Marketing AI Institute | Blog

How to Predict Marketing Success with AI from Squark

Written by Paul Roetzer | Nov 8, 2021 8:55:00 PM

Now you can use AI to accelerate your business without code.

Squark is a no-code AI tool that gives marketers the power to make predictions and forecasts based on their data.

The tool can connect your data, then automatically predict and forecast marketing effectiveness.

We spoke to Judah Phillips, co-CEO and cofounder of Squark, to learn more about how this marketing AI solution works.

In a single sentence or statement, describe Squark.

Squark is a no-code AI platform that enables consumer and subscription-driven businesses to monetize their data through prediction and forecasting.

How does Squark use artificial intelligence in its products?

Squark connects to your data wherever it exists and automatically applies AI to clean, prepare, engineer, select, model, and explain what will happen next in your business. Next, you use the data in reporting, visualization, or business process automation.

What are the primary marketing use cases for your AI-powered solutions?

Squark provides a capability that can be dynamically applied to marketing use cases along the customer lifecycle. Starting with high order marketing concepts at the top of the funnel like predicting brand lift, Squark also applies to use cases throughout the funnel such as: predicting conversion and response, modeling churn and retention, and forecasting revenue and CLV. Squark’s nimble application across the marketing lifecycle uses the data you have already collected. As a result, the questions you can ask and answer are specific to your business and driven entirely by your data and business needs.

The primary marketing use case focus is on predicting and forecasting marketing effectiveness, including campaign and promotional optimization and likelihood to respond, engage, convert, and retain. A global marketing agency realized a 4% increase in marketing attributed revenue and a 12% cost reduction in marketing costs within one quarter with Squark. Predicting and targeting the most profitable people and optimizing campaign messaging and placement maximizes conversions.

A global healthcare enterprise reduced cost and increased profitable revenue by predicting people at risk for a medical condition. Then they targeted these audiences using digital and offline media to create demand and capture revenue. As a result, Squark is among the highest ROI applications the marketing team at this major global healthcare enterprise has ever experienced.

What makes your AI-powered solution smarter than traditional approaches and products?

Squark automates the entire application of data science to marketing data from end to end.

We have intelligent data collectors that make finding and connecting your data to Squark simple. Your data is automatically made better for AI via automated data cleaning, preparation, and feature engineering, which are applied to every project without the user needing to take any additional steps.

Thousands of models are run against the data in minutes before determining the best model for your data. The predictive data, along with supporting insights, are laid out in easy to understand tables with visuals.

In the past, this process would have taken a data scientist months and tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete. Squark can be used by any analytically inclined member of the team to the most advanced data scientists on your team.

Whether you require getting business answers quickly or want to dig deep into the data, Squark provides data scientists with model metrics and other methods for model interpretability and validation. Enterprise subscribers can also export model code, use our API service, or deploy Squark in container architectures.

Are there any minimum requirements for marketers to get value out of your AI-powered technology? (e.g. data, list size, etc.)

There are no minimum data requirements. Squark’s automated AI was intentionally designed to work on big and small data. We warn the user when there are fewer than 200 rows that while the models will still be excellent and accurate, their generalizability could be impacted on new and varied data that doesn’t reflect history. That said, Squark once built a model for a state university with fewer than 200 rows used. The model was 50% more accurate than the standardized aptitude test the state used to admit students.

Who are your ideal customers in terms of company size and industries?

Squark focuses on consumer and subscription businesses in the mid-market and enterprise, but also works with companies of all sizes and industries.

Squark customers believe in the power of using data to drive competitive advantage and inform tactical day-to-day marketing programs. Squark’s broad and flexible AI technology supports multiple use cases for subscription, member driven, and consumer businesses, including, finance (private equity), media (agencies), SaaS companies, healthcare, and gaming.

What do you see as the limitations of AI as it exists today?

Within the AI systems or the adoption of AI? Right now, the biggest limitation in the adoption of AI is identifying clear, actionable, and value generating use cases. People may need help figuring out how to think about applying AI to their business, what data to use, or who is going to do it.

However, with the right automated tools, those objections are easily removed. With Squark, you simply connect your data, pick what you want to predict, and let Squark do the heavy lifting.

What do you see as the future potential of AI in marketing?

AI will become even more integrated across the marketing lifecycle.

Using Squark, you predict which customers and segments will see, respond, convert, and be retained. You can model marketing costs and returns and identify why outcomes are predicted to occur. Squark can also help with promotion and campaign launch, optimization, and effectiveness. Use Squark to predict which offers different audience segments are most likely to respond to, the best channels to use by segment, and the likelihood of conversion across personas and individually identified consumers. Squark creates better user experiences for the customers and delivers more profitable revenue, more quickly in an affordable and cost effective way.

Any other thoughts on AI in marketing, or advice for marketers who are just getting started with AI?

Don’t be afraid to take the leap. Don’t worry about not having enough data, or clean data, or the right team members to manage the tools. Simply reach out to Squark to bring your business to life with AI in 30 days or less with our Symmetry Ignite program.