Growing up, I was always that kid in the back seat incessantly asking, "How much longer until we get there?" Whether it was a short trip to my grandparents' house just a few towns over or a longer journey, it always seemed like forever before we arrived. As we sped along the interstate, I noticed smaller, often neglected roads parallel to our route.
My parents often reminisced about their younger days when a journey from just two or three towns away would take significantly longer than it did for us now. They explained how the construction of the interstate system revolutionized travel. Instead of the constant start-and-stop of navigating through small streets, these broader, faster roads were designed to streamline the journey from one place to another. The result? A trip that used to take hours was dramatically shortened, not just for family visits but crucially for businesses transporting products.
The advent of highways saved countless hours, translating into trillions of dollars in economic benefits. Similarly, Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing business operations today, streamlining processes and saving invaluable time—because just like then, time is indeed money.
There are countless ways that a business benefits from implementing AI strategies, especially for a small business. Small business owners are regularly handling many roles in the company. Marketing, yes, books, yes, technician, yes. When an owner has to be the jack of all trades, it is hard to be the master of all of them. When incorporating AI in a small business, it allows the business to run more smoothly, grow in scope and professionalize.
One of my favorite services we offer at Lettuce is implementing AI automation for small businesses. Why? We love it because we are able to solve business pain points allowing small businesses to save time and increase accuracy and consistency. A local pest control company was struggling to keep up with the quoting process for his business. We worked with him to streamline their quoting process through standardizing their pricing based on several factors including square footage, pest issue, number of rooms, etc. Using our services we were able to create a completely automated process allowing a customer to receive a quote within minutes and to schedule a service on a syncronized calendar. Not only that customers received an email and text message to confirm the services and once finalized received payment methods for easy collections. The owner estimated this saves him well over 15 hours a week between phone and administrative tasks and allows them to take on additional customers instead of handling extra customer interactions. Can you imagine 15 hours a week of extra time to spend on growing your business or attending a child's soccer game?
Our friendly electrician was great at installing electrical in residential homes, but not so great at invoicing and follow up with customers. He was simply too busy providing the services to focus on these important but less enjoyable parts of the work. When looking at the initial pain points in the business it became clear that he would be benefit from a consistent invoicing method even when he was busy. We were able to create an automation that allowed him to email a bare bones description of the services rendered and how much the customer owed. The automation then takes that information and generates an email to send to the customer with professional, consistent formatting for invoicing and easy payment methods. Once the invoice is marked as paid, it begins the second automation which requests feedback, a review and encourages referrals. The bonus for our electrician is he no longer has those awkward referral conversations and yet he generates great testimonials and ongoing referrals for services. These automations not only save him time but they have generated additional revenue through professionalizing his business and creating an ongoing referral program resulting in the growth of his customer base.
In the same way that the development of highways opened up new possibilities for travel and commerce, AI is reshaping the business landscape, enabling small business owners to streamline their operations and focus on growth. By automating tedious tasks and refining processes, AI not only saves invaluable time but also enhances service delivery and customer satisfaction. At Lettuce, we are committed to harnessing the power of AI to unlock potential and foster growth in small businesses. Just as highways connected cities and spurred economic booms, our AI solutions connect business needs with technological advancements, driving small businesses toward a future where time spent on growth is as valuable as the bottom line. Whether it's giving business owners more time to innovate or attend their child's soccer game, AI is the roadway to a more efficient and prosperous business journey.