Phenomenology of the role of artificial intelligence marketing on increasing sales and exports of Iranian sports goods

Marketing science is always progressing and evolving because of its commercial and cultural goals aligning with customers' needs. To satisfy and attract customers, marketing science is forced to use effective and efficient tools. In recent years, under the influence of technology, marketing has gone beyond its traditional way and the digital space has drastically changed marketing approaches. Artificial intelligence marketing is a critical method for better management in the market by using modern technology (Nwachukwu, 2023). Artificial intelligence marketing (AIM) is a strategy to maximize the use of technology and market data for improving experiences and understanding customer needs. This type of marketing bridges the gap between data science and marketing with required data. Today, intelligent marketing has transformed the market environment; and it will soon be considered the heart of business. The emergence of artificial intelligence in marketing has the potential to help marketing managers in leading generation, market research, social network management, etc. The application of artificial intelligence leads to the reshaping of strategies, programs, interactions, and relationships in the business marketing process. Using a competitive intelligence system and market data can bring competitive and useful strategic planning in the field of sales.
Today, marketing and sales managers have realized that the market and information systems of competitors are equipped with strong and tactical weapons that can be used through the application of information systems to support the companies and expand their business and market with new marketing methods including smart marketing. Marketing efforts should not be expected to be fruitful without smart marketing and efficient tools. Digital marketing and artificial intelligence is a concept that covers all market activities including export development. The importance and necessity of research on the effect of intelligent marketing on the increase in sales and exports of sports goods originates from the fact that in today's era, due to the growing trend of sports in societies, one of the suitable opportunities for private investments. Every country invests in the production and export of sports goods. Sports as a commodity or commercial product has an effective role in the economic system of society. The increasing demand of countries to buy high-quality and standard sports equipment has led to the formation of international and multinational companies in the field of production and trade of sports goods and equipments.
According to the studies conducted at the Center for Development and International Trade, if the current trend of economic development in the world continues, the export sector will focus on basic knowledge and high-tech goods in the coming years. Therefore, to achieve economic development and growth and its continuation, the development of technology in the goods sector, the export of goods, and sports equipment should be considered.
There are also challenges and problems in the field of applying artificial intelligence marketing including lack of infrastructure, lack of knowledge management system in the field of applying new marketing methods, lack of specialized human resources, poor quality data collection and entry, lack of optimal use of data, additional information load, privacy, and data security. Among the challenges in the field of increasing the sale and export of Iranian sports goods, we can mention the lack of quality of some domestic products, the lack of proper investment, and the lack of a global view of managers towards this issue. The advancement of technology, attention to the development of exports and sales systems, focusing on the development of the quality of domestic goods, the expansion of the quality of advertisements in the field of supporting domestic production, taking into account sanctions, increasing profitability, increasing the gross domestic product and gaining more currency have made the managers to follow the new marketing methods. Artificial intelligence marketing is one of the new marketing methods that can be taken in granted.
This research has been conducted with the aim of studying the role of artificial intelligence marketing in increasing sales and exports of Iranian sports goods with a phenomenological approach. This research is an exploratory qualitative study with the phenomenological method. The participants in the research are experts in sports management, business management, and software engineers, and according to the nature of the research, 15 people have been interviewed via snowball sampling method with a semi-structured interview until reaching the theoretical saturation. To ensure the reliability and validity of the research, intra-subject agreement and expert opinions were taken in granted. The phenomenological method introduced by (Colaizzi, 1978) was applied, which led to the identification of 9 main themes and 53 sub-themes. 9 main themes including accurate identification of smart marketing dimensions and indicators, SEO development, more use of digital marketing and content marketing strategies, increasing the quality of Iranian sports goods, correct management of advertising and sales of Iranian sports goods, use of artificial intelligence tools, neuromarketing coverage, employment of specialized human resources, exchange of information between marketing and sales units, have been identified. The findings of this research can be used as a basis for increasing the sales and profitability of organizations and companies in the field of Iranian sports goods. According to the importance of artificial intelligence marketing systems, the use of expert human resources specialized in artificial intelligence marketing science should always be considered by managers of organizations and companies.