“Efficiency is doing things right and effectiveness is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker
I run a few small businesses so I’m always scanning the horizon for new technologies to keep us competitive and efficient. Offer to save my teammates and I time and money and you have my attention. As I write, I’m in the middle of transitioning from several separate business applications which help me operate to one which does all I need. These applications help me automate – scheduling, bulk emailing, customer relationship management (CRM), proposals, and customer communication, but they do not communicate with each other. I cannot share information between them. Each of them is relatively inexpensive but when you add them all together, I’m paying too much. Time for efficiency!
I’m deliberate when choosing technology. I focus on what I want it to do and not do for me. I run each application through a rigorous, critical review to ensure it will perform in a variety of scenarios. The most important analysis I’ll conduct is how an application affects my people and my customers. Though it may save money and time, will it have a positive or negative impact on people? A business application may be cheaper but if it requires a load of work to run it or I must dedicate a lot of training time to operate it, I may decline. My people and I are busy and in high demand.
When I bought one of my businesses, there was no easy way my teammates could see their schedule – what time they needed to be at work and what customers they were going to visit. Now they can see all of that on their personal phone. I was and still am very focused on good customer communication and one of my applications sends a text message to a client confirming their appointment, when one of my technicians is on his way to their home, when the job is complete, and it asks for a Google review. My teammates and customers love this technology. There are more problems my business applications solve, and I cannot imagine running my business and being competitive without them. They are efficient and easy but are they appropriate?
The AI boom has me thinking of new ways I can save time, money, and be competitive. It excites me but also worries me. One AI driven application I’ve discovered recently answers my business phone allowing customers to interact, asking questions and scheduling appointments. I’ve seen a lot about it on the internet, in my social media feeds and I’ve fielded a few phone calls from salespeople wanting to sell me this technology. AI powered agents act as human beings, learning and improving as they go to make the customer experience better. “Efficient, easy, and inappropriate,” I thought to myself.
Indeed, handing phone management over to AI would save me time and money. It would even help me be a bit more competitive as I might never lose a customer when unable to answer the phone. With this application, an AI driven bot could triage customer needs, gather important information, and schedule appointments. It could learn the needs of my customers and provide me important data to streamline my operations. The thought of it is attractive. The application would lessen the burden on my office manager, and I would never miss a call. No. Not yet.
I live in an area where good old country courtesy, charm, and personal interaction are still appreciated. My clients are older people – baby boomers and Generation X and, while they are growing more tech savvy, they want to talk to a person, not a computer. I’m in that category. Perhaps I’m just growing old, but I do value speaking to a person. When I need to change a flight reservation, ask about a home improvement project, or even book a hotel, I’d prefer to speak with a person. Moreover, when I’m calling a company I know to be local, I don’t want to speak with a person who is several states away or in a foreign country. I do need to keep pace with where technology is taking us. I don’t want to miss the train, but I also want to meet my customers where they wish to be met. When a potential customer calls my business, they will be answered by my polite, intelligent, and local office manager. He or she knows the local area – streets, towns, neighborhoods, and even weather and traffic. These things matter. Perhaps it makes us work harder. Perhaps I’m losing out on business. These things do concern me, and I’ll continue to analyze the environment and see where technology takes us but for now, we will answer the phone when called or call a customer right back.
Efficient and easy are great but are they appropriate? Do your leader duty to answer this question.
Make it Personal!
Rob
