In the rapidly evolving world of business technology, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) is not optional if you want to keep up. AI business growth happens in various ways, including employee productivity, customer relationship management, and better inventory control.
7 Ways AI Can Enhance Your Business
Smaller businesses are already utilizing advancing tech to keep up with larger competitors and offer a similar experience without spending a fortune. Here are the ways you can tap into AI and scale your company up more easily.
1. Analyze the Competition.
The Stanford AI Index Report indicates companies using AI are pulling ahead of their competitors. The reasons include cost decreases and improvements in revenue.
One of the most beneficial parts of AI is how rapidly it can sort through massive amounts of data and spit out a report. Smaller companies can see how they stack up to the competition at a glance. You can also reduce research time by allowing AI to gather key details for study.
2. Make Data-Driven Decisions.
Small businesses have a limited number of resources. The owner often wears multiple hats, serving as CEO and salesperson. Finding the time to hunt down facts and statistics to influence decision making is time consuming.
Enter AI to sift through the data and develop options for your next move. If you own an agency, you can also utilize bots to offer suggestions for client campaigns or ways to handle a big crisis. The ideas come in a fraction of the time it takes humans to sift through ideas.
3. Create a More Productive Work Environment.
Tap into the power of machines to make the office more efficient. One example might be allowing a smart thermostat to control temperatures to keep the space comfortable when people are present and adjust it for money saving when the building is empty.
You could also use software that informs people which offices and meeting rooms are open for use and when. If someone needs to make a private phone call, they might see what quiet spaces are available and mark one as in use to have a conversation away from the work area.
4. Build Better Customer Relationships.
AI business growth might be most apparent in how it builds improved customer relationships. Train your AI software to generate an email for customers automatically when they have a special event, such as a birthday.
You can also ask for ideas on how best to connect with a particular demographic, use computers to analyze customer data, and find out what type of product current buyers might be most interested in.
5. Brainstorm New Ideas.
One of the biggest benefits of AI tools such as ChatGPT and Bard is how the bots can generate lists and ideas almost effortlessly. While the creative touch is still warranted to sift through the topics, it is a great starting point.
Imagine you are trying to create a fresh marketing campaign for the holiday season. Instead of spending days thinking it over, you can speed up the process by prompting AI to give you a list of potential strategies.
The marketing team can then use those ideas as a starting point, honing in on a few they like, and building them out with human creativity and innovation. AI is a huge time saver when you use it to collect data, better understand a complex topic, or generate lists of ideas to get you started.
6. Take Control of Inventory.
Turn to smart technology to take better control of your inventory. You might add trackers to expensive pallets of merchandise so you know where it is at all times. Today’s computers can even notify you if the temperature is too hot or cold, or the item moves without your knowledge.
You can also use programs to know when it is time to reorder a popular product or to clear out one that is not selling. Teach the system to notify you when a set of parameters occur.
AI takes this to another level, serving as an inventory specialist. You can even automate ordering items or initiating an ad for something you need to clear out of the warehouse. For companies dealing in data — such as marketing firms — you can track where you are at for a given project and ask the bots to generate a message informing the client of progress.
7. Revolutionize Marketing.
If you have ever spent days finding interesting content to share, writing social media posts, and scheduling everything to reach potential clients, you may love how AI is starting to automate such processes. Many content-generation solutions now offer some AI aspects.
Imagine a social media blog post scheduling program that autofills everything for you and only needs a quick check. Bard's microchips are 100,000 times faster at sifting through data than the human brain.
AI art is also helpful to marketers. What do you do if you cannot afford a photography session but want a particular photo for your website? Most companies turn to stock photography, but those images do not always meet your needs. Now, you can go to a site such as Dall-E, input what type of image you want and get something quite usable.
As always, check what rights you have and if you are allowed to use AI-generated art commercially. Which bot you use can impact your ability to use the images you create, and whether they are yours or anyone can use them.
AI Business Growth Is the Future
Companies utilizing AI to drive business growth tend to pull ahead of the competition. Whether you use the tools for one area of your company or across departments, it can give you advantages. Encourage employees to embrace AI to improve performance and offer the training necessary to understand the best ways to use these new tools.
Eleanor Hecks
Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the creative director at a prominent digital marketing agency prior to becoming a full-time freelance designer. Eleanor lives in Philadelphia with her husband and pup, Bear.