The integration of artificial Intelligence is reshaping traditional industries, giving way to a revolution that is changing the way businesses operate and develop. From aviation to the service industry, the technology is being implemented to varying extent, with the goal of finding efficient solutions across business functions.
It might sound intimidating for small business owners, as something available only to tech giants and Fortune 500 organizations. But the truth is that progress is inevitable, and the use of AI, although revolutionary, has become much more commonplace than you would expect. Small businesses can also harness AI technology to enhance their workflow and aid their employees. In fact, integrating this technology can be crucial to the success of new ventures because it can help overcome the lack of experience, resources, time, and funds. This can put you at a significant advantage among competitors, and here is how exactly.
Employee Training
Most B2B companies rely on their teams of salespeople for the success of their business, but hiring the best possible team and training them is a challenge. The effectiveness and continuous improvement of their work requires methodical analysis for a deep understanding of all the managed calls. With so many hours of conversations accumulated weekly by the entire team, this is impossible to do manually.
That is where integrating AI tech comes into the picture, bringing precision to analysis in order to coach salespeople. The startup Gong has developed a cloud-based AI software which transcribes all the calls the sales reps conduct. It then uses this unstructured data to examine different variables, such as word choice or the ratio of talking vs. listening during a call. This way, the strategies of the most successful salespeople can be methodically compared to the strategies of the rest of the team, helping to analyze performance and coach your employees.
Improving Employee Engagement
Chatbots are already being widely used as virtual customer service agents, but they could be a beneficial addition to the internal work of your company.
Employee engagement is a broad term, but what we can all agree on is that you need a team of inspired and satisfied employees. The success of your business largely depends on their level of commitment. This has become a universal workplace problem, as managers and workers are not seeing eye-to-eye.
Now, you might wonder: How can a robot be of any use to human relations?
AI tech doesn’t necessarily have to be just compiling data and examining variables. For small businesses that don’t have the time and resources to invest in an entire HR team dedicated to boosting employee engagement, internal chatbots can be a smart solution.
That’s not to say chatbots will replace your managers. Rather, they can be used to help managers connect with employees, as well as help out in the recruiting process. When it comes to employee engagement, chatbots can provide answers to common questions and issues, giving workers access to HR information at all hours.
Better yet, they can fuel conversations that your employees might feel too stifled to ask in person, as they automatically redirect to the appropriate person any questions they cannot answer. This could be an important tool for giving a voice to employees and encouraging them to share feedback, which would be intimidating for many to do otherwise.
Efficient Marketing
Facebook’s huge success is largely in thanks to the platform’s use of AI tech to identify the right audiences for ads, but there are numerous other aspects of using AI to help overcome challenges in your marketing campaign.
Artificial intelligence is giving momentum to small businesses, as it can be used to manage marketing operations on a modest budget. Platforms such as Acquisio are powered by AI technology; they analyze advertising performance and make informed suggestions to help you distribute your budget effectively in regard to PPC (pay per click).
In short, AI marketing solutions can help small businesses define the most effective marketing strategy by analyzing customer engagement in their ongoing campaigns. It’s a form of systematic budget monitoring that will not only save you money in your campaign but also the need for additional marketing staff.
Tracking Competitors
Knowing your competitors well will put you at an advantage as it helps you react to marketing trends, but staying on track with competition is a challenge for small businesses especially. It requires you to constantly stay updated and keep note of their strategies – something that demands plenty of time and effort.
AI-powered analysis tools such as Crayon are developed with this in mind. They track competitors across various channels, from social media to web applications, in order to help you gain a better understanding of ongoing changes. They don’t only identify modifications in messaging, price changes, and PR activities, but also instantly note your competitors’ weaknesses and strengths. These types of tools, which pair business metrics with natural language processing, can become crucial to adjusting your business strategy and giving you a steady advantage.
Undoubtedly, implementing AI technology will soon become a necessity for small and large businesses alike. At the moment, while it’s still on the rise among entrepreneurs, it’s a differentiating factor and it’s giving rewards to those open to innovation. From employee management to developing the best business strategy, using AI tech can bring radical changes and spur growth, working alongside humans. It’s time to leave all sci-fi dystopian notions aside and embrace the revolution.
