The Age of AI isn’t here yet, but it is definitely close. What we thought would spark an automation boom that would end physical labor jobs as we know it has done something remarkably opposite to it—focusing on art, writing, and similar creative fields. What was previously thought of as a domain exclusive to us as human beings are being taken over by AI, but that doesn’t mean that’s all it’s used for. After all, the meaning of automation has changed from automation of physical labor to automation of digital labor.
So, here we will look at AI from a business perspective, both through the lens of the current popular large language models and the machine learning that has been used to create them.
AI, Marketing, and Business Applications
True AI is meant to be an artificial intelligence, not a mimicry of human intelligence, which is what the current large language models are. They learn from a subset of data points and use what they have learned(from the past) in the present, i.e., learning. In essence, it’s not fully AI yet, but to a business, that might not matter. That is because the AI of today has enabled them to use years and years of data gathered from marketing channels in these models.
The type of AI used by businesses is not necessarily in a creative form, but it does take the role of a marketing team to gather data and learn from that data. Essentially, AI has been used to automate the process of marketing rather than revolutionize it, and it has some very real benefits that more and more businesses need to realize. An important note here is that AI is the automation of certain processes, not the entire process itself.
There are three main topics of interest here:
- Using AI for Growth and scaling
- Using AI for personalizing customer experiences
- Using AI for keeping customers happy/retaining customers.
Each of these use cases is interconnected and relies on each other in some way, which will be made clear as we elaborate on them.
- Using AI for Growth and Scaling
When you have a marketing team gather and analyze data, the data itself is meant as a tool to help you decide which action to take. This can be a constant, ongoing effort where data is always being gathered and always being analyzed. However, AI can do the same thing, but without the need for manually making it possible.
Even if someone was already automating the process, AI has simply enabled any business owner to be able to do it. This enables many new pathways for business owners to take because parsing through data is now an automated process that can be handled with AI tools.
Think of the sheer number of data points. Websites, mobile apps, desktop apps, web apps, plugins, extensions, chats, transcripts, emails, and much more. Skilled programmers and data analysts can manage and handle all that through the proper use of coding knowledge and Excel magic, but a regular business owner might not have those skills. AI has removed the barrier entirely.
Not only that, but the idea of increasing the number of data points is also viable and is no longer a point of contention. Previously, if you had a business with a brick-and-mortar store, launching an online platform would have meant new data points you need to analyze. Optimizing delivery routes, load times, ease of use, reducing server costs, maintenance costs, etc., are all viable ways in which many businesses turn from burning money to being profitable, and small businesses are always looking for any kind of cost-benefit. Being able to scale is simply too good of an opportunity to pass up.
- Using AI for Personalized Customer Experiences
As a tool that can be creative and generate unique language, this creative part of AI is essential in marketing campaigns. Want to automate an email that would generate a personalized response based on the client’s history? AI can do that for you.
Customer service is always a staple of small businesses. Oftentimes, it can be the difference between a consumer supporting a small business or going to a multinational corporation that can out-price you due to economies of scale.
Not that many new buyers? Switch your focus to customer experience instead of marketing, and the switch is made easy with AI, as well as the data analysis to conclude that you need to focus on customer retention, which also brings us to the next part.
- Using AI for Retaining Customers
Going through customer history, market trends, and other aspects can allow AI tools to adapt your marketing strategy or customer experience accordingly. The key is that the results of newly created data are in your hands quickly, allowing you to anticipate coming trends and marketing accordingly. Of course, vetting and verifying all that is necessary, but considering that we can make mistakes as well, it is a gamble that might pay off more often than not.
As gathering effective data and personalized customer experiences are a large part of customer retention, AI is clearly a tool for an effective customer journey. The idea of personalized recommendations is nothing new, but the way AI can help is that you don’t need loads of data, such as what Amazon or Facebook might have. You just need the data you have collected on that customer.
If a customer sees something they don’t want to on their product recommendations, it can harm future purchases too. If they keep seeing what’s relevant, they will remember to visit that business should the need arise. A curated customer’s journey is what web designers and developers are always looking for. If someone is shopping for a couch, they might not want to see kitchen appliances, but recommendations for other living room furniture can work within that frame. AI simply helps reduce the work needed to curate such experiences to the point of even automating them, helping customers stay with you.
Conclusion
Above, we looked at AI from three points: growth, personalized experiences, and retaining customers. AI is a tool with plenty of uses, and one of them is to use AI tools to help your business grow. Growth is about new customers, new products and services, and even more importantly, keeping the only ones, and AI can be critical in that as well.
