Integrating AI in Small Business Management: The Path Forward

It has not been too long since the advent of Artificial intelligence (AI) in the mainstream channels, but it feels like it has been here far longer than that. AI has opened up many never-before-seen opportunities that we could only dream of before, and the possibilities that have been unleashed as a result have more than enough potential to be a major disruptive force.

Now we dive into how the power of AI can be harnessed to boost Small businesses.

What is AI?

I have been going on and on about AI with the preconception that it is a common word that everyone is aware of, while that statement is almost true, it is entirely not. Not everyone is tech-savvy or stays up to date with trends. 

While the name itself is a dead giveaway, AI aka Artificial Intelligence in the simplest terms is the intelligence exhibited by machines or computer systems. In the context of this article, it refers to the ability of computer systems to exhibit problem-solving capabilities and perform tasks requiring human intelligence.

Areas where AI can help Small Businesses

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

AI can easily scan through all the customer data stored in the CRM system, pick up and analyze patterns to provide insights that can help understand customer behavior and tailor effective strategies for them. It also helps with logging, updating, and categorizing customer data, in addition to these, it can automate some repetitive and manual aspects of CRM.

Lead Generation

AI can run predictive analytics to ascertain to some extent what leads can convert and what won’t. This will allow you to focus on the most promising leads instead of spreading yourself thin on every other lead you chance upon. This predictive analysis will only get better with every new piece of information it processes.

Personalized Communication

AI can personalize messages with the slightest prompts and customer data, this is very helpful when doing outreach programs, or sending messages to clients. This personalization increases both engagement and conversions.

Speaking of personalization, AI can power chatbots and virtual assistants to help customers with basic inquiries.

Customer Service and Retention

With AI it is possible to identify potential customers' problems and pain points, resolving these can help increase customer satisfaction and consequently the retention rate.

We just saw how AI can take personalization to the next level, this coupled with the user’s browsing history and past purchases, is the recipe for the ultimate recommendation engine. This can greatly boost the accuracy and relevancy of products or service recommendations to potential customers.

Additionally, AI can help generate and send personalized reminders and notifications, say for example a birthday greeting. This helps build a personal connection with the customer, scoring brownie points with them.

Benefits for Small Businesses

Efficiency

Imagine automating all the tedious tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, this frees up so many resources that can be reallocated making the entire workflow much more efficient for small businesses.

Improved Relations

Earlier we discussed how personalization can help build better relationships with customers increasing loyalty and retention rates.

Data

Information is everything in this era, in such times a tool like AI that can categorize data and extract invaluable insights is a boon. These actionable insights if used wisely can change the entire game for small businesses.

Competitive Edge

All of these above benefits if utilized properly can give a major boost that can be used to push ahead of the competition, especially when not many have adopted AI.

A tool is only as good as its user, this stands true even with AI. If AI is not properly utilized the benefits you can reap from it is minimal if not abysmal.