As the diversity and sophistication of machine learning (ML) and real-time applications grow, small business owners can begin to wonder whether they should invest in such technology as well as how best to use it says Peter DeCaprio. Here are 13 ways that small businesses can harness the power of ML.
1 – Identify Trends
Netflix realized the power of making personalized recommendations based on users’ previous choices and made an investment in its algorithm so it could better understand member interests over time. The result was a drastic increase in customer satisfaction.
2 – Improve Site Navigation
Machine learning algorithms may be applied to websites to help visitors quickly find information or products that they are looking for. This is not only for eCommerce sites but also for information-based sites such as news outlets.
3 – Enhance Creativity and Efficiency
Machine learning algorithms can also find patterns within data such as sales or customer service reports that indicate when a company needs to put more resources into staffing or needs to increase client outreach so they stay competitive with other businesses in their industry says Peter DeCaprio.
4 – Boost Data Security
Machine learning can use an algorithm in order to predict whether a person is likely to commit credit card fraud, based on how they spend their money in comparison with other customers who have no history of stealing through fraudulent means. This can reduce both business expenses and customer aggravation.
5 – Reduce Costs
Small businesses that handle large amounts of online orders may benefit from using machine learning to help automate certain processes such as note-taking during phone conversations with clients, filtering spam email messages, and entering new orders into inventory systems explains Peter DeCaprio. These are all ways ML can be used to reduce the number of employees needed, thus reducing operating costs.
6 – Manage Customer Retention
Machine learning algorithms can be applied in social media to find out which customers are most active on company websites or social pages and send them information about products or services they’ve previously shown interest in. This helps build customer loyalty by reinforcing shared interests with businesses.
7 – Provide Better Customer Service
AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common because people tend to have more positive interactions when speaking with a robot rather than a human being over the phone. Companies may use these bots as virtual assistants through text messages so customers can get quick answers without having to wait for a response from a live agent. In addition, some companies are creating chatbots to answer frequently asked questions about their product line, which relieves the need for live support at all hours.
8 – Improve Employee Efficiency
Machine learning can help employees focus on their most important tasks by prioritizing actions with the greatest impact. For example, it could remind employees of a task they are most likely to forget, such as putting items back in inventory after a client has purchased them. On the other hand, it could also look at past data and determine which employees are most efficient when working on certain projects or tasks. This allows managers to learn where employees’ strengths lie so they can be assigned accordingly when scaling up operations for new projects says Peter DeCaprio.
9 – Identify New Business Opportunities
Small businesses often face challenges when expanding into new markets that larger companies do not. Machine learning allows companies to analyze vast amounts of data in order to find patterns within the numbers, which can uncover new trends or customer preferences. Small businesses can use this information to their advantage when deciding on future locations for brick-and-mortar stores or determining which products are most profitable at certain locations.
10 – Analyze Employee Performance
Machine learning is being used in performance reviews. By using an algorithm to score employees’ answers based on how well they fit certain answers. Rather than having supervisors analyze answers manually. It has also been shown that employees. Those who have high scores in these machine algorithms tend to have better job performance. According to traditional managerial assessments. As per Peter DeCaprio, these managers more quickly identify key areas where employees need improvement without spending extensive time on costly HR-related tasks.
11 – Make More Accurate Predictions
Machine learning can be in use to improve weather forecasting. By training an algorithm to analyze the vast amounts of data involved in this process. For example, it can collect information about temperature, humidity, wind speed, ocean swells, and more. To provide a more accurate picture of future weather conditions. This helps businesses such as agriculture or transportation plan ahead. When making decisions such as whether or not to bring employees in for work that day.
12 – Facilitate Better Decision Making
Many small businesses make well-informed decisions based on limited information. Since it doesn’t make sense to invest in collecting additional data before acting. Machine learning algorithms can help companies by acting as virtual assistants to aid in decision-making. For example, they could automatically rank common issues businesses face. So managers can prioritize their time based on what’s most important. It could also help companies identify new product opportunities. By collecting data on customer preferences, analyzing whether or not certain products are more profitable than others. Based on the number of items sold, and making predictions about new markets that would be worth exploring.
13 – Improve Customer Interactions
Machine learning is using to improve company websites by using algorithms that create chatbots for business pages. These chatbots allow customers to ask questions about a company’s product line. Without having to wait for a response from a live agent. They can also help businesses train employees by providing real-time analytics through emails. Which can be in use to make suggestions on how employees should respond to potential questions. This makes it easier for small businesses to provide quality customer service. Without having to hire additional staff or decrease the frequency of chats.
Conclusion:
As you can see, machine learning has many different applications. That can help your business run more efficiently and grow stronger in both good times and bad. The benefits of this technology are huge, especially for smaller companies that don’t have the resources of their larger counterparts. By understanding the basics, you’ll be ready to start taking advantage of all machine learning has to offer.
