Perhaps no one can perfectly predict the future—or anticipate a global pandemic that is still having reverberations on our economy, our health, and the life sciences industry to this day—but that didn’t stop us from asking 10 industry experts to take their best shot at anticipating what to expect in 2023 and beyond. After all, they can still read the tea leaves and provide their best interpretation of what is trending, where the industry is most struggling, and what might be coming down the pike that marketers should be aware of.

So, in order to help best prepare you for what might come, we asked these 10 individuals to peer into their crystal balls and let us know:

• What will be the biggest trend(s) marketers will be talking about in 2023? Do you think this trend will prove impactful next year or in the near future or will it just be all talk?
• By the end of 2023, what do you think will be the biggest change to the industry that marketers will need to adjust to? What can marketers start doing now to prepare for this change?
• Looking further down the road—three to five years from now—what will be the biggest differences in the industry compared to now? How will these differences most impact marketers?
• If your crystal ball is too cloudy to predict the future, what are the biggest changes you hope to see within the next few years? What would you want to see the industry do differently or change and why? Can you offer suggestions for how to make your dream a reality?

Marketing, simplified, is changing behaviors. To do so, we must first deeply understand our customers, then tell stories to drive change and impact preferences. A key area emerging is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Marketers who can more quickly leverage AI will be leaps ahead of their competition.

Marketers must prioritize building skills and capabilities to discern what I call “signal from noise,” that is, what key attitudes (signal) impact behaviors, among all the data available (noise). We need an innate curiosity to know our customers better—and how their behaviors are changing. AI must be implemented within the organization to “predict” what happens next and how marketers can respond. This will help discern what is said versus what is done with corresponding choices to prioritize what is immediately actionable.

Improving Engagement with AI

Over the past 2+ years, our customers found new ways to access information. Activities that were once table stakes (mailers, static emails, etc.) must be cast away for those that dynamically drive impact. It also requires telling compelling stories to your audiences to drive new approaches. I recommend Prezent for simple storytelling and saving time. Marketers must also explore new technologies such as regenerative AI, which can help create new content simply. Plus, marketers need to evaluate how customers engage and where we can impact behaviors.

Marketers are in an enviable position to curiously evaluate a wealth of information, find key signals, and make distinct diverse choices to drive behavior to impact our customers and the patients they serve. AI must be used to simplify and enhance our engagement.

Read the entire article originally published on PM360.