Towards Artificial Intelligence-Driven Marketing: An Adoption Framework for Lesotho

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising almost every industry and sphere of life. AI has been utilise to meet customers' expectations in business sectors by customising products and services. AI-driven marketing promises to improve customer service and satisfaction by analysing customergenerated data to create value, enhance resource allocation and develop effective and cost-effective marketing strategies through big data analytics. However, adopting AI-driven digital marketing in some resource-constrained settings is still nascent, and there is a dearth of studies to enhance AI-driven marketing. Thus, this study proposed a framework to enhance AI-driven marketing adoption by addressing the barriers to the adoption of AI-driven marketing and customer satisfaction in Lesotho. The study used a qualitative research design to (i) explore the challenges faced by businesses in Lesotho in adopting AI technologies for digital marketing and customer satisfaction, (ii) investigate the barriers to AI-driven marketing and customer satisfaction by Lesotho's businesses, and (iii) propose a framework for AI-driven marketing adoption by businesses in Lesotho. Findings revealed that lack of awareness, legislation, resistance and financial constraints were the main barriers to AI-driven marketing adoption. The proposed framework suggests interventions to deal with these impediments.