Chris Boudreau, CEO, RipeMetrics.
Everyone loves magic. But the spectacle of magic has limits, and even the best magicians can’t predict the future. Surprisingly, we have established an expectation for C-Suite leaders to demonstrate magical capability that is even greater than what we hope to see conjured from magicians.
Closely monitoring the dynamic change around us, understanding what is happening and then predicting how that will shape our future is a baseline expectation for business leaders as our world continually becomes more complicated and evolves faster. I’ve been fortunate to predict the rise (and fall) of markets for the companies I’ve built in the past, and I’m grateful to also share that my good fortune has continued into my current venture, which began early in the AI race. This experience has given me the opportunity to watch the AI industry blossom over the past few years and understand how AI will likely continue to develop over the next few years.
A New Opportunity For SMBs
There are many tantalizing promises offered by AI, but if you look closely, you will see a departure from an established norm. Historically, I’ve noticed that the greatest technological advancements have only been afforded by large corporations. The titans of industries have always controlled the narrative by either leveraging the best technologies or swallowing up the best competitors. SMBs with low bandwidth and tight resources have always struggled to compete against the largest and most powerful forces. But, for the first time, this developing AI era can usher in a new wave of technology that will unveil something different and give smaller businesses more significant value.
In our advancing world, the greatest benefactors of AI technology can actually be small and mid-sized businesses. I believe that AI is going to level the playing field and offer advanced services to these SMBs that were once only afforded by large enterprise companies.
AI can perform faster, more accurately and at a significantly lower cost than humans. This can give smaller companies the ability to host competitive services like 24-hour-a-day customer service over every channel of communication (phone, email, text, website chat and even social media) for a set cost when a 24-hour customer service team would have been unthinkable in the past.
AI will also gift businesses with more complex capabilities in the form of service offerings that were historically also beyond the reach of SMBs. For example, I anticipate that we will see marketing get automated and be completely personalized for each individual customer in a way that humans couldn’t possibly manage. Imagine having 100,000 customers and sending one-off hyper-personalized messages throughout the day that are completely individualized for each customer and communication channel, based on the behaviors and responses of every individual. It’s a marketer’s dream, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become commonly used in the next 5 years.
Imagine being a small business owner, but having the capability, prowess and digital presence of a large enterprise on a small company budget. It sounds far-fetched, but my company and others are already offering early versions of these tools. It’s coming sooner than you think, and we will see the first real competitors this year.
Harvard did a study and found that across 18 realistic business tasks, AI significantly increased performance and quality control in every role, increasing speed by more than 25%, performance as rated by humans by more than 40%, and task completion by more than 12%.
In all of this, AI can bring better services to the masses. I expect that SMBs will be able to afford enterprise-level solutions and customers will enjoy a better experience. It can also give businesses more time and money to focus on the actual operation of their business.
Leveraging AI For Your Business
If you are the owner of a small developing business, or if you are a leader in a mid-sized business, are you using AI tools to help your company get ahead? This is the time, but it might seem daunting. Most businesses already know they want to take advantage of the opportunities that AI presents, but don’t know what to seek, or how to leverage the power of AI. Good news: It’s easier than you think.
Are you unsure how to use AI in your business? You’re not alone. Many professionals get stuck trying to figure out how to utilize AI. Look for AI tools that are related to your business model and needs. Find solutions that can help you solve the problems your business currently faces. For example, if you are in retail, look for AI functionality that can help you better serve your customers.
If you are a small or mid-size business, look for tools that are easy to use, easy to implement and easy to manage. You may not have an internal IT department or a large and highly skilled marketing team. Many SMBs struggle to use common technology tools, and then find they invested the time and money into systems they can’t use. Avoid this by seeking out tools you can easily set up that create value by helping you with needs like marketing or customer service.
Platforms that offer the features you want with AI already built into them so you don’t have to put all the pieces together can make all the difference in your business. But to help narrow your choices, I think the AI tools set to create the most value for businesses this year will be automated customer service, powerful marketing features and business coaching (business intelligence). Consider using these features to take your business to the next level, giving it the sophistication, feel and customer experience offered by large corporations.
Conclusion
There are great companies delivering valuable AI tools that are smart, easy to use and powerful, but don’t be afraid or overwhelmed by them. Instead, look for the features you need and get AI that you can easily adopt to create valuable benefits for your company. It’s available now, making this an exciting time for SMBs.
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