This expert-led applied session focuses on how business and marketing leaders can use AI as a strategic thinking partner to gain clarity, reduce noise, and drive measurable impact.
Designed for non-technical professionals, this session will walk attendees through practical, real-world ways AI can support core marketing and sales activities such as customer insight development, messaging refinement, positioning, and prioritization. Rather than focusing on tools alone, the session emphasizes how to ask better questions, apply AI-generated insights responsibly, and translate outputs into confident action.
Attendees will explore applied frameworks for using AI to:
Clarify target audiences and customer personas
Identify messaging gaps and opportunities
Align marketing and sales around shared insights
Improve focus and decision quality without adding complexity
The session will include live examples, structured prompts, and short interactive moments where participants reflect on how AI could support their own teams and workflows. Attendees will leave with clear use cases, adaptable frameworks, and a grounded understanding of how to integrate AI into marketing and sales in a way that is human-centered, practical, and immediately applicable.
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## Session: Using AI to Drive Customer Clarity, Stronger Messaging, and Smarter Sales Decisions **Track:** Marketing and Sales | **Time:** 10:20 AM–11:05 AM | **Room:** 260-262 | **Type:** Expert Talk **Conference:** CIRAS AI Summit for Iowa — May 6, 2026, Scheman Building, Iowa State University, Ames IA ### Speaker(s) **Tara Allen** — Founder, Professor of Marketing, Eagle Eye Vision Consulting, LLC & Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, IA) Tara Louisa Allen is a marketing educator, consultant, and program leader specializing in practical, human-centered applications of artificial intelligence for business. She serves as Director of the Marketing Management Program at Kirkwood Community College, where she leads curriculum development, industry partnerships, and experiential learning focused on real-world problem solving. | | Through her consulting work and workshops, including AI-focused programs for small businesses and professionals, Tara helps leaders use AI to gain customer clarity, strengthen messaging, and make more confident marketing and sales decisions without requiring technical expertise. Known for translating complex concepts into clear, actionable frameworks, she focuses on responsible, strategic AI adoption that enhances human insight rather than replacing it. | | Her work bridges education, industry, and innovation, empowering teams to move from AI overwhelm to focused, effective execution. ### Session Description This expert-led applied session focuses on how business and marketing leaders can use AI as a strategic thinking partner to gain clarity, reduce noise, and drive measurable impact. Designed for non-technical professionals, this session will walk attendees through practical, real-world ways AI can support core marketing and sales activities such as customer insight development, messaging refinement, positioning, and prioritization. Rather than focusing on tools alone, the session emphasizes how to ask better questions, apply AI-generated insights responsibly, and translate outputs into confident action. Attendees will explore applied frameworks for using AI to: Clarify target audiences and customer personas Identify messaging gaps and opportunities Align marketing and sales around shared insights Improve focus and decision quality without adding complexity The session will include live examples, structured prompts, and short interactive moments where participants reflect on how AI could support their own teams and workflows. Attendees will leave with clear use cases, adaptable frameworks, and a grounded understanding of how to integrate AI into marketing and sales in a way that is human-centered, practical, and immediately applicable. ### Other sessions in the Marketing and Sales track - Beyond the Chatbot: Navigating the Next AI Frontiers (11:15 AM–12:00 PM) - AI Search Optimization Explained: Leveraging the Shift in Search Visibility (2:15 PM–3:00 PM) - The Strategic Stack: Overcoming AI Slop (3:10 PM–3:55 PM) ### Suggested prompts for this session - "What questions should I prepare to ask the speaker(s) at this session?" - "Create a structured note-taking template for this session focused on actionable takeaways" - "Based on this session description, what background reading should I do to get the most value?" - "After I attend, help me create an action plan for implementing what I learned" - "How does this session connect to the other sessions in the Marketing and Sales track?"