I'm preparing for a webinar that I'm presenting in a couple of weeks, on using data to improve marketing and communications. This is a presentation (in one form or another) that I've made for nearly 20 years, and it includes an excellent case study of one association that dramatically improved their conference marketing effectiveness by changing how they marketed to their members and customers.

I'm updating the presentation to include how AI could or should be used in this process. What struck me as I updated the presentation is that, regardless of the technology at hand, the fundamentals are the same:

• You have to have the data you need in order to use it (obvious, right?).
• You need to know where your data is.
• You need to be clear about what you're trying to do with the data (e.g., increasing event attendance without increasing costs).
• And finally, your marketing should be focused on those most likely to buy (based on past behavior).

These are fundamental marketing truths. AI doesn't change them. It may allow us to get there faster (and it should!) but no matter the tool, you've got to have these in place if you want to be most successful.