How AI Can Take Small Business to The Next Level?
How AI Can Take Small Business to The Next Level?
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Many of us are finding that as companies return to “business as usual”, it looks a bit different than it used to, especially on the micro- to small-enterprise scale. The post-pandemic revolution that is turning the business world on its head has also given a new meaning to “business as usual”. The technologies that were used during the pandemic may have evolved into a permanent way to effectively establish and operate a business from the comfort of your own home.
Many of us are finding that as companies return to “business as usual”, it looks a bit different than it used to, especially on the micro- to small-enterprise scale. The post-pandemic revolution that is turning the business world on its head has also given a new meaning to “business as usual”. The technologies that were used during the pandemic may have evolved into a permanent way to effectively establish and operate a business from the comfort of your own home.
Now, let’s find out how AI can empower small business owners.
How Can AI Empower Small Business Owners?
AI-powered automation can now allow one-person enterprises to not only run but also develop their company on a large scale. Furthermore, they may frequently do all of this within their budget.
In 2021, cloud-based virtual technologies, AI, and 5G have rewritten the rules of business. They’ve aided in the removal of needless bottlenecks and the streamlining of processes. Machine learning automation can be taught to perform all of the repeated tasks that previously required a whole crew. AI may also assist with natural sales interactions, customer support queries, and tracking consumer behavior data to help you make better marketing decisions. To put it another way, AI enables organizations of all sizes, levels, and industries to accelerate their growth ambitions.
Over the last decade or two, many people have grown more amenable to using AI to improve the customer experience, and the pandemic has accelerated how businesses utilize digital technology to serve consumers. Companies advanced internal digitalization by three to four years during the pandemic, according to a 2020 McKinsey poll of CEOs, while their percentages of digital or digitally-enabled products increased by seven years. It is indeed a historic growth.
How To Get Started With AI?
Recognize the everyday chores that are generating a bottleneck in your operations while looking for the proper AI solution to assist your long-term goals. This might entail things like writing marketing content or responding to customer service questions. You’ll have a clear path for selecting AI that will effectively put these operations on auto-pilot once you identify the cogs in your machine that are holding you down.
When comparing AI-enabled systems, three essential variables to consider are scalability, simplicity of use, and affordability. Choose the platform that will grow with you and your company as your needs change, and that will need the least amount of onboarding and training. By establishing your specific requirements for using AI technology, you may avoid choices with too sophisticated features that might otherwise not be so beneficial.
Entrepreneurs and small enterprises may encounter a few obstacles when using machine learning automation as the industry continues to fine-tune AI technology. For starters, small firms frequently lack the processing capacity required to handle more advanced AI capabilities and larger data quantities. Higher expenses may be incurred as a result of the requirement for more sophisticated processing systems. As a result, it is usually advised for new startups and small enterprises to begin using AI for modest activities that may have a huge impact. This is a simple and cost-effective approach to deploy AI and get quick ROI.
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How AI Can Help You Run a Smarter Small Business?
Perhaps it appears that artificial intelligence techniques are only available to large corporations. However, as the large corporations continue to invest millions of dollars in developing AI and bringing it into the public, it is becoming more accessible and inexpensive for small companies than ever before.
Let’s take a look at how you may use machine intelligence to increase your company’s efficiency and profitability.
Smarter Email Marketing:
For years, artificial intelligence has played a key role in marketing. Email marketing offers one of the greatest return-on-investment rates of any marketing channel (ROI). If you haven’t started using email as a marketing tactic for your company yet, now is the time. Also, it’s time to fine-tune your email strategy with artificial intelligence if you’re currently employing one.
If you have a physical business, the ideal approach to gathering client email addresses is to use a POS (point-on-sale) system. If you’re only an online shop, you’ll collect their email address when they visit your site or check out.
Email marketing tools like MailChimp will be integrated into modern POS systems and e-commerce platforms. You may use MailChimp to create segmented email lists by splitting your physical and online client list into smaller categories. Segmenting your email lists will allow you to send more personalized email marketing to your consumers.
Automation should be used to take it a step further. You may use email automation to generate emails that are sent automatically in response to a subscriber’s action, activity, or a specified date, such as an anniversary or birthday. In essence, the triggers are AI at work in the background. A programmed (or machine-learned) reaction is triggered when a subscriber makes a specific action, and so on until the client converts to a sale.
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Better Sales:
You can’t talk about marketing without mentioning sales. Artificial intelligence for sales is a well-established idea that goes hand in hand with AI for marketing. As a result, it’s another fantastic method to get into the realm of AI without feeling overwhelmed.
Reduce Repetitive Tasks:
There are hundreds of technologies out there that utilize machine learning to aid with the sales process for those with a dedicated sales staff; it’s simply an issue of where exactly you need the help.
Are you searching for a method to eliminate the back-and-forth of attempting to organize meetings at times that are convenient for everyone? If that’s the case, using an AI personal assistant like X.ai to organize meetings can let your staff focus on more vital tasks.
Do A Research On What Actually Works:
Using technology like Talk IQ, which connects with your phone system, evaluates sales team and customer discussions. It can assist you in identifying significant distinctions in salespeople’s approaches and evaluating the success of sales strategies based on KPIs to help you fine-tune your plan.
Use A Chatbot And Expand Your Sales Team:
Don’t worry if you don’t have a dedicated sales staff; there are still lots of tools available to you. For example, chatbots, those pop-up windows that show when you first visit a webpage, are a popular sales technique. It’s a good idea to include a chatbot on your website if you have one. Before calling a company, 53% of customers prefer to use online chat. Customers get fast replies with tools like WhosOn.
Understand Your Customer’s Journey On Your Site:
You may also utilize AI technologies to follow your users’ trip as they traverse your website and evaluate their behavior. This useful information might assist you in providing a more tailored client experience. As 80% of marketers believe that tailored content is more successful than non-personalized material, employing this sort of data and business intelligence can help you increase your profits.
Revolutionize Human Resources:
Finally, we’ll discuss a less visible sector of business where AI is quietly making inroads: human resources (HR). Candidate screening and staff communication aren’t often thought of as having the same direct impact on a company’s bottom line as sales and marketing. However, recruiting is a significant investment, and employee turnover may have a significant impact on your bottom line.
AI-powered tools can help you swiftly sift through hundreds of applications so you can focus on the most promising prospects. A chatbot like Talla, for example, may expedite the interview process by offering a series of questions based on the role’s criteria, saving you time throughout the screening process. After you’ve hired a new team member, you may use it as a FAQ knowledge source for perks, policies, and other pertinent business information.
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Final Thoughts:
While some small businesses have been quick to embrace artificial intelligence’s influence and advances, others have been more skeptical. Regardless of your point of view, AI is here to stay. It’s possible that it’s already saving you time and money. It has the potential to make our lives easier while also increasing the efficiency and profitability of our enterprises. You can guarantee that you have the proper technology on your side by following the best practices listed above.
