To: My Cleverest Convergling

From: The Desk of Lillian Pierson

Breaking News In Tech: June 30, 2024

📈 Apple has plans on the public record to integrate Google Gemini as a chatbot alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Anthropic Claude 3.5 may be on the table too. Invest accordingly!

Today on The Convergence

• AI Tool Selection Snippet

• AI-Led Growth Marketing Minutes

• Influencer-Driven User Acquisition Tip-Of-The-Day

• Get Involved In The Convergence Community

AI Tool Selection, Simplified

Imagine you could only choose 5 AI tools to help your startup grow, and then you’ve got drop the rest.

Which ones are you selecting?

Here are some top picks among founders:

• ChatGPT for customer support: Automate your top-level customer service with AI-driven responses that provide quick and accurate assistance.

• Grammarly for writing: Improve the content written by your team members with AI-powered grammar and style suggestions so that you can be triple sure all communications are clear and professional.

• HubSpot for CRM: Opt for HubSpot's AI-enhanced CRM to streamline your sales and marketing efforts. With powerful automation and insightful analytics, you can effectively manage customer relationships and drive growth

• Canva for design: Choose Canva for its intuitive AI-driven design tools that empower your team to create stunning visuals and marketing materials, even if your team members don’t have a graphic design background. Perfect for startups looking to elevate their brand with professional-quality graphics.

• Tableau for data analytics: Make data-driven decisions with powerful AI analytics that turn complex data into actionable insights.

Personally, if I had to choose one, I’d go with ChatGPT 4o because it’s multi-modal, ambidextrous, and just too good to go without.

Share your thoughts below 👇

AI-Led Growth Marketing Minutes

AI might complicate growth rather than simplify it.

Many startups view AI as a quick fix.

Sure, it can streamline certain tasks and save time.

But think about how cloud made it easier and cheaper for startups to launch.

AI will similarly lower the barrier to entry for creating products and services.

And do you know what that means? Increased competition and higher spending on marketing and sales.

For example, consider recent industry #data:

Marketing costs have risen dramatically over the past two years, with companies now spending $2.64 to generate just $1 in revenue.

This translates to over two years just to break even on marketing spend, without even considering profitability.

A survey of 113 mature startups across various sectors showed that an average of 27.59% of raised funds go directly into marketing.

While AI might speed up your growth tasks, it also drives down costs for everyone, intensifying competition and pushing more funds towards customer acquisition.

Just something to think about as you make your way through the day…

Influencer-Driven User Acquisition Tip-Of-The-Day

User acquisition through influencers: A short-lived solution.

I’ve done 100s of influencer activations over the years, with the Fortune 10 down to small, bootstrapped SaaS startups… If you’re looking to grow through influencer marketing, know this:

Influencers boost visibility and bring a surge of new users, yes - BUT, is this growth sustainable?

In my experience working with #B2B #TechStartups, I've seen the initial excitement fade quickly. Just like with ads-driven methods, without having community-focused retention methods in place, users that are derived from influence campaigns often lack loyalty and engagement, which of course leads to high churn and low marketing ROI.

While influencer marketing is enticing, be certain to build a strategy that fosters long-term user retention and genuine community engagement. Relying solely on influencers for long-term user acquisition is a recipe for disaster.

Here’s what I recommend:

• Focus on quality marketing content: First and foremost, consistently deliver value to your users. Know what “value” looks like to these people and then produce content that directly helps them achieve their goals. Keep purely promotional content to an absolute minimum.

• Cultivate a community: Influencer promos drive awareness and leads. Once you’ve got these new people in your ecosystem, have a system in place to immediately start building relationships, both with these people and between them.

• Invest in user experience: This sounds obvious, but before launching anything, make sure your product meets the needs and expectations of the ideal customer for whom it was built. Streamline user experience to decrease time-to -value and increase engagement.

Long-term growth requires a lot more than just a quick boost from influencers. It also requires a foundational strategy that prioritizes user retention and satisfaction.

DOES YOUR GROWTH STRATEGY PASS THE AI-READINESS TEST?

I’ve put these processes to work for Fortune 100 companies, and now I’m handing them to you…