Jim Sterne is widely considered the godfather of digital marketing analytics and is one of our heroes in the world of marketing and data. Jim was along every step of the way as tech evolved in Silicon Valley--from selling companies their first-ever computers, to imagining what the World Wide Web could mean for business in the 90s, to his current focus on how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is going to be the next ubiquitous element of running a business, in particular for the fields of data analysis and marketing. Jim has written a whole shelf's worth of books, several of which he found himself writing because no one else had. His latest book is one of these, entitled, "Artificial Intelligence for Marketing: Practical Applications." He also founded the Marketing Analytics Summit and is gearing up for this year's conference on June 17-20--the event where digital analysts, marketing technologists, and growth architects use marketing data to create impact.

In this week's episode of Growth Interviews, we invite you to join our podcast conversation with Jim Sterne, internationally known speaker, author of a dozen books on advertising, marketing, customer service, email marketing and web analytics, founder of the Marketing Analytics Summit (eMetrics Summit), the Marketing Evolution Experience and co-founder of the Digital Analytics Association. Welcome to Growth Interviews, the fun, stimulating and engaging series of conversations driven by digital business growth. Our mission is to provide valuable insights from the eCommerce arena, and each episode is a fascinating quest into the best-kept business secrets and money-making strategies of an insightful world-class expert. Jim Sterne sold business computers to first-time owners in the 1980s, consulted and keynoted about online marketing in the 1990s, founded a conference and a professional association around digital analytics in the 2000s and founded the Marketing Analytics Summit (formerly eMetrics Summit), chairing 100 conferences around the world. An internationally known speaker and consultant to Fortune 500 companies and Internet entrepreneurs, Jim has spent more than twenty years in sales and marketing and most of that on measuring the value of Digital medium for creating and strengthening customer relationships.

Jim Sterne, Author, Artificial Intelligence for Marketing AI and Machine Learning need not be mysterious. We begin with a quick overview of AI and ML (hold the math!), practical applications, and what the future may hold. This review of what it is, how it works, and where it can be useful affords the ability to speak cogently with your colleagues and determine where to apply this innovative technology for marketing.

Big data, the Internet of Things, and social media have all forever changed the art and science of marketing and that's already old news. To even remain relevant in the near future, marketers need to provide personalized experiences at the speed and scale only automation can fulfill. Artificial Intelligence for Marketing provides marketers with a comprehensive introduction to the field of data science without requiring a background in advanced programming and mathematics. Today's marketing decision-making happens in real time, every day, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) give marketers a hands-free way to quickly and effectively respond to data from a customer or potential buyer and tailor fit a product and buying experience. Buyers on the fence can automatically receive special incentives to buy, and other customers can be directed to related products and services based on data-driven insight.