The Future is Now: Linara Bozieva’s Forecasts for GTM with AI

AI has become an integral part of our daily lives. Advanced AI-based technologies are being actively implemented in various processes, and according to Go-to-Market strategy experts, 2024 opens a new approach centered on the combination of GTM data and AI. We asked Linara Bozieva, an expert in bringing multinational companies such as Google and eBay to new markets and the GTM manager of a major US export project at eBay, about the prospects of using AI in this field.

Thank you for joining us, Linara! Your insights are incredibly valuable to our readers. You have successfully launched eBay International Shipping, a new product aimed at boosting US exports. What advice would you give to other Go-to-Market managers who are preparing to launch major products in our rapidly changing digital age?  

I would highly recommend building a proper strategy and having a clear execution plan before you start the launch. You should think in advance about what can go wrong and have a plan B for every bifurcation point anticipated. However, even having all these mapped out ahead, you should stay agile and be ready for unexpected challenges.

There are too many aspects of a new product launch we could talk about but one that is relevant to the ‘changing digital age’ is the need to monitor closely and react promptly to customer feedback as it goes viral in hours, if not minutes, with the new digital media.

Have you noticed any new trends related to AI? How do you see the future of GTM with the continued development of AI technologies? In your opinion, could they make the process of bringing new products to market easier? 

The most conspicuous trend is that most of the new tech (and even non-tech) startups try to incorporate AI in their products and services. I have started to work with a few startups recently and monitor this space closely – AI is everywhere.

Talking about GTM, for sure AI can help you learn faster how to build the strategy, can process and summarize market landscape and market trends for you, and can assist you with many other tasks needed to be done while working on the strategy. There are various AI tools that help you find a product-market fit, optimize user experience, and write marketing messages. AI can be quite helpful if you are new to the role and the GTM area in general, and can be a powerful tool if you are already an expert in go-to-market, boosting your work speed and efficiency.

As the first analyst at Google Russia, you launched pioneering cross-media brand lift projects that gained national recognition. What inspires you to take on such significant tasks? 

Life is complex, and I like having the same approach to every aspect of it. Everything is interconnected – both in nature, human life, and business. When exploring a new area, I prefer understanding the whole picture and relations between its components, that’s why such complex and large projects catch my eye and make me want to make them happen.

Projects like cross-media brand lift research are especially interesting to me due to the necessity to develop and apply innovative approaches. During data collection, we had to precisely track all the points of people’s interaction with the brand, and in data analysis, it was important to isolate the impact of each communication channel and calculate its unique contribution, as well as the synergistic effect.

 After your time at Google, you embarked on an 11-year journey with eBay, starting as its first analyst in Russia and expanding the company’s presence nationwide. Have you seen any successful examples of AI tools helping businesses with this task today? 

Honestly, I haven’t seen a tool yet that could build a company, organize its operations and processes, and make it grow. You need to bring people with various areas of expertise together, and they will do that all. AI tools can help them, but people have to decide which tools to use when and how. Probably, in the future, there will be a universal AI assistant that will be able to replace the whole management team when a new company is created, but today we have to rely on people.

 Your eBay career continued with the Analytics Leadership Development Program, followed by a role as a GTM Manager of a large international shipping project at eBay’s California headquarters – what was the most interesting and challenging aspect of your role there? 

The most interesting part of any job for me is to bring people together and make them collaborate effectively. The GTM role was great for that – I actively worked with multiple internal and external teams and had to build a cross-functional team that would drive the project. People – meeting new people, connecting people, driving their synergy – are my passion.

At the same time, the most challenging aspect was also related to multiple teams being involved in the project – their inter-dependency could result in various delays and it was important to manage all the timelines. That’s quite tough to do when people you work with have many different goals and tasks they are working on, and the project you are leading is one of many they are involved in.

 You spoke at conferences and authored more than a dozen scientific publications and research articles. How has your academic background contributed to your success with major corporations? 

What is the most precious gift you get at a university – especially when it’s a Research University? It’s not knowledge (that is undoubtedly valuable) but skills to learn, explore, innovate, and be confident in what you are doing while at the same time being able to acknowledge a mistake and pivot. In my opinion, all of this made a significant contribution to my success.

What are your predictions for the evolution of go-to-market strategies, given the development and adoption of AI in the near future? Can you give some advice on which trends to watch? 

I believe that AI won’t change much how companies do GTM – it will enhance the GTM function and might replace some expertise but companies will have to have GTM strategies anyway. Go-to-market specialists will start using AI to explore trends, synthesize and summarize information, write marketing texts and create visual materials but these all will be tools in addition to what they already use.

What will change is the way consumers look for information, make choices, and build relationships with brands. I expect a shift in channels that companies will have to use to reach their clients – and the ways they can stay in the consumers’ view and communicate with them.

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