Is AI for Small Business a Bandwagon I need to jump on?

Talk about AI is everywhere right now. Excitement about the boundless opportunities is tempered by concerns over how we maintain control as machines gain more and more autonomy.

So how is all this relevant for small businesses? Do the benefits AI could potentially bring to SMEs outweigh the time and effort small outfits would need to put in to make it work for them?

Here are some upsides:

Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity - AI tools, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, are streamlining customer service, marketing, and administrative tasks. This allows small businesses to operate more efficiently and focus on strategic growth. 

Improved Customer Experience - AI enables businesses to offer personalized experiences from product recommendations to targeted marketing campaigns, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. AI chatbots can automate common customer questions with 24/7 customer interaction and instant answers.

Data-Driven Decision Making - With AI, small businesses can analyze large datasets to gain insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational performance, leading to informed decision-making.

Cost Savings - Automation of routine tasks reduces labor costs and minimizes errors, contributing to overall cost savings.

Social Commerce - Selling directly through social media platforms is now a standard practice, expanding reach and sales opportunities. 

Content Creation – AI can produce blog posts, product descriptions, and marketing emails in minutes saving writing time and increasing SEO and prospect engagements.  

Email Marketing – Many platforms (i.e., Mailchimp) use AI to optimize subject lines, send emails at optimum times, and segment audiences for better penetration, improvements in “opening emails,” and improving click through rates.

Bookkeeping & Invoicing - AI-powered finance apps assist with data entry, automate financial reports, minimize mistakes, process invoices for faster delivery to improve payments, and follow-up on aged past-due receivables.

Image & Design Generation - Small businesses can create unique flyers, logos, marketing pieces, etc. with in-house AI apps lessening the need for outside professional assistance and quicker end products.

Sales Forecasting & Inventory Management – AI can assist with inventory control, planning, and ordering that coordinates with sales forecasting. Optimizing inventory that sells improves cash flow and reduces redundant inventory that does not sell, becomes obsolete, and ties up working capital. Efficient inventory management results in less waste and overstocking (applies to both retail and service businesses.)

Hiring and Recruitment – Various AI recruiting platforms can screen resumes, automate communication, and remove reviewers’ biases. This result in faster hiring and better candidate matching of skills to job requirements.

Market Research & Competitive Analysis - AI can collect information about competitors, market trends, and identify possible gaps in the marketplace where a business competes, which is great for product creation and strategy.

Personalized Customer Experience - CRM platforms can segment customers and suggest follow-up ideas, special promotions, etc. resulting in higher customer retention and sales per customer.

Conclusion - Cherry pick for success

AI gives small businesses access to resources previously only available to large corporations. There are an abundance of options, and small businesses who use AI successfully will be those who carefully cherry pick which resources are genuinely useful to their business.

Where to start?

• Canvas your employees - what could be automated? Could you empower a team member to research and implement several options for consideration?

• Look at the market and your competitors - which ways do other businesses in your sphere use AI? Does it look like it's working? Learn from others' successes and mistakes.

• Do an automation audit - conduct a comprehensive audit of your processes and investigate areas where AI would be most useful. What is taking the most time in a business? Where is the highest ROI? What areas have perceived intellectual weaknesses that AI can assist with?