Many SMBs struggle to find content for their platforms and websites, and are turning to freelancers or agencies, says Mayank Jain, co-founder of Gurugram-based Scalenut, which helps companies automate their search engine optimization (SEO) workflows. But AI platforms like Scalenut can help automate the entire content strategy and workflow. AI can help you with the right keywords and show you what similar small businesses or your competitors are doing.
With customers from all over the world, Scalnut has a 20% user base in India, 80% of which are small businesses.
A LinkedIn report finds that four out of ten small and medium-sized businesses bring innovative solutions or technologies to market.
Himanshu Gupta, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp's marketing automation platform QuickRelply.ai, said that since the pandemic, there has been a trend for SMBs to use artificial intelligence and automation for marketing. “Artificial intelligence technology has become more affordable and accessible, enabling SMBs to automate tasks, derive insights from data, personalize campaigns and improve customer experiences. These technologies help SMBs streamline their operations, reduce costs and make data-driven decisions,” he added.
QuickReply.ai empowers D2C brands and online stores with highly personalized customer interactions over WhatsApp. It tracks how buyers interact with a brand across different touchpoints and uses this data to create a unique customer experience. For example, if a shopper searches for a floral print top on a clothing site but doesn't buy anything, QuickReply.ai starts a WhatsApp conversation to find out why they didn't buy the top and tries to persuade them to buy it. . .
Culturro, a Gurugram-based technology recruiting company, began working with Scalent on a referral basis in February 2022, leveraging their services, cruise mode and keyword planner.
Ashish Manchanda, co-founder of Culturo, says Cruise Mode helped them create content because of the focus on streamlining the process and optimizing SEO while ensuring quality. “On the other hand, the keyword planner function allows us to do comprehensive keyword research. It also helps us analyze the competition for the keywords we are targeting. I think AI gives small companies a chance to compete with funded or larger companies. Well, well-known sites like HBR "We compete with content brands." AI tools can help small businesses like ours optimize their efforts across the content spectrum," he said.
QuickReply.ai's Gupta says SMBs can use AI and automation in their marketing efforts. In addition to content creation and one-to-one marketing, small businesses can also manage social media by scheduling and publishing posts across platforms, engaging with audiences, and analyzing social media performance.
“AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle customer queries and provide 24/7 support. They can answer frequently asked questions, make product recommendations, and help you make purchasing decisions.” Also targeted advertising. AI can optimize ad targeting Based on user data and behavior, SMBs can precisely target their audience. "A 10-person team that doesn't use artificial intelligence is just as efficient as a team of 100 people."
Speaking about how easy and early these technologies are to deliver results, Scalent's Jain said it could take anywhere from two weeks to a year. It shows you how well you are doing and what your competition is doing. “If you're in a very new field, you can rank up quickly if there's not a lot of competition. But when you're in a very old industry, there are so many leaders in that space that it takes time.”
He says it's now more important than ever for small businesses to focus on SEO as top positions on Google become more important for marketing and recruiting. “Let's see if X% of people have switched to AI today. In a year or two, that number will be 100 percent. Everyone has AI. The amount of content published online is increasing exponentially every day,” he added.
