AI JUST REWROTE THE GTM PLAYBOOK — ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?
By Tina Eskrige, GTM Strategist - Product Marketing, Brand & Growth Architect.
Every Thursday, THE BOARD BRIEFING brings you curated industry insights directly from our Members to your inbox.
For years, Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy was a formula: define ICPs, build funnels, run campaigns, optimize conversions. But the rise of AI isn’t just about efficiency — it’s fundamentally reshaping how companies discover, engage, and retain customers.
The old GTM was about filling funnels. The new GTM is about closing loops. Here’s how forward-thinking companies are already making the shift.
AI IN CUSTOMER DISCOVERY: INSIGHTS WITHOUT THE FOCUS GROUP
Traditional customer research runs quarterly or annually, often missing fast-emerging shifts. AI compresses that timeline — analyzing digital signals in real time.
Persona Building: Platforms like Clearbit and 6sense use AI to analyze intent data and update customer personas dynamically.
Market Mapping: AI surfaces emerging demand pockets early, letting companies reposition before competitors even notice.
CHANNEL IN PLAY
6sense helped PGi uncover in-market buyers and launch predictive campaigns that generated more qualified leads while reducing acquisition costs.
FINAL WORD
Discovery isn’t static anymore. It’s continuous, predictive, and always-on.
AI IN DEMAND GEN: THE FUNNEL GETS PERSONAL
Batch-and-blast is over. AI enables individually tuned campaigns that evolve in real time.
Adaptive Messaging: AI can generate and test micro-variants of subject lines, CTAs, and timing.
Predictive Outreach: AI scoring goes beyond firmographics, ranking leads based on intent, engagement, and buying signals.
CHANNELS IN PLAY
Sandler adopted HubSpot’s Breeze AI and saw higher click-through rates alongside a fourfold increase in sales-qualified leads. Aerotech used HubSpot AI to boost win rates by 66% while saving sales teams hours each week. Salesforce Einstein, widely deployed across Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud, powers predictive lead scoring, next-best action recommendations, and campaign optimization.
FINAL WORD
AI transforms demand gen from mass broadcasting into precision matchmaking.
AI IN CUSTOMER SUCCESS & LOYALTY: RETENTION AS THE NEW GROWTH
Acquisition costs are climbing. AI is giving brands new ways to drive retention and loyalty — turning growth into a loop, not a line.
Proactive Retention: AI predicts churn and triggers personalized save campaigns.
Community & Support: AI chatbots handle common queries, freeing human teams for high-value interactions.
Upsell Triggers: Recommendation engines keep customers discovering new products and features.
CHANNEL IN PLAY
Sephora uses AI across its “Beauty Advisor” ecosystem — from Virtual Artist try-ons to personalized recommendations — boosting engagement and conversion with tailored experiences.
FINAL WORD
In an AI-first GTM, retention isn’t an afterthought. It’s the growth engine.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In my experience, the companies seeing the biggest gains from AI aren’t asking, “Which tool should we plug in?” They’re asking, “What does our GTM look like in an AI-first world?”
When discovery is predictive, demand gen is hyper-personalized, and retention is proactive, growth stops being linear.
It becomes a loop — every customer signals the next decision.
And here’s the hard truth: in 12 months, the GTM leaders won’t be the ones who filled the biggest funnels. They’ll be the ones who closed the loop.
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