AI Without Overwhelm: Problem-First Lessons From Nathalie

Speaker A: Hi, I'm Kendra Corman, the host of Imperfect Marketing. If you're a solopreneur, small business owner, or marketer, you know marketing is far from a perfect science. And that's why this podcast is called Imperfect Marketing. Here you will hear from marketing experts and successful business owners about their marketing tips and of course their lessons learned along the way. Hi, I'm Kendra Korman. If you're a coach, consultant, or marketer, you know marketing is far from a perfect science, and that's why this show is called Imperfect Marketing. Join me and my guests as we explore how to grow your business with marketing tips and of course, lessons learned along the way. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Imperfect Marketing. I'm your host, Kendra Korman, and today I'm joined by Natalie talking about one of my favorite topics, AI. And we're gonna be talking about how AI can help accelerate results, increase your impact, and I think that's just so important to be talking about. And I'm really happy to have you, Natalie. Thank you so much for joining me. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into AI as an accelerator and scaling. Speaker B: Yeah, sure, absolutely. So thank you so much for having me, Kendra. So, uh, my name is Nathalie Doremiot and, uh, I have been in business for 20 years. I run a family business with my husband and, um, born in France, went to live in the US, lived the American dream, you know, as they say, as they call it, you know, we stayed there for 10 years. We had 3 kids there, moved back to France in 2005. Started our business. Now, we were in the US, we were in California, in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, because we are software engineers, you know, hence the AI, you know, in the tech that, you know, has been staying with us, you know, throughout the business. So we really started off as like, well, we tried to build software, that didn't work, massive flop. Then we got into the online space, building websites, and very quickly we went into memberships. E-learning because we saw that there was an opportunity to improve, you know, how people actually learn online. And about, I want to say, 6 years ago, we started to play with AI. So I know you want to know how is this AI, you know, coming up, but basically the whole idea was like, we've always been, you know, kind of like early, at early stage for things. So it's always been a challenge for us because you have to educate people. About what is even possible, you know, which I think people now start to get with AI, right? But it's, it's, it's basically how it all started was like a client has had a specific problem. Can we create a tool? And we can talk about that, like more specifically, that example that really triggered the first AI product that we actually created. Speaker A: Oh, it's very exciting. So, um, I'm just going to say congratulations on being in business for more than 20 years now. Congratulations for doing it with your husband. My husband has joined my business and he's been a part of it for like 8 or 9 months now. So, so I get it. My business has been around for like more than 12 years. But again, yes, that is just, just such an accomplishment. So congratulations. That's just amazing. And I love how you would— you noted that. Yes. When you're on the cutting edge of things, right? Or the bleeding edge or however far you're going, right? You have to educate people because they really don't understand it. And I think a lot of people still don't really understand AI. When I'm working with clients and they're talking about implementing AI, sometimes they're just talking about automation, right? And they're not even talking about AI and what it is. And so that education piece is so important. So it's great to hear you talk about that. So why don't you talk to me about that example that you had started with in your introduction? Speaker B: The way we're approaching AI, and I know we're going to talk about AI as an amplifier and accelerator of results, is AI is one of these things that can be, like, really, really scary, right? Very overwhelming. I mean, it's a full-time job to try to keep up with everything that is going on, the new stuff, the stuff that's gone, you know, new models and stuff like that. And it's very easy to get busy with AI and not getting any results. So one of the things that I think we've done a pretty good job at is really looking at tools as solutions to a problem. So instead of saying, oh, I need to get into AI because it's the trend, you know, I want AI because everybody has it. No. Why don't you reframe that and say, can AI help me solve a specific problem, do something faster, make me more consistent at doing something, relieve my support system, you know? So when you look at it this way, then you're looking at problem solution. You're already not looking at tools. You're looking at what is it in my business, in my system what is it that I want to try to improve? And then you look for a tool for that, and that is so much easier. So that first tool that we created came from a client. So that's one of the clients we were building a membership for. They were doing calls, you know, regular calls, and they would be putting replays inside the portal. And at some point they said, you know what, I don't know if I'm going to keep putting the replays because nobody watches them. I'm like, good point. It's