The acceleration of digital automation tools, particularly Generative AI, is spurring a new phase of adoption that will can lead to disruptive growth for those that get it right. Violeta Martin, Vice President, Commercial Sales EMEA, DocuSign, dives into where digital solutions can most help SMBs compete and drive value and the factors they need to succeed using the benefits of AI to empower staff – and to avoid the risks associated with it too.
SMBs are the bedrock of the global economy. In the UK they make up more than 99% of businesses. But what they have in numbers, they don’t have in the market muscle, blanket brand advertising or the deep pockets of bigger enterprises. SMBs have always had to be nimble, to provide better customer service and be a place that people feel a connection with and want to come back to, in order to secure their revenue.
While the recent macroeconomic environment has been unforgiving for all businesses, SMBs have been some of the worst affected. The latest government figures show the number of companies going bust this year is on track to be the highest since the financial crisis in 2009.
The timely tech trend
Virtually all businesses have gone digital to some degree, with online presences and marketing, payroll, CRMs and HR/staffing management being transformational digital tools. DocuSign’s 2023 Digital Maturity Report found that 43% of decision-makers already consider themselves to be digital-first. However, only 31% expected investment in digital modernisation and transformation initiatives to rise in the next year. With workers still saying they wasted a weekly 12 hours on low-value, repetitive tasks, there is room for improvement.
Right now, SMBs have a chance to further ride the new technology wave that can help level the playing field and augment the unique qualities held by SMBs. The acceleration of digital automation tools, particularly Generative AI, is spurring a new phase of adoption that will surely lead to disruptive growth for those that get it right.
Timesaving tools built into SaaS solutions, from CRM to word processing, have an outsize impact on the output of smaller businesses where each interaction and sale is proportionally more vital than those at an enterprise. Yet additionally, the risks from fraud, deepfakes and hacks are much steeper, too. Small firms don’t have large, skilled IT teams, let alone a dedicated IT security team on hand 24/7.
So, for both push and pull factors, AI is likely to have the biggest impact for the smaller firms. Those who can integrate solutions, free up their people and engage in the relationship building, fast-moving, personable business where they excel will thrive.
Of course, disruption isn’t totally positive, and the risks of AI, particularly from ‘GenAI’ are likely to take off rapidly too. Services like Ransomware-as-a-Service existed pre-AI, and we’re seeing a move to Cybercrime-as-a-Service, so that even less technical and professional criminals can utilise more sophisticated solutions. AI will certainly break out of the labs of its creators – but the real risk is not a doomsday scenario out of a Hollywood movie. More likely risks include greater fraud, hacking, impersonation, phishing and frighteningly effective social engineering, tailored by excellent online information research and a limitless ability to ideate avenues of attack.
Here are just some ways to untap the potential of digital tools to gain a competitive edge and be ready for what’s coming:
Free your team from ‘toil’ – automation rules
Most SMBs get purchasing and order documents on a weekly basis. Sometimes forms can be sent electronically, but some suppliers request paper-based signatures for authorisation. Printing, penning and posting wastes time on getting orders and sales onto the books, into the store or off to customers.
eSignatures are one digital tool for accelerating the workflow and getting attention back to more impactful activity. Vendors state that by going digital, 82% of agreements are completed in one day, with the average signing time reduced by over 80% compared to paper signing.
Cash flow, as they say, is king. That’s why it’s galling that SMBs are held over a barrel, forced to wait at least 30 days for payment… Sometimes north of 90, and even 180, depending on the customers involved. Being able to quickly manage money through accounts receiving, accounting and onto the right destination with the appropriate security and compliance is a critical skill. Integration is the winning word.
Picking solutions that chain together to seamlessly communicate removed manual activity and downtime as business managers hustle. Integrating that eSignature with your accounting and CRM systems allows automated workflows that move from inbound to invoice and income quicker.
Beat fraud with AI. Verifying identities for contracts or ‘know your customer’ regulation is hard, and AI is likely to massively impact the amount and sophistication of fraud that SMBs see. Humans will be hard-pressed to spot a spoofed human voice, complete with all the same mannerisms and patterns that GenAI can already generate. Photos and videos are also manipulatable. But AI-powered defences already exist to beat these threats.
Implement solutions that offer techniques such as liveness detection, where users run through some simple automated checks to prove that they are alive and present. These include passive facial liveness, identifying real faces; active facial liveness, where the person must perform requested actions as directed; live voice recitation of an approved phrase and one-time passcodes to enter. Simple security and authentication steps, with AI instantly approving or flagging suspicion, speed up the process and cut back the risk of attack.
Going digital embeds more resilience into the business, as human error is reduced and the abilities of staff are augmented and sped up. This is helpful whether weathering financial crises or any new and increased risks such as from fraud, deepfakes and hacks.
Put it all together with customer focus
Better customer experiences and engagement lead to less churn, more profit and the chance to upsell and grow. Being able to digitise, personalise and productise your offerings and services creates efficiencies and goodwill for everyone – customers, staff and suppliers. Keeping a customer focus at the heart of all technology choices is critical. Happy customers equal a happy business.
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