Around 87% of CIOs report that digitally empowering employees brings in 5% additional revenue growth, with the Economic Times defining automation, AI, and machine learning as key intelligences that enable companies to deliver top level customer service, analyze key information, and adjust strategies in accordance with changing demands. If you are a startup or are starting a new business that seeks to leverage the power of technology to increase brand awareness, retain new customers, and make the most of resources and personnel, the following considerations may be useful.
Boosting Brand Awareness with Technology
The Digital 2019 report states that there are 3.48 billion active social media users and that one third of millennial shoppers enjoy connecting with their chosen brands via social media platforms. Some of the most important ways to capture an online audience via social media include SEO in content strategizing, video marketing, and a reliance on key planning and management tools. One of the most often used tools is Hootsuite, with over 15 million clients to its name.
This social media management software enables you to program and manage all your social media channels from one handy place. It also allows you to measure your ROI, run social media advertisements, and curate content. Other useful tools include Sprout Social (which has customer relationship management features), Sendible (built for agencies with various clients), and eClincher (which enables you to auto-post and which boasts a handy media library filled with appealing imagery).
Resource Management Software
When you are working on a large project involving many people, some of which are working in remote locations, using project resource management software can augment efficiency, giving you real-time control over projects so you can see whether or not they are progressing according to schedule. From one handy place, you can gain insight on your staff’s scheduled work, search for and assign available resources, assign the right personnel to key tasks by tracking their productivity and performance, and track project time and expenses across an array of devices – including your smartphone. Resource management tools also enable you to manage project costs more efficiently and make reporting easier and more efficient, since all required data can be accessed at the click of your mouse.
Artificial Intelligence to Strengthen Bonds with Customers
Customer loyalty is vital for any business wishing to succeed, since most businesses have a 70% chance of making a sale to an existing client, versus 20% to a new one. Customer disloyalty can interfere with the growth of your company by up to 50%, though artificial intelligence (AI) can stop this from happening in many ways. One is through predictive analysis. Starbucks, for instance, uses predictive analytics in its mobile app and loyalty card to collect and analyze customer information. This has enabled them to send customers personalized messages and offers.
AI is also being used for the designing of increasingly sophisticated chatbots that can ‘think outside the box’ and do more than answer standard questions. Finally, companies like Tommy Hilfiger are using AI in product innovation, relying on natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning to analyze hundreds of thousands of runway images, fabrics, and product images. The aim is to elicit key silhouettes, hues, prints and patterns that can be used by new designers. This information is, essentially, the ‘DNA’ of the Tommy brand and therefore what makes its imprint on the fashion world unique.
Technology is vital in many ways for small and large businesses alike. From growing an awareness of one’s brand to retaining existing customers, technology can help make the experience more appealing and even entertaining for buyers. Programmed social media content, resource management software, and A.I. are just three technologies among many that can enable companies to make sound decisions based on an analysis of information that goes beyond human abilities.
