POWER MOVES:
HOW SMALL BUSINESSES ARE WINNING WITH SMART TECH STRATEGIES
This monthly publication is provided courtesy of Dewayne Chappell, President of IT Company.
OUR MISSION:
“As a business owner, you don’t have time to waste on technical and operational issues That’s where we shine! Call us and put an end to your IT problems finally and forever!” -Dewayne Chappell
May4–10isNationalSmallBusiness Week,sowe’recelebratingthebusiness leaderswhousesmarttechstrategiesto worksmarter,servecustomersbetterand growstronger.Here’showsmall businessesaremakingbigmoveswith smarttechnology–andhowyoucan,too.
Getting Your Business Seen In The Age Of AI Search Engines
Onceuponatime,rankingonGoogle wastheholygrailofonlinevisibility.
Today,AI-poweredassistantslike ChatGPT,GoogleGeminiandMicrosoft Copilotarethenewgatekeepersof information.Ifyou’renotshowingupin theiranswers,you’remissingouton potentialcustomers.
Thesecret?Keepyourwebsitefresh, relevantandeasytounderstand.AItools prioritizewell-structured,informative content–somakesureyoursiteanswers thequestionsyourcustomersareasking. Aregularlyupdatedblog,anFAQsection thatreadslikeahelpfulconversation,and cleardescriptionsofwhatyoudocan boostyourvisibility.
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It’slikeMomusedtosay:“It’snotjustabout whatyousay–it’showyousayit.”AI prioritizesreal-worldlanguage,sowritelikea human,notarobot.Focusonclear,engaging contentthatisrelatabletoyouraudience.And don’tunderestimatethepowerofcustomer reviews.AIsystemsscanfeedbackformentions ofyourcompany,soencouragehappy customerstosharetheirexperiences.
AI: The Secret Weapon For Small Business Agility
Smallbusinesseshaveanaturaladvantage: They’renotheldbackbythelegacysystems thatoftenslowlargercorporations.Thisagility makesAIadoptioneasier–andtheresultsspeak forthemselves.Nearlyoneinfoursmall businesseshaveintegratedAIintotheir operations,seeinga12-pointincreaseinprofit growthpotentialcomparedtonon-AIusers, accordingtotheU.S.ChamberofCommerce.
WithAI-poweredtools,smallbusinessescan automatetediousadminwork,optimize inventorywithpredictiveanalyticsandenhance
customerservicewithchatbots–allwithoutthe frictionofoutdatedinfrastructure.Thekey, however,istostartsmall.Pickonechallenge, suchasimprovinginventorymanagement. Then,tryasimplesolution,likealow-stock alertpoweredbyanAI-assistedsystem.Evena simplestrategylikethiscanmakeabig differenceinoptimizinginventorywithouta significantupfrontinvestment.
ButsuccesswithAIisn’tjustaboutusingit–it’saboutusingitwisely.Customersstillvalue humanconnection,sothemostsuccessfulsmall businesseswillbethosethatleverageAIto enhance,ratherthanreplace,thehumantouch.
Tapping Into Consumer Trends For Growth
Stayingaheadinbusinessisn’tjustabout adoptingthelatesttechnology–it’salsoabout understandingwhatcustomerswantrightnow. Consumerhabitsareshifting,withgrowing demandforself-care,comfortandexperiences thatsparkjoy.Smallbusinessesthatrecognize thesetrendsandadapttheirofferingscanbuild deepercustomerconnectionsandgaina competitiveedge.
Butnostalgiaisn’ttheonlyfactordriving consumerchoices.Shoppersareincreasingly drawntobusinessesthatalignwiththeirvalues –whetherit’ssustainability,inclusivityor ethicalsourcing.Transparencyandauthenticity matter,whichiswheresmallbusinesseshavean advantage.Unlikelargecorporations,small businessescancultivategenuinerelationships withtheircustomers,authenticallytelltheir storiesandcreatebrandspeopletrustandwant tosupport.Bystayingattunedtothesecultural shifts,smallbusinessescanpositionthemselves aheadofthecurve,meetingconsumerdemand inwaysthatresonateonadeeperlevel.
Runningasmallbusinesshasplentyof challenges,buttechnologycanmakethings muchmoremanageable.Whetherstreamlining dailytaskswithAI,improvingyouronline presenceorpayingattentiontoshifting consumertrends,smallchangeswillleadto meaningfulresults.AsyoucelebrateSmall BusinessWeek,thinkabouthowtechcanhelp youworksmarterandconnectwithcustomers innewways.Yournextbigmovestartsnow.
It’scoming...
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Thatdaywhenyourbankaccountorcreditcardiscompromised...
Thatdaywhenyourcustomers’privatelivesareuprooted...
CybercriminalsandhackersareconstantlyinventingNEWwaysto infiltrateyourcompany,stealyourassetsanddisruptyourlife.The ONLYwaytoSTOPTHEMisthis:
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Smart Tech, Smart Business
Didyouknowtheword“sales”wasoriginally derivedfromtheScandinaviantermfor“to serve”?Butwhenwasthelasttimeyou thoughtasalespersonwasservingyou?Thisis whysomanysmall-businessownerscringe whenitcomestonetworking.Itfeels,well, ickytotryto“sell”yourbusiness.Butwhatif networkingweremorethanawkward handshakesandbusinesscardexchangesthat rarelyleadtoanythingmeaningful?Whatifit wereaboutcraftinganauthenticstoryso compellingthatpeoplesoughtyouout instead?That’sthevisionMatthewPollard, “TheRapidGrowth®Guy”andselfproclaimedintrovert,presentsinhisapproach tonetworking:Ditchtherandomencounters andmastertheartofstrategicconnection.
Craft A Networking Hook
We’veallbeenthere–listeningtosomeone droneonabouttheirjobtitlewhilewenod politely,waitingforanescape.Pollard challengesbusinessownerstoembracewhat hecallsthe“networkinghook.”“Peoplewant toidentifywithamessage,andforthat,they willpayapremium.So,what’syours?”he asks.Insteadofstatingyourrole,describethe uniqueimpactyoumake.Ifyoucanmake someonestop,thinkandsay,“Tellmemore,” you’vealreadywon.
The Power Of Specialization
“Speakingtoeveryoneisspeakingtonoone,” Pollardwarns.Inaworlddrowningingeneric pitches,specializingisthekeytostandingout. Pollardhimselfzeroesinonbusinesscoaches, chiropractorsandattorneys–notbecausehe can’tserveothersbutbecausetheseindustries needhisexpertisemost.Findingyourniche
isn’taboutexclusion–it’saboutsharpening yourvaluetothosewhoneeditmost.
Know Exactly What To Say
Mostpeoplefumblewhenasked,“Whatdo youdo?”Pollard’sadviceistokeepitsimple andintriguing,andlettheconversation unfoldnaturally.Forexample,skipthe elevatorpitchandstartwithaquestionora boldstatement.“I’mthe[insertyourunified message],”hesuggests.Yourunifiedmessage shouldhelpyouauthenticallyconnecttothe particularperson/audienceyou’respeakingto. Then,pause.Letcuriositydotheheavylifting beforeyoucontinue.“Well,Ihateseeing [niche][defineproblems],”or“Iloveseeing [niche][definesuccess],butIfindthat[define problems].”Thisstructureturnsamonologue intoadialogue,invitingengagementinstead offorcingasale.Italsomakesiteasyand smoothtoask,“Doyouknowanyonelike that?”toelicitaresponse.
Find The Right People In The Right Places
Pollard’sgoldenruleforfindingprospectsisto beselective:“Whatmeetupsdotheygoto? Whatannualconferencesdotheyattend? Whatassociationsaretheypartof?”These aren’trhetoricalquestions–they’rearoad map.Thesecrettoeffectivenetworkingisn’t meetingmorepeople;it’smeetingtheright peopleintherightplaces.
Master The Follow-Up
Greatconnectionsaremeaninglesswithout follow-up.Pollardintroducestheconceptof
“MomentumPartners”–peerswhoopentheir networkstoyou–and“Champions”–high achieverswhosecredibilityyoucanleverage. Thebestnetworkersdon’tjustcollect contracts;theycultivaterelationships,checkin withthoughtfulmessagesandoffervalue beforeaskingforanythinginreturn.
Theultimategoalofnetworking?Tonever needtonetworkagain.“Mygoal,”Pollard says,“istohelpyoumastertheroomsoyou neverhavetogobackintoone.”Whenyou becomeknownforyourexpertise,crafta compellinghookandnurturerelationships, opportunitiesstartcomingtoyou.
CYBERSIDE CHAT
OneDanceAndYou’ll FeelBetter
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Protect Your Data
Wewouldberemissifwedidn’tmention dataprotectionUpdateyourdevices, enablemultifactorauthentication,andif you’llrelyonpublicWi-Fi,useaVPNto encryptyourconnectionBonvoyage!
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Afterbeingrunoverbytwounderground trainsinLondon,awomanreceivedthe world’sfirstAIbionicarm.UsingAI,the armcontinuallylearnsandtranslatesmuscle twitchesintoarmmovements.It’spretty coolwhenthestuffoffictionmeetsreality.
7Days
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