Artificial Intelligence (AI) was once out of reach for small business owners constrained by tight budgets. However, rapid innovation has made things like accounts payable automation and chatbots affordable for enterprises of all sizes. In fact, when you factor in the cost savings these automated solutions make possible, upgrading can often end up saving you money.
If you’re ready to reap the benefits of AI, consider starting with any of the following applications:
1. Personalize the customer experience
Thanks to AI and machine learning, you can now create personalized experiences for every customer who visits your website. This is particularly useful for eCommerce businesses as you can create the type of experience that will encourage visitors to commit to a purchase.
AI can analyze a customer’s behavior and make product recommendations in much the same way a salesperson would in-store. As it learns from customer behavior, the AI will grow more and more precise, helping you achieve better conversion rates and a higher spend per customer. The best part is that all of this will take place without you having to do a thing.
2. Improve your marketing
AI can enhance your marketing materials in a multitude of ways, helping you craft more targeted campaigns and delivering detailed analyses to inform your ongoing efforts. Email automation helps you provide a consistent experience for your customers. Meanwhile, social media automation tools ensure your posts are always going out at the perfect time to gain maximum reach with your target market.
3. Perfect your customer service
Unless you hire a global support team to ensure someone is online 24/7, there are going to be gaps in your customer service. Thankfully, automation offers an affordable and effective way to fill these gaps.
With chatbots and virtual assistants, you can address simple customer queries with ease and accuracy. More complex requests can be directed to the appropriate department, and you can program the chatbot to collect pertinent information up-front. This way, when you contact the customer, you’ll be prepared to handle their query without too much back and forth.
4. Eliminate repetitive, error-prone tasks
Entering just one letter wrong in a client’s email can leave you unable to contact them when you need to get in touch. Get a decimal place wrong when paying an invoice, and you could end up overpaying someone by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This makes data entry and accounts payable perfect tasks to hand over to automation.
With Robotics Process Automation (RPA), you can train software bots to take over straightforward but error-prone tasks like these. While it does take some work (and often a bit of programming knowledge) to get things up and running, once the bots have been trained, you should be able to let them work their magic with little human interference.
5. Make recruitment easier
A stellar team is central to the success of any business. However, it can be hard to tell from a resume and job interview alone whether someone will truly live up to their promises. Thankfully, AI can step in and help you make far more informed hiring decisions. AI can analyze resumes and cover letters, helping you select the most appropriate applicants. You can also have candidates complete tests that will give your AI the data points needed to accurately determine their suitability for a given role.
Install any or all of these AI enhancements, and you can look forward to more streamlined and efficient operations.
