How does technology make business more accessible? No one said starting a business was easy.
In addition to trusted staff you can rely on, you also need a strong web presence, not to mention an eye-catching logo to draw new and loyal customers.
And then you’ll need support to handle the influx of customers. And that’s just the start of what your new business needs.
All of these things also take money and lots of it, depending on what type of business you’re starting.
However, technology is not only making it easier than ever to start your own business, but also more affordable than ever to start and grow one.
Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are big drivers of affordability when it comes to business tech, with each advance making the start-up process less costly for first-time and veteran business owners.
Those advances come in the form of tools anyone can use to start and grow their own business.
So, how does technology make business more accessible?
The following highlights a few areas where tech makes it easier to kick-start a new business, plus the tools used to launch those businesses into orbit.
How does technology make business more accessible?
Human Resources
Finding quality talent has always been a challenge for businesses. It’s a task that requires an HR department to sift through thick stacks of resumes – a time-consuming and cost-intensive process.
When starting a business on a shoestring budget, having a large team of people just to hire more talent is something you can do without.
This is where artificial intelligence saves the day, yet again. AI recruitment means you don’t need HR staff to help get your business off the ground.
The end result is a significant cost savings, not to mention a faster and potentially more accurate recruitment process.
Take AI-powered applicant tracking systems, for instance.
A growing number of recruiters rely on this technology to scan through hundreds of resumes with a focus on targeted keywords and phrases.
Employing ATS allows recruiters to quickly sift through prospects and quickly find the right candidates for the job.
Paradox is one such AI-powered HR app that helps businesses and recruiters find their next candidates with surprising ease.
Candidates interact with an AI assistant, Olivia, through various online channels. The AI then vets each candidate based on their job experience, skills and expertise.
In addition to scheduling interviews, the AI is also capable of using natural language technology to answer questions related to the company and/or process.
AI is by no means perfect, as Amazon found out in 2018 when its machine learning specialists discovered its AI recruiting system was biased against female candidates.
Ensuring fairness in the algorithm remains a top challenge in the machine learning world, especially as candidates continue to emerge from all walks of life.
Logo Design
The use of AI is also reshaping the way that businesses approach branding. Take logo design, for instance.
The usual approach involves hiring a designer, whether it be a freelancer or a professional design agency, to come up with an eye-catching logo.
The designer then goes through a lengthy process of brainstorming ideas, drawing concepts and eventually creating the final product along with any additional branding materials.
Needless to say, the whole process proves both time-consuming and expensive.
AI-driven logo design simplifies the entire process by bringing automation into the picture.
Instead of hiring an expensive designer, budding businesses can use a multitude of automated logo-making tools to quickly generate an eye-catching design.
These websites feature hundreds and even thousands of preexisting templates and designs, making it easier for the AI to craft a logo that suits your business.
Finding a suitable design is just a matter of entering your business name, slogan and a few other minor details into the appropriate fields.
Most logo makers can generate a design within a matter of minutes, which means you won’t have to spend weeks waiting on a human designer for the finished product.
Logo makers also feature simple editing tools to help tweak and fine-tune designs prior to their debut.
Tailor Brands is just one of several logo maker options that make it easier to start your business.
Using its AI-powered logo generator, you can create and tweak a new logo, and download that new logo in a variety of common editing formats.
You can even use the company’s trademarking services to lock down your new work of art.
Chat Bots
Head over to most websites, these days, and chances are you’ll eventually see a chat box pop up in the far left or right corner.
Type in a query or a comment and there’s an even greater chance that someone responds on the other end. In most cases, that “someone” is actually a chat bot.
Chat bots are another example of AI making life easier and a bit less expensive for businesses, whether they’re recent startups or seasoned veterans.
Chat bots also answer the question of how to handle live support in a 24/7/365 world. For recent startups, providing around-the-clock support via live humans can prove costly.
Engagement is the name of the game for chat bots. With the help of natural language processing and machine learning, chat bots can respond proactively to incoming messages in real-time.
Chat bots help shorten response times – something that customers typically value most when it comes to e-commerce.
Chat bots are also ideal for delegating different levels of support. For instance, chat bots can process simple queries and requests without human intervention.
If the customer needs more detailed support or if the conversation comes a bit too much for the chat bot to handle, a human can take the reins and seamlessly continue the conversation.
You can also use chat bots to direct customers to your current FAQ or “knowledge base” pages.
After all, at least 70 percent of customer queries can be answered via FAQs and support articles in your business’s existing knowledge base.
Keep in mind that chat bots aren’t a replacement for live support agents.
Instead, the AI-driven technology is meant to complement live support by giving customers a quick way to have their queries answered. Chat bots also offer a number of other benefits for both customers and businesses:
- Higher customer satisfaction and greater brand loyalty
- Reduced service ticket volume and shorter resolution times
- More freedom to deal with more complex issues
- Ability to leverage existing self-service content
- Better leads and reduced shopping cart abandonment
- 24/7 operation without human assistance needed
Back in 2017, Gartner forecasted that AI chat bots would handle up to 85 percent of customer service interactions within that year.
Given the prevalence of chat bots in most e-commerce websites, that prediction has held true.
Web Builders
Back in the early days of the Internet, making a website required some level of technical skill.
Fortunately, things have progressed to the point where you don’t have to be a tech wizard or even well-versed in HTML to create a website for your business.
Website builders like Wix.com are designed to do the heavy lifting on your behalf.
All you need to do is choose a premade template and then customize it using the website builder’s array of built-in tools. For instance, you can add new pages, add contact forms and other elements, adjust font sizes and types, change color schemes and more.
You can also link and embed social media channels for maximized exposure.
Most website builders walk you through the entire process, so there’s no need to feel intimidated.
Most importantly, website builders cost significantly less than having a professional web designer build one from scratch.
A low-cost website builder is a godsend for new businesses on tight budgets.
In addition to Wix and Weebly, there’s also WordPress.com. While it’s geared more towards bloggers, the popular website also features a wealth of resources for website builders on a budget.
Simply pick from a multitude of professionally-designed templates and WordPress will take care of the actual design and tweaks.
AI Content Writers
Wherever there’s a website, it’s a safe bet there’s content driving it in some form or fashion.
After all, content is king, whether it comes in the form of press releases, blog posts, emails or even snippets from social media.
Startups rely on fresh content to grab mindshare from the general public and attract both new clients and potential investors.
One of the main benefits of AI content writing is that it saves time. You can use your AI-powered tools to generate multiple pieces without tying up your day.
Reduced time spend on content generation means more time spent on starting your business on the right track.
You’ll also save yourself that dreaded writers block since AI content writing handles most of the footwork.
Cost is another main benefit of utilizing AI-driven content generation.
Outsourcing your content to seasoned writers could prove costly depending on the type of content needed.
With AI, businesses can save money and ultimately devote what they would have spent on human writers towards more productive aspects of the startup.
As technology progresses, it becomes harder to distinguish AI-generated content from writing produced by humans.
A recent experiment took an article written by a human writer and compared it with an article written by an AI content writer, with the sampling audience tasked with guessing who wrote which article.
In the end, the sampling audience couldn’t tell the difference between the two works.
AI-powered writing tools like Rytr and ContentBot can quickly generate popular, relevant content with the highest possible quality and SEO ranking.
While AI isn’t a complete replacement for human writers, it can help your business save time and money while producing eye-catching content.
Conclusion
The latest in technology is doing more than just making life easier. It’s also making it easier for entrepreneurs of all stripes to start a business.
Whether you need a new website, a logo for your new brand or automated chat and HR services for your new business, AI-driven technologies are making business startups more accessible to a broad range of eager entrepreneurs.
Seems, now it’s clear, how does technology make business more accessible to everyone.
I’m a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, digital marketer and professional blogger equipped with skills in Digital Marketing, SEO, SEM, SMM, and lead generation. My objective is to simplify technology for you through detailed guides and reviews. I discovered WordPress while setting up my first business site and instantly became enamored. When not crafting websites, making content, or helping clients enhance their online ventures, I usually take care of my health and spend time with family, and explore the world. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or read my complete biography.