Ascend2：小企業(yè)AI和自動(dòng)化覺醒

SMALLBUSINESSNOW

AnAI

Awakening

Howsmallbusinessesare

usingAIandautomation

tobolstertheirbusiness.

ResearchcreatedinpartnershipwithAscend2

TableofContents

Introduction

03

SpecialSegments

05

1.0AttractionorDistraction:TheNewCustomerDilemma06

?WhatkeepsSMBsupatnight?

?ImprovementsareneededthroughouttheSMBjourney.

2.0HarnessingthePower:HowCanAIHelpSMBs?10

?InterestinAIisgrowingbutthereisstillalackofunderstanding.

?HesitationswithimplementingAI.

3.0AIisChangingtheGameforSMBs.14

?AIisimprovingefficiency.

?AICanHelpSMBsSaveMoney

TheBottomLine

18

ParticipantsandMethodology

19

AbouttheResearchPartners

20

2SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

Introduction

Ifyouhadanextra

hourinyourwork

weektodoanything

youwant,howwould

youspendit?

Smallbusinessesareconstantlystarvedfortime.Onanygivendaytheyareprobablyfulfillingorders,keepingupwiththeirbooks,interactingwithcustomers,managingstaff,andperformingdozensofothertasks.It’salot,anditdoesn’tleavethemmuchextratimetomarketthemselvestocustomers.

Whatwouldanextrahourintheworkweekmeantothem?Quiteabit.Weasked486smallbusinessownersanddecision-makers,andhere’showtheywouldspendthattime:

IfusingAIand/orautomationinmymarketingcouldsavemeatleast1hourperweek,Iwouldusethattimeto:.

37%Planwhat’snextformybusiness

31%Finetunemyoverallmarketingstrategy

30%Improvemyproductorservice(s)

26%Spendmoretimeinteractingwithcustomersin-person

22%Restand/ortaketimeformyself

21%Networkwithotherbusinessowners

17%Getmoreactiveonsocialmedia

17%Budgetandmanagingmyexpenses

12%Updatemysystemsandtechnology

10%Givebacktomycommunity

SMBownersanddