Popularity and demand for software that utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to rise as the technology use evolves into more mainstream industries and businesses. The outlook remains positive for AI as a recent report from Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ai-statistics/) indicated that the AI market will realize an annual growth rate of 37.3% by 2030. This blockbuster growth in the market is driving innovations in AI and with half of mobile device users in the US engaging in voice activated search functions, the potential demand for AI powered assistants remains high. Business mindset also remains positive as 64% in the survey expect AI technology to increase productivity and efficiency. Is there a place for AI tech in the small and midsize business category? The answer is a resounding yes as SMBs can enjoy operational benefits in both the front and backend of the business.
AI for Frontline Services
Depending on customers for revenue means offering accessible outlets to deliver that service in an efficient and effective manner. SMBs that are customer facing may have challenges in delivering customer service, especially handling level 1 type inquiries such as:
- Product or service questions
- Pricing or inventory questions
- Low level concerns such as product expectations
- Return or refund requests
Frontline solutions that are powered by AI can provide entry level customer service, reducing the burden on in-store staff or contact center agents to handle more complex inquiries or operational duties. Having a layer 1 AI solution means no waiting time for customers on that initial contact and the potential to solve most customer problems are questions within that first interaction. Speed of service and speed of solution are key benchmarks that customers look at when deciding to patronize or re-patronize a brand or business. AI technology can help SMBs offer real time and on demand customer service. Advanced solutions for customer service can also deliver detailed reporting to the business owners and managers on customer service stats and escalated issues that are still pending.
Optimizing the Backend
SMBs can feel the effects of rising costs far greater than bigger organizations and using AI backed technology to optimize operations can reduce some of that impact. Customer facing SMBs might have to schedule frontline staff to work the sales floor or other type of customer accessible area and scheduling the right amount of people can be daunting for SMB owners and managers who are working with smaller resources. AI technology can analyze business needs and create schedules that maximize labor dollars and productivity from staff. Having the right person on at the right time is key to increasing individual customer spends and maintaining high levels of customer experiences. AI based platforms can also strategize inventory needs and forecasting to maximize purchasing dollars and return on investment. AI technology is designed to process vast amounts of historical and real time data to make decisions based on the goals and mandates of the business. Using AI in the backend will increase efficiency and productivity while managing labor and purchasing costs.
Effective and Practical Training Tools
Another costly endeavour for SMBs is hiring and training when vacancies on frontline teams appear. Ineffective onboarding or transitions can also contribute to expensive attrition and turnover. AI technology can provide powerful training tools that get new hires the core skills they need to start working as quickly as possible. For SMBs, filling gaps in the frontline is critical for maintaining service levels and operational readiness and AI training platforms can elevate the onboarding process. In development technologies, such as hospit-Ai-lity for the travel businesses, can be geared specifically towards an industry and deploy job and business specific skills the individual needs to get the job done. Digital delivery of content and use of mobile devices positions AI based training tools for long term use and can actively evaluate individuals and adjust pace and material to ensure maximum effectiveness. Ongoing development and upskilling are also key factors in individual growth and worker experience and can be managed efficiently by AI based technology.
The Bottom Line
AI technology is here to stay as businesses look to increase efficiency and productivity in the face of rising operational costs. SMBs feel greater impacts of increasing costs and can adopt AI based solutions to create efficiency and increase output. Customer facing businesses could benefit from an AI platform that can easily take care of level 1 type concerns and questions from existing and new customers. Current innovations are driving engagement and increasing accuracy as the technology continues to learn. Productivity, accuracy and efficiency are key factors in the backend of any business and AI infrastructure can provide needed tools in scheduling and purchasing that optimize those tasks, saving costs in the short and long term. As AI solutions progress and evolve, technology costs continue to fall and SMBs can practically adopt these advanced solutions to elevate the business, from front to back.