Small businesses and startups now have access to the single most important innovation needed to compete with multinational enterprises, and it’s completely free. But it’s still early days, and there are no instructions yet. You may count on me to lend a hand.
Competition from giant firms with seemingly endless resources has long been a problem for small enterprises. The emergence of new technology, however, is helping to level the playing field. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one tool that can help business owners expand their operations without incurring major new costs. OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, making it one of the most advanced and user-friendly AIs available. Six ways ChatGPT can help businesses save time and money are outlined below.
1. Origination of Material
Experts in the field of marketing generally agree that producing interesting content is a great approach to gaining exposure and new clients. The problem is that it usually takes two to six hours to create a single piece of content, yet in most fields, frequent social media and blog posts are expected. The problem is that this might take time and energy away from other vital tasks necessary to keep a firm running.
Using ChatGPT, company owners may cut down on the time it takes to create content like articles, blog posts, video scripts, and social media postings. Keep in mind that ChatGPT uses the web as a source of data. Duplicate content may affect your website’s ranks in search engines. Always put your spin on the material. ChatGPT, on the other hand, can cut down on the time spent on things like mind-mapping and rough draughts.
2. Interaction with Customers
Compared to larger corporations, small firms can often offer more individualised attention to each customer. Business owners may rely on AI to do the bulk of customer care tasks like responding to enquiries and engaging in social media conversations instead of staffing up with additional employees.
ChatGPT’s goal is to provide users with responses that sound natural and organic in conversation. Using this technology, businesses may create chatbots that react to consumer questions via email, participate in social media discussions with customers, generate leads, and answer commonly asked questions.
While integrating ChatGPT into a website or social media feed does need some code, most business owners may do so with little to no technical expertise required. If you have to pay someone to create this, it will still be cheaper than staffing an entire customer service department.
3. Transliteration
Thirty years ago, local regulations restricted the expansion of most small firms. They lacked the capital and organisational structure of multinational firms to enter foreign markets. The entire world is now linked together thanks to the internet. The next hurdle is learning how to communicate effectively across the many linguistic obstacles that small firms may face.
There are a lot of Internet translation programmes, but many of them generate confusing results. The translations produced by ChatGPT are of high quality and can be written in a variety of different styles (business formal, slang, local dialects, etc.). ChatGPT is especially useful for small firms that need to quickly create locally-language websites, product labels, and instruction manuals.
4. Sales and Investment Propositions
The proprietors of small businesses often put in long hours trying to win over customers and clients. The survival of a firm depends on the sales income and profits it generates from its customer base. Attracting investors can help put a company on the map and bring in much-needed funding for growth.
ChatGPT can be used by startups to design and distribute marketing materials and presentations. White papers, business strategies, PowerPoint presentations, and even elevator pitches fall within this category.
5. Affordable Technical Support
Most business owners have to multitask. Frequently, they wear many hats, including that of salesperson, product designer, accountant, webmaster, social media manager, and logistics coordinator. Since most small businesses lack a sizable IT department or funding, the onus of troubleshooting and fixing any technological problems falls on the business owner.
Small businesses often struggle to afford adequate IT support. ChatGPT can act as an entrepreneur’s tech support chatbot, assisting them in finding and implementing solutions to these problems in a timely and cost-effective manner.
6. Examining Comments from Buyers
Most small firms are still making minor adjustments to their offerings and procedures. Getting input from actual users is essential for determining what is and isn’t working. ChatGPT is a useful tool for startups since it allows users to quickly and easily aggregate consumer input from many channels and identify the most popular themes to prioritise.
Today’s small firms that integrate AI into their operations will have a substantial competitive edge in the years to come. While many large corporations have already adopted AI systems, many small enterprises have yet to do so. Startups that adopt new technologies early on have a better chance of gaining traction and staying relevant. To prepare your organisation for the future, you need to act now by using simple, long-term AI solutions like ChatGPT.
About The Author:
Lebohang Mokoena is an award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience in business reporting. She specializes in innovation and technology in South Africa and beyond. Lebohang holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and has previously worked for top-tier publications before joining Africa Nova.