true, right? People don't go back, oh, let me just watch a replay. No, right? So my husband was the person that, you know, really gets the ideas, was like, okay, is there something that we can do? And we are talking 6 years ago, right? At least definitely pre-COVID, like several years pre-COVID, back where AI was not as easy to use as right now where we didn't have all the models, all the tools at our disposal, right? So the idea came that, okay, can we create a tool that would help people find information that they're looking for in those replays? So imagine you're in a Q&A call, you ask a question to your coach, and the coach replies, okay, Nathalie, what is your question, blah, blah, blah. Being able then to go back on the portal and say, type Nathalie or something, and it will show you all the Q&A calls where Nathalie was mentioned, and it would play the video exactly at the place where it was said so that you could quickly go back. So now we had like a tool where people could actually use it to find information that they are looking for versus watching replays. And that completely changed the game because when you think about it, especially in the e-learning space, you are going through a program, right? So you're learning or watching videos and then hopefully you go and implement, right? And you might need to go back, but you don't remember if it's module 2, lesson 3, or what video, right? So being able to go back and ask, like, it's very like the precursor of like a bot, if you will. Where you could say, you know, like, where are you talking about this? We have another client where it was home designing, you know, and things like that. So you could say, you know, like color white, like, I know I want to pick my white color for my paint. I know she talks about the different types of white. I can't remember what it is. Type white. Oh, that's that video. Boom. It plays where it's mentioned. So it's how do you quickly get people access to the information that they are looking for, and therefore, that's exactly what gets them results faster. Speaker A: That is so cool. And I've used that feature in a couple of online courses that I've taken in the past that has— and I mean, not 6 years ago now, it's, it's probably 4 years ago now. But yeah, it was super cool that I was actually— I didn't have to watch the entire Q&A because most of it didn't apply to me, but I could type in a question or, you know, find out what questions and they would take me to that timestamp, which was really, really cool. So I love that. And I love what you're talking about, which is starting with the problem. Not enough people are starting with the problem. Now, I think one of the challenges people have is that stepping back to really see that there is a problem, because again, your client was like, well, nobody watches these. So I think we're just going to stop posting them. But your husband had the opportunity to say, well, wait, what's going on here? The information's valuable. So we could split that up and make it accessible and searchable. And then it was like, oh, that makes sense. So a lot of times we don't even see the problems sometimes that we're running into. So how do you recommend people find those problems? Like, how do you identify it when you're just so close to it? You just take it all for granted. Speaker B: I think that there are several, several things that you need to look at. And when you have a program, whether this is an online course or membership, you know, like whatever that is that your clients are going through, I think one good step to look at is in that client journey, in that customer journey, is there a place where you feel like you're repeating yourself? Is there a place where you feel, you know, that step, I think they should be able to do it faster. Like what's the hangup? Like if you're doing calls and you're seeing that weeks after weeks after weeks, people come back with the same questions, those are clues, okay, that there might be an opportunity to create a tool to help them. Another thing to look at is your numbers. So again, depending on where you are in your, I want to say in the success of your program in terms of like, Do I have testimonials? Is it easy for me to get testimonials? Like, do I even know if people get results? Don't get me started on that. Most people, especially online courses, they measure success with the money that they make, but it should be with the results their clients are getting. But guess what? They don't even know. So, but in memberships, you know more because people will leave eventually if they don't get results, right? So looking at that, you know, I, can I easily get testimonials? Can I, can easily get case studies. How long are people staying in my program? Are they recommending me? So those are all signals that can help you see if there is something, either something that could be improved or something that you want to improve. For example, it could be, I want to improve the support system because I I don't want to be doing so many calls, or I wish there was not always the same questions coming up over and over, right? So it's, it's really looking at all these things. Look at your metrics and look at where you're at with your program. Are you looking to grow it? Do you want more of these testimonials? Do you want more people to get results? Are you frustrated by that, right? Or are you looking to stand out from the competition. And if that's the case, creating a