As someone who saw firsthand from a young age how uncertain times can affect small—and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), it’s encouraging to see just how resilient service-based SMBs have been.
However, the thing about resilience is that it requires constant adaptation. Change brings new customer expectations and even greater demands. Customers want more personalized experiences, multiple ways to shop for services, and new methods of providing feedback.
For you, the SMB owner—wearing many hats—an effective and scalable method to meet these expectations will be to embrace how AI technology can streamline your business. This includes day-to-day business operations, marketing initiatives, customer feedback evaluation, and more. In fact, 53% of service-based small business owners believe AI will positively affect their businesses by boosting efficiency and productivity. Still, roughly only 24% of small business owners with less than 51 employees are actively using AI today[1]. This clearly shows a gap in both education and adoption.
AI and Payments
Payments are one of the largest business factors that was forever altered in light of the pandemic. Today, merchants have acknowledged the evolving nature of customer payment preferences, as options such as “Buy Now, Pay Later,” digital wallet compatibility, contactless payments, and QR code options have all grown in popularity.
For now, credit and debit cards, ACH/EFT, and checks are still the most popular payment methods for service merchants. Simultaneously, to request payments, most service SMBs (66%) use invoices with embedded payment options to collect those payments.
As payment preferences evolve, service-based providers need to improve how they track and analyze payments. This is where AI technology can help SMBs. As AI is trained on your business’ data, it can automate payment processes and send out invoices through email or text once a service is completed. A robust AI solution can also autofill your customers’ personal and payment information to streamline the payment experience.
AI assistants also help staff with many tasks, such as assisting customers with accounting tasks, such as finding the history of a confirmed payment or notifying you if a payment is late or has yet to be processed. AI technology even helps you track which payment methods are most popular with customers. This will help you tailor your payment options to stay current on customer payment preferences.
AI and Marketing
When my family and I ran a competitive cheerleading training academy, it was always fascinating to hear how and where new customers learned about us. Just as intriguing are how the last few years have altered the initial touchpoints between SMBs and potential customers. More people find the services they need through email campaigns, social media, or ads as they visit their favorite websites. In fact, 26% of small business owners say digital marketing is the most important software category for growing their businesses. Additionally, 53% of small business owners say that social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, is the greatest marketing method that delivers the best results[2].
Although word of mouth and local, physical signage can still be effective for your business, it is essential for you to meet customers at more of the digital places where they find their desired services. Research shows that 50% of marketing responsibility falls on the small business owner—this is where AI can step in and help.
As AI technology learns your business, it also learns your customers. It can easily answer questions you may have, such as “Where did they begin their customer journey?” “How many people visited our website this month?” “How did they find our website?” “How many people visited our social media page?”
The right AI solution can garner the answers to these questions, analyze this data, and allow you to target potential customers no matter where they plan to shop. This will help you maximize your overall marketing efforts and spending while honing in on your key targets, ultimately resulting in more customers and revenue gained.
AI and Customer Feedback
In addition to marketing and business operations, AI also helps you provide the best experience for your customers as they provide you with feedback.
Today’s consumers are not shy about sharing their customer experiences. You may find this feedback on your own website, feedback platforms like Yelp, Google Reviews, or social media.
Businesses can quickly track how their customers are doing through surveys. However, most SMB owners don’t have time to analyze the survey data they receive. SMB owners can reduce the time they spend analyzing data by implementing AI sentiment analysis to quickly summarize survey results and give SMB owners an idea of where their customers are.
Tracking this information can also be difficult as it is often disparate across platforms. Moreover, failing to adequately address customer feedback can lead to dissatisfied customers or, even worse, negative influences on potential customers. The right AI technology solution can track mentions of your business across multiple platforms, so you don’t have to constantly search for it. Also, if you implement an intuitive AI chatbot, customers may be able to receive an immediate response on your website the moment they provide feedback.
For example, when AI is coupled with Customer Reputation Management software, businesses can closely monitor their customers’ needs and wants. The software helps improve workflows and provides real-time reporting on customer feedback, providing critical performance insights when businesses need them most.
As an SMB owner, you may not have a large customer service staff like a large corporate enterprise. This means both your time and customer relationships are at a premium. AI technology helps you maximize your time so you don’t spend most of it chasing down negative feedback. It can also make your customers feel heard, sustaining those important relationships.
How do I get started with AI?
As a service-based SMB owner, you can get started with AI implementation in a few ways.
First, do as much research on AI solutions as possible. Not every AI solution is a large language model like Chat GPT. AI solutions vary from scheduling software to customer relationship management and marketing automation tools. There are several free and extremely low-cost tools that you can experiment with to see some benefits without making a huge time or financial commitment.
Next, research which AI solutions are specific to your industry. If you teach self-defense classes, AI solutions specializing in medical patient management won’t be for you.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from your small business network members. Just like word-of-mouth is effective in drawing customers to your business, it can also help you select the AI solution that will best suit your business’s personal needs.
Next, engage with the solution provider and connect with a trusted consultant to devise the best AI strategy for your company. This could include webinars or demonstrations they provide or 1:1 conversations with sales reps who can speak to how their solutions can alleviate your specific business challenges.
After you implement your preferred AI solution, be sure to invest in training your staff to maximize this AI technology. Be patient as each person, including you, learns how the technology works. Finally, be sure to gauge how AI technology is performing regularly. Your first option may not be your best option, so don’t be afraid to find another solution if necessary.
Embracing change and resilience
The legislative landscape, inflation, and evolving customer expectations are just the latest in the long line of factors that will continue to change how service-based SMBs must do business. However, if the last few years have shown me anything, it’s that you, the SMB owner, will remain resilient and adjust to those changes if necessary. If you invest in the latest AI technology, it can act as the backbone of this resilience. It will help you retain current customers, find new ones, and maximize the time for you and your staff.
It’s time to make changes as technology quickly evolves—your business and customers will thank you.
Matt Feierstein is the President and COO at EverCommerce.
[1] Dialog AI Adoption Data Segmented by Owner/Operator Age – June, 2024
[2] Dialog AI Adoption Data Segmented by Owner/Operator Age – June, 2024
Customer service stock image by Owlie Productions/Shutterstock
