Digital Solutions to Streamline Business Operations
Running a small business is generally not described as a “walk in the park” – at least not if you’re just starting out. There are countless tasks that go into moving a business forward, and some of those tasks are more time-consuming than others. That’s why it comes as no surprise that many business owners are looking for ways to streamline operations, ultimately reducing the amount of administrative tasks needed to keep the lights on. A new survey released by Intuit Quickbooks reveals that business owners are turning to digital tools to automate many of the jobs they find most time consuming.
A huge number of business owners who participated in the online survey (95 percent, to be precise) mentioned they have business goals in 2023 directly dedicated to promoting growth. In order to get there, they’ve got some challenges to contend with: Managing finances and accounting came in at the top spot (40 percent of respondents), followed by inadequate time to complete critical tasks (35 percent) and handing customer-related issues (33 percent).
With these challenges in mind, small business owners plan to lean on digital solutions that can assist in streamlining and automating some of those operations. Seventy-three percent of SMB owners are looking closely at artificial intelligence (AI) for some major help. Consider the 35 percent of survey respondents who pointed to a “lack of time” to finish tasks: The coolest thing about AI might be that its goal is to give us time back. AI tools are able to tackle cash-flow management tasks including supplier orders, marketing campaign spend, payroll, invoicing, and running financial reports. These are all mundane tasks that truly eat into a small business owner’s time; automating them could allow owners to home in on the tasks that truly promote growth—including product development, building marketing campaigns, and addressing customer satisfaction.
Generative AI is a technology that helps people produce content, images, audio, and more—and it’s pivotal in helping small business owners succeed in the marketing space. From creating email campaigns to developing a new marketing strategy, generative AI is able to streamline even complex operations designed to drive growth and revenue. AI can even generate SEO keywords for a company’s website or create a customer profile to help identify a key audience.
Speaking of marketing campaigns… small businesses can tap into AI for help creating personalized marketing campaigns aimed at their target market. By collecting consumer data like behavior, preferences, age, and location, marketing messages can be crafted that truly resonate with current and prospective customers (similar to the way streaming services use algorithms to predict the shows and content you’re most likely to enjoy).
The seasoned loan professionals at ARF Financial are experts when it comes to helping small business owners capitalize on their business’s potential. From lines of credit to working capital loans and everything in between, we make business financing easy! That’s why ARF Financial is proud to say we’re the #1 trusted source for restaurant, hospitality, and retail funding. Visit us today and see why thousands of small businesses across the country have turned to ARF Financial for all their business financing needs.