How to choose the right bot: SME digital sales agents
Posted by Rich Ingram on
A guide for SME business leaders focused on sales and profit growth
Part One: Introduction
It seems now certain that it is not if but when will AI powered bots or smart machines be joining your business? In this first of a series of articles that I will be publishing between now and the seasonal break - I will share my experience built up as a ‘C’ level over 15 years using and developing for e-commerce.
I am looking at this topic from the perspective of SME business. That is organisations with between 1 and 1000 people and sales of up to £1bn. Yes, a broad frame, but these companies are distinctly different from large corporates in terms of resources and transactional repetition, business and people oriented process.
The issues that I will be addressing are the what, why, where, how and when you should be looking at bots as part of your business strategy to grow sales and profits. This is non-technical: the focus is the commercial reasons to act now or to postpone; answering questions such as:
- What types of technology exist and what and who are they for
- Is the technology fit for purpose for business use
- Is a bot right for your company
- Can you realise the benefits
- How do you choose
- What are the implementation steps
- What outcome should you expect
At the end you should have a good understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of recruiting a bot for your business.