?” or, “How will this look in our day-to-day?” or, “Will this impact our customers at all?”
Acknowledging assumptions – coupled with questioning, you’re going to have assumptions about new things. Maybe it’s that your role will be replaced by AI if you introduce it into your planning. Acknowledge that assumption and explore them. Go back to your questions; do you have more that have come up? Keep asking!
Making informed decisions – this is easier said than done. Even with all the fact-finding missions we go on and data we gather, we still lead with our emotions. The more information we collect and actually use, the more data-driven our decisions are. Again, go back to your current questions and assumptions. Make a list of what you know and what is still unknown. Do you have enough information to make a decision? Are you clear on what it is that you need?
A healthy amount of skepticism – when exploring something new, keep your eyes and ears open. You don’t have to approach it like it won’t work. However, you should explore all the options and backup plans if it doesn’t. If you see something new, like generative AI, and don’t ask “what if” questions, you know you might be in trouble.

Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you have good process documentation. This is your foundation for anything you do in business. By making sure you and your team can complete things in a repeatable way, new tech becomes irrelevant. Your processes allow your people to be confident in what they are doing. If your people are confident, introducing new tech doesn’t become an issue. You can pick where it goes with little interruption.

Lastly, you want to make sure you’re open to change. Many teams are stuck in the “This is how we’ve always done it” mentality. It’s the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” mantra that stunts your growth. I get it, change is scary. And where there are dollars attached, it’s downright frightening. But go back to your processes. Find low-risk places to experiment. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Allow your people to be involved in the discussions and decisions.

You don’t have to be an expert in AI to evaluate it. You do have to be capable of critical thinking. That’s it. That’s the secret. Keep your wits about you, ask questions, and stay open to possibilities.

How are you using critical thinking to evaluate AI? Reach out and tell me, or come join the conversation in our free Slack Group, Analytics for Marketers.

– Katie Robbert, CEO

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In this episode of In-Ear Insights, the Trust Insights podcast, Katie and Chris discuss using generative AI for conference attendees. Using the MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2024 (#MPB2B), you will learn how to leverage AI to define your goals, create a detailed plan to achieve them, and optimize your conference experience. You’ll discover how to use AI to select the most relevant sessions based on your professional goals and your ideal customer profile. Finally, you’ll gain practical strategies for improving your networking skills and making meaningful connections with other attendees.

Watch/listen to this episode of In-Ear Insights here »

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In this week’s Data Diaries, we’re wrapping up our three part series on economic indicators. In part 1, we talked about what economic indicators are. In part 2, we looked at selecting economic indicators appropriate to our business. In this part, let’s put this data into action.

First, once we’ve got our basket of indicators, we need the data for them. Depending on whether you took the low tech or the high tech approach in part 2, you should have some data. For demonstration purposes, we’ll use the low tech approach and take the images from a 1 year and 5 year snapshot for each of our indicators.

As a reminder, for Trust Insights, here’s what I’m using. This is NOT the recommended list of indicators for you – go back to part 2 and do that exercise so you get a basket of leading economic indicators that are relevant to your business and your customers.

Corporate Profits After Tax (without IVA and CCAdj) (CP)
Economic Policy Uncertainty Index for United States (USEPUINDXD)
Employed full time: Median usual weekly real earnings: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over (LES1252881600Q)
Job Openings: Professional and Business Services (JTS540099JOL)
Projected Business Formations Within Four Quarters: – Total for All NAICS in the United States (BFPBF4QTOTALSAUS)
Total Nonfarm Private Payroll Employment (ADPWNUSNERSA)
University of Michigan: Consumer Sentiment (UMCSENT)

From these indicators, we want to build our forecast. Similar to how we started in part 2, we want to prime the model with the same prompt, and once that’s done, we continue on:

Today we want to analyze leading economic indicators from FRED for Trust Insights. I’ve attached background information about Trust Insights as well as as Trust Insights’ Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). I’ve also included screenshots of each leading economic indicator for a 1 year and 5 year horizon. First, to confirm you can correctly see these economic indicators, please provide a very short summary of what you see in each economic indicator. Talk through what you observe in the charts, and after you’ve talked through your thoughts, summarize them in an outline.

I performed this task in Google’s AI Studio. What did it come up with?

It did a thorough job looking at the data. What’s important here isn’t necessarily the analysis (though that’s helpful) – it’s the validation that AI is looking at the data correctly and interpreting the information shown properly.

Next, I asked a followup question:

Remember that from 2020-2022, we were in a global pandemic, so as we proceed, give weight to more recent events rather than what happened in 2020-2022. With that in mind, synthesize the economic indicators, and perform inductive and deductive reasoning on the data to infer what the next 6-12 months is likely to hold for Trust Insights based on economic indicators.

The results?

Synthesized Outlook for Trust Insights (Next 6-12 Months):

The economic indicators point to a cautiously optimistic outlook for Trust Insights. There’s likely to be increasing demand for their services driven by rising job openings in their target sectors and sustained corporate profitability. However, stagnant wages and economic policy uncertainty could temper growth.

Strategic Recommendations for Trust Insights:

Emphasize ROI and Cost-Effectiveness: Given potential budget constraints, clearly demonstrating the value and return on investment of their services will be crucial.
Highlight Adaptability and Risk Mitigation: In an uncertain economic environment, showcase how Trust Insights’ data-driven approach can help clients navigate challenges and mitigate risks.
Target New Business Formations: While growth may be slower than in the immediate post-pandemic period, new businesses represent a valuable client segment. Tailor offerings to their specific needs and budget constraints.
Monitor Economic Indicators Closely: Staying informed about evolving economic trends will enable Trust Insights to proactively adjust their strategies and anticipate client needs.
Double Down on Thought Leadership and Content Marketing: This reinforces expertise and builds trust with potential clients, especially when direct engagement (due to economic uncertainty) may be slower than usual.

That’s a pretty solid analysis based on our leading economic indicators.

Now, here’s the power move. This isn’t and shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Instead, we could (and should) perform this analysis on a regular basis, perhaps quarterly. Doing so will give us insights, pun intended, about what could be coming down the road for us as a company, and allow us to set strategy based on these leading economic indicators.

I hope as you close out Q4 that this technique of macroeconomic analysis is useful to you and your firm. As always, if you’d prefer the “Done For You” approach, we’re happy to help.

Here’s a roundup of who’s hiring, based on positions shared in the Analytics for Marketers Slack group and other communities.

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Where can you find Trust Insights face-to-face?

MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Boston, November 2024
AMA Houston, Online, November 2024
Social Media Marketing World, San Diego, April 2025
SMPS, Columbus, July 2025

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