different experience inside and creating AI tools that you can promote as part of, hey, we are not just a repository of content, we actually have tools, accelerator tools inside, right? That you can use, you know, in your marketing message to say that's how we stand out. That's, we invest in our members, in our clients and create these tools for them. So I think it's You want to look at this. Is there like a pain or really something you're trying to go next level with? Speaker A: And odds are you have this data, right? It's there. It exists. You just need to take the time to look at it. Definitely do it. I'm gonna give a couple pro tips. Don't do it while you're tired. You have to be in a creative, open, curious mindset, right? So whatever piques your curiosity and gets you going, that's the mindset you need to be in when you review that data. Because if you're not and you're in a plug and chug and I need I need to get all this stuff done and I'm exhausted and there's nothing else I can do. Um, that's not a good time to do that. You really want to look at it and you, again, you probably have all this information yourself. I love that. And I love how you are talking about getting testimonials, right? And finding out really, is your program a success? Are people getting transformations with it? Are they getting what you promised? Are they making that happen or is there something in the way? That you could maybe take out of the way and make happen. So very, very great stuff. Thank you. Speaker B: Yeah. And I think really the step is kind of like to run a mini audit on your program. And if that's something that scares you because you hate numbers or you don't know, you outsource it. Be resourceful, but it's got to get done. Like if you want to, don't plug in AI just to say, hey, I've plugged in AI because people are not looking for this, um, You know, these gimmicks and this, you know, like gamification, you know, like to putting too many of these things just to like make it fun. No, people want one thing and one thing only, results. Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. It's not about the shiny new tool. I don't get me wrong. I love shiny new tools and I buy them all the time. I joke around. My husband says I run a not-for-profit because I spend so much on my AI tools. He used to say it because I just spent so much time on my clients, but it's fun. You know, I do, I do enjoy it, but it isn't about that, right? That's fun for, for me. Maybe not for you, maybe not for others. And it's not about adding that shiny object in. What is going to improve results? So I love that. So let's talk a little bit about leveraging AI. People, it's taken us a while post-COVID, right, to really get back into connecting with people and going to events and things like that. I don't know if that's happening as much with where you're at, but people are really trying to connect a lot more because I feel like Zoom and everything else virtual has really still taken over our lives where, I mean, earlier today I'd sat in one place for, I think, 3.5 or 4 hours before I got up. My hips were a little bit sore because I hadn't stood up in so long, right? Because I was in front of the camera. What are you seeing? Are we— Is AI really where we should be going or should we be leveraging it differently to help connect with people? What are you seeing? Speaker B: So, I mean, people will do whatever people want with AI, right? Uh, some people want to use AI to be replaced, so they have their twins everywhere, you know, I don't have to do anything, you know, talk to my twin. That's fine. I don't know if that's gonna work for very long. The way when we talk about AI as an accelerator, it's also AI as a tool that can personalize experience. So it's to reconnect with people. And I'll just give you an example. One of our latest tools is called Podcast Lead Flow, and its goal is to connect with your podcast listener, right? And it is using AI. So you could be like, okay, well, the best way to connect is to talk, but you can't talk to your listener. So what if you could use AI so that AI could analyze the episode, based on the episode and use it as knowledge, right? Come up with 3 questions that it could ask the listener, and the answers are going to provide us context. And based on that, it could send them an email that is unique to them on how to apply what we talked about. Based on where they're at. It's like having the listener sitting next to you. You ask them 3 questions and based on that, you give them a piece of coaching. So now we are using AI to analyze. You have like a framework, a format that you talk about, you know, during a podcast episode, and then you have a form to help people implement what you just talked about, right? And instead of signing up to a freebie, Everybody gets the same PDF lead magnet. Everybody gets something unique. So you're leveraging AI to personalize, and that's what creates the connection. You know, it allows you to connect with the person and start that conversation by email. So it's using this analytical power, I guess, of AI in everything that we create, uh, with AI. We are always very cautious that AI is not that smart. I mean, it is not. Speaker A: No. Speaker B: Like, it always wants to make you happy. Speaker A: Always. Speaker B: You're always right. Speaker A: Okay. Speaker B: So it's good for the ego. And, you know, even I've run into this, you know, like, when AI, you know, ChatGPT came out and all