Small business AI: While we’re at it, let’s have fun
Thinking about AI for your small business? Of course you are. (Honestly, who isn’t?)
But perhaps you’re facing a bit of resistance in your teams. They’re tired and wired from a recurring dream in which they discover they’ve been replaced by an AI-powered Labubu named Kevin. This cute, fluffy chatbot can now handle all their tasks while looking adorable doing it. It’s all their fears rolled into one terrifying package.
Or maybe the quality of your AI outputs are akin to the bowl cut your mum gave you in the ’80s. Sometimes, when we don’t get things right the first time. So we stick our heads back in the sand.
Listen, uncertainty or even fear around new technology has always been standard behaviour. (Example: the first time a caveman’s mate showed him fire. Pow.) One option is to stay frozen in procrastination, pondering how your team will ever get on the AI adoption curve. Another is to stop messing around and roadmap the onboarding of AI… properly. What does that look like? Well, good AI adoption starts with a pencil and paper. Success will not grow from insisting everyone downloads a tech and leaving them to swim in circles like a one-armed penguin.
Some food for thought to help to make AI work for you (and be scalable for the future.)
What we’re going to talk about is not rocket science. In fact, it’s just the basics of good business. And I’ve been talking about this through the lens of data and brand for yonks.
So, what is your AI adoption strategy for your people? Let’s start at the very beginning:
“strate-gy
noun
“An integrative set of choices that positions you on a playing field of your choice in a way that you win”
Roger L Martin.
1. Goals First: What do you want to achieve? For who? And why?
Understandably, we’re addicted to doing. It’s a rite of passage for SME founders who, at least at one point, needed to be everything to everyone while bootstrapping. Rolling up one’s sleeves is a tough habit to break, even once your business has grown. And now, you need to add being an expert in Small Business AI to your list of skills. I want you to EXHALE.
And the pause to consider: What problem do you really need to solve? And how many other problems are you trying to solve? Chances are, there are so many things you could use AI for, but the real problem is getting hidden. A quick and affordable way to clarify the actual hierarchy of problems for AI adoption could be to take a SME focused short course to work out if you’re making ice cream or Beef Wellington. I’ve noticed that our many SME businesses are trying to make both…in the same AI pot… simultaneously. In our AI workshops, before we even touch a device, we pick up a pencil.
First, think about your thinking
Identify the true challenge:
AI should solve a real business challenge. Improve sales? Streamline operations? What is that magic number? From this laundry list of top funnel issues, can you see the real issue? Is it a bigger, more fundamental problem to solve?
Step outside of your biases:
In my experience, when I look at the variety of business symptoms that need Band-Aids with my external perspective, I can normally spot the root cause. And stop the internal bleeding. Having a facilitator to help you with this as invaluable. And that’s why we do what we do at Good CX.
How will you measure success?
Set clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). What does it mean to level up with AI? What do you think will make this jump successful? Is it about driving productivity through AI? Or delivering finally tuned and well-briefed AI content marketing that follows the masterplan? And how will we check customer and Team engagement beyond profit? Should AI be helping us surface insights or collect customer sentiment? These are all valid questions, but without truly considering the baseline, it will be difficult to benchmark success.
Align with your brand postioning:
How will you ensure that any AI project reflects your core values that match the consumers’ unmet needs? And for that matter, how will you use AI research and learning tools to initially replay the story you are currently telling and illuminate where consumers might be lost in your current story. In our work, AI is the fastest way for us to spotlight gaps in brand strategy, because what AI sees is what AI gets. That’s the beauty of an objective rather than a subjective viewpoint. It’s difficult to argue with the output of how AI reads your content. Because AI doesn’t have an agenda. If it is not summarising your story in the way you wanted it to resonate, chances are a human won’t be able to either.
Be conscious of Brand integrity
If you’re writing AI content but your engagement is falling, there is no one to blame but the business. It’s a sign of a strategic gap. No more hiding behind the copywriter’s ‘didn’t do a good job’. You write these briefs now, so the buck stops with you. Right?
Be open to acknowledging strategic gaps
Selecting the right tools to guide you in developing the brief often reveals where you struggle to answer basic brand questions. But you may need human support. For example, what is your customer-centred value proposition? Filling in the gaps is a human task in many cases. What makes your company extraordinarily unique often needs to be drawn from the narrative of founders, teams, and partners. Not to mention the honest and private, more profound thoughts of your consumer’s subconscious that cannot be captured online.
Go back to the drawing board on the Brief
The bread-and-butter of what we do is to clarify how a big idea connects with your customers. Focusing on the customer’s needs helps you step outside of the day-to-day grinding of your business. So when we help you change your master brief, all of your outputs change. And unsurprisingly, your AI outputs are completely different too.
2. Data: The fuel for your AI Engine
AI thrives on quality information just like people. Ultimately, the better your data, the better the results! So, how do you ensure your data is ready to power your AI efforts and fuel adoption for your SME team?
- Inventory your information: Take stock of all the data you collect. Customer details? Sales figures? Website analytics? Map it all out. What’s structured and what is unstructured?
- Check for accuracy: Is your information correct and up-to-date? It’s worth the time to weed out any errors or outdated entries.
- Connect the dots: Explore ways to bring your data together. Creating a vault of your bedrock guidelines, playbooks and models is always useful. Naturally, if you were onboarding a new team member, you’d give them a drive with this information. Unsurprisingly, then, AI would benefit from it as well.
3. Choosing the right AI: The best brain for the job
There are many LLMs and AI tools available, so the goal is to streamline AI integration. You’re not just looking for any tool – you’re looking for the suite of tools that fits your business objective to deliver a user experience.
Employees just starting out can benefit from easy AI helpers you can add to your web browser, ie. Google Chrome. Running in the background, it’s like having an intelligent assistant right at your fingertips. So, depending on what you’re doing, you can pick the best brain for the job. For small businesses, something simple like Merlin is great because it’s easy to use, it plays well with Google, and it gives you access to a bunch of different LLM smarts all in one place. With a Pro version, you get that layer of data protection and more oompf.
What is an AI helper anyway?
In a nutshell, AI helpers are purpose-built interfaces like these simply have an extra layer of special instructions that can access a variety of LLMs. We like tools that are ‘friends with Google,’ meaning they work seamlessly with your browser. Quite simply, tools like this let you tap into different ‘brains’ – Large Language Models (LLMs). Each LLM (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini etc) is good at different things, like writing, research, or brainstorming.
- Do your research: Read reviews, watch demos, and ask for recommendations. See what other small businesses are using and why.
- Opt for paid options: While free tools are tempting, paid AI solutions often offer greater functionality, better support, and enhanced security. Privacy is key, so make the investment!
4. Testing: Dip your toes in before diving
Don’t go all-in until you’ve seen what an AI helper can do! With effective AI training for employees, you can start playing and learning the ropes together.
- Start small and focused: Choose a manageable project to test AI’s capabilities. Perhaps automating social media scheduling or improving customer service responses.
- Measure the impact: Is the AI actually saving you time? Improving efficiency? Boosting sales? Track your results.
- Experiment and iterate: AI is a swiftly evolving tech solution. Don’t get too attached to one solution, be open to trying new approaches and refining your strategies.
5. Ethics: Use your powers for good
“According to Goldman Sachs’ estimates, AI will push data centre power demands up by 160% by 2030, consuming up to 2-3% of overall power globally.” Forbes
With Small Business AI adoption comes responsibility. As you explore streamlined AI integration, remember to prioritise ethical practices. As big fans of pencils but also trees in general, it’s really important you understand the environmental toll of AI. From carbon footprint to privacy, considering your approach upfront is important.
- Combat bias: Ensure your AI systems are fair and equitable. Actively identify and address any potential biases in your data or algorithms.
- Be transparent: Be upfront with your customers about how you’re using AI. Explain how it benefits them and how their data is protected.
- Prioritise privacy: Listen, you NEED to safeguard customer data. Comply with all relevant privacy regulations and be transparent about your data practices.
6. AI adoption starts with a desire to never stop learning (even when it’s scary)
As if SMEs didn’t have enough things to think about, AI will keep us on our toes as it constantly evolves. One way or another it will affect your business. So, creating a culture of continuous learning and openness to AI skills matters. Ultimately, it’s really not about using AI for the sake of it, it’s about innovating your business and supporting your people to use it. To cross any innovation threshold, we need a culture of safety: asking seemingly stupid questions should be celebrated in order to foster a culture of experimentation and expansion. In our understanding of what drives innovation, this requires playful interactions for discovery.
- Learn in peer-to-peer environments: To encourage knowledge sharing and collaborative learning within your team, get in the trenches with them. One way is to join our confidence-building AI workshops with other businesses to access informal discussions and learn in a playful manner focused on storytelling. Or have us teach your entire team.
- Share knowledge and insights: By encouraging team members to share their AI knowledge, failures and experiences you foster a growth mindset. Let them guide a demo on how they’re exploring and make sure there’s lots of laughter. Playful, brave spaces are collaborative learning environments.
- Explore Chrome Extensions: Enhance your research capabilities with Chrome extensions designed for AI-powered analysis, content summarisation, and more.
- Use dication: Using natural language to prompt AI is one of the best ways to capture thoughts with clarity and shape rich briefs.
By embracing these simple steps and prioritising ethical considerations, small businesses can confidently integrate AI into their operations and unlock new levels of success. Remember, it’s all about experimentation, learning, and having fun along the way!
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