Small businesses may not have the resources of large corporations, but they can enjoy using artificial intelligence (AI). The good news is AI technology is becoming more accessible and affordable, making it an excellent option for small businesses looking to improve efficiency, customer experience, and sales.
With all the talk about AI tools, it can be easy to lose track of the real goal: finding actual ROI in your business. Instead of getting distracted by all the theories and promises of what AI could do for your small business, stay focused on what it will do. Are there repetitive, mundane tasks on your teams’ plates? Do your people ever answer the same question more than once? Do your business systems talk to each other? Are your customers able to help themselves before calling you? These are the perfect places to start! If any tool isn’t helping you save time and money and generally helping you do more with less, it’s not a good fit.
Let’s look at three ways you can put AI to work for your business and how you can get real ROI from them.
Chatbots
Chatbots are a type of AI that can automate customer service tasks, answer customer questions, provide product recommendations, and even process orders. Small businesses can use chatbots to free up limited customer service resources so that they can focus on other tasks. As mentioned above, if your people are ever answering the same question more than once, you could use this tool. Moreover, customer experience giant NICE discovered that 81% of consumers want more self-service from the companies they do business with.
Streamline Complex Processes Instantly
Capacity’s AI and automation technology can help:
- Answer FAQs anytime, anywhere
- Find relevant documents within seconds
- Give surveys and collect feedback
To know if a chatbot is paying off, determine what questions it can answer. You must also know how much money you spend answering those questions now. Then look at how much money you will save by using the chatbot. Keep track of how well the chatbot works over time.
Workflows
Workflow automation can help businesses do their work cleaner and faster. The software connects systems, which helps increase efficiency by reducing errors caused by human input. Think of this as duplicating your best people. As you build processes, model them after how your most efficient workers handle their tasks. Everyone who starts that process immediately works at that same skill level. Automated workflows save time, money, and resources while improving business productivity.
Calculating ROI on this tool starts with, “it depends.” Since there are infinite possibilities for automation, and every one of them should be bespoke to your business, it’s best to follow the general rules of thumb. Subtract the total cost of implementing the automated workflows from the full benefits gained from automation (time savings and productivity increase). Divide the result by the total investment and multiply by 100 to get the ROI percentage.
CRM Integration
CRM integration is a type of AI that can integrate customer relationship management (CRM) systems with other business systems. CRM integration can sync contact information, track customer interactions, and manage sales processes. Small businesses have an edge here. The larger a company grows, and the more customer relationships it has to work, the more complex (and expensive and time-consuming) it becomes. Start when you’re small, and make automation a part of your company’s foundation. Then you can use that automation to grow while your larger competitors try to play catchup while they retrofit for it.
Calculating ROI on this one is a bit more robust. A global tech analysis firm, Nucleus Research, suggests using the formula: CRM ROI = (Gain from Investment into CRM – Cost of investment) ÷ Cost of Investment. As a small business, you’ll feel the uptick in areas like customer satisfaction, extending your automation for sales and marketing, and generally having a single source of truth for your company.
AI tools are a great option if you find yourself with fewer people than you’d had a year ago or you’re looking for ways to grow your small business without hiring. Incorporating AI tools can help you offload redundant work, so your small-and-mighty team can focus on what’s most important. And it can tie your small business together to close gaps and make your customers happier.
If you’re ready to start, sign up for a free Capacity account and dive in!