that stuff, we looked at creating content with AI. And of course, when you read it, it sounds so much better than when I write it, especially English. English is not my first language. So you're like, ooh, that's better. But actually it's not, it's flat, right? So AI, from all the tools that we're creating, needs great knowledge. And that comes from us. So it's human, AI, and then human again. And I think that's how you, we get the best results basically with AI. And that's how we can talk about accelerating, amplifying. Speaker A: I really like that. I love the feature that you're talking about, and I don't know if it's available, but if it is, send me a link and we'll put it in the, in the show notes for anybody that has a podcast or is looking at a podcast and wants to connect with people because Yeah, I mean, the goal is to connect, right? I mean, people will call me, um, or email me and say, hey, Kendra, I've been listening to your podcast. I feel like I already know you because they've seen me, right? If they watch the YouTube version and they listen to my voice and I tell stories and I connect with them on different levels, and so they feel like they know me, but to be able to connect with them on a deeper level, that is just so powerful. Um, and that's such a neat way to look at it. Speaker B: You know, the idea is the same. We looked into, I had a podcast, I have a podcast. It's 147 episodes. I stopped it. I haven't posted in 2025 and I don't think I've posted in 2024. Why? Because I couldn't see what the podcast was doing to my business. My clients were saying, we listen to your podcast. We love it. Okay, great. But I want to connect with the people that are listening so they can come into my world. And then Olivier has this idea, say, okay, how do we connect them? Well, what if we could help them with AI, you know, create that custom lead magnet? Everybody gets its own thing based on where they're at because he knew the technology was there, right? So now that you can make that connection, right? And you need to not share your podcast from Apple and Spotify because this will get you maybe reviews and more downloads, but they are not gonna get you clients or leads, right? Because this platform, they only want one thing, to keep the listener on their platform. We want them into our world, right? So you need to repurpose your episodes on your own website or on a page where you have control over the next step. Right? So it's that same approach of saying, there's a problem, how can we use AI to try to solve it? Speaker A: I really like that. And again, I love that you're stressing the point of, that's a problem, how can AI help solve it, or how can we solve it, right? Because not every problem is AI, but there's a lot that are, and that's just amazing. So I love that. I love the tool. I love that idea. Well, thank you so much, Natalie. This has been an amazing conversation about AI and having it amplify impact and, and the effect of everything that we're doing, right? That personalization is going to be so important as we move forward. And I love how you talk about the human in the process because, yeah, it has to amplify us. The content needs to come from us, and that is just so, so important that I think a lot of people are overlooking nowadays also. So thank you so much for that. I appreciate it. Before I let you go though, I do have to ask you the question that I ask all of my guests, and that is this show is called Imperfect Marketing because marketing is anything but a perfect science. What has been your biggest marketing lesson learned? Speaker B: I think that the biggest, the biggest lesson that I've had really is that I've been resisting, I'm still, I'm testing things, you know, there is, it's one thing to say, oh, I'm just going to try many things and stick, see what sticks to the wall. That doesn't really work. But like when you're running experiments, like I have this hypothesis and this is what I want to measure, right? That's where you can really start to see, okay, this worked a little bit or not at all, but it's data that you can keep using. So marketing strategy needs to be clear on what it is you're trying to measure. Because from there you are going to get information, either the result or not everything is always bad, right? There is always something that can help you move. So I just wished globally that I would try more things instead of waiting for it to be perfect, which we know is, it's not possible. Exactly. Yes. Speaker A: No, I love that because, you know, marketing is part art and part science. Right. So you've got the measurement, you've got that, but you gotta experiment, right? You gotta set aside some time and budget to just do something and see if you can make it happen. So that's awesome. Well, thank you again, Natalie. If you guys are looking to connect with Natalie and learned something today, which I hope you did, please check the description below the video here and, uh, check out her contact information and the podcast tool she was talking about, because that sounds really cool. And If you learned something today, it would help me if you would rate and subscribe wherever you're listening or watching. Until next time, have a great rest of your day. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Imperfect Marketing. Be sure to subscribe and visit kendracorman.com/imperfectmarketing to view the show notes of all my podcast episodes. See you next week, same time, same place.