We have seen an uptick in businesses wanting add-on services.
They are looking into new products and new services that complement what they are currently doing, or trying numerous marketing tactics to boost leads and sales. This is typical when businesses feel squeezed and consumers start seeking DIY solutions.
In marketing, most portable sanitation professionals are familiar with the common tools available to them as small and medium-sized businesses:
• Google AdWords
• Google Local Service Ads
• Search engine optimization
• Social media (organic and ads)
• Direct mail
• Billboards
• Yard signs
• Outbound calls
• Flyers
• Local trade shows
These are all effective and tested marketing strategies that any business can and should consider. However, after working with service companies for over 15 years and consulting with partners who have owned a marketing group for over 20 years, one thing is evident: Many leads generated from these marketing efforts get lost due to missed calls, texts, emails, lack of followup and the sheer busyness of running a business. It can be overwhelming.
Business owners are aware it happens and hate it, and so do marketing companies. Marketing firms put in a lot of effort to bring leads to a business' door, and it’s frustrating when those leads are lost for various reasons.
Did you know that nearly half (47%) of small businesses miss calls? Studies show that 46% of consumers prefer booking their appointments online or via an app. Is your slow or cumbersome online booking process or lack of having one causing you to lose potential customers? Managing the influx of bookings, customer contacts and daily operations can be daunting.
What is a business to do?
We believe AI can solve many of the communication and missed opportunity issues businesses face, if not now, potentially within the next six months to a year:
- AI can interact with customers and solve missed call issues
- AI can book appointments and send consumers to the right place to get their appointments booked when they want them
- AI eases your employees’ burdens by taking simple tasks off their hands leaving them to do more important work for the business
It’s also clear that many business owners are hesitant to adopt AI due to fear of the unknown. While AI is not without risks, it is far from the dystopian future often portrayed in movies and media. AI has been around for decades and has significantly contributed to advances in medicine, space exploration, and the internet. There’s no reason it can’t be a vital part of small businesses as well.
How can AI benefit your business right now?
Consider these statistics:
• 74% of internet users prefer using chatbots for simple questions
• 87.2% of consumers rate their interactions with bots as neutral or positive
• Chatbots can address customer inquiries faster, providing a near-instantaneous response time
Modern AI chatbots are well-equipped to perform speedy customer service tasks and more. It’s crucial to understand what you need from a chatbot before integrating it into your website. For simple FAQ responses, most chatbots will do. If you need more advanced capabilities, such as learning from your website and directing customers to book appointments, many AI bots can handle that as well.
There are chatbots that can do complex tasks, like directing customers to an online scheduler, remembering return visitors and why they came to your website in the first place, waiting for job-specific pictures and information so it can post detailed job overviews on your website and social media platforms, and showcasing your work to new prospects. An advanced chatbot can become a valuable asset.
Future potential
Many business owners are curious about the future capabilities of AI. While we can’t disclose everything on the developers’ roadmaps that we have seen, we believe voice-enabled AI will revolutionize interactions, taking them to a whole new level. The possibilities are exciting, and we’re eager to see what future AI systems will bring to small and medium-sized businesses and plan on being there to see it all unfold.
About the authors: Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill are the authors of Blue Collar Proud: 10 Principles for Building a Kickass Business You Love and co-owners of FutureNow Marketing, a "home services marketing company specializing in human-centered AI that will optimize your business and generate leads." They’re trusted thought leaders in the industries they serve, which is why you’ll find them regularly speaking at service industry trade shows and conferences and writing for trade magazines. Visit futurenowmarketing.com.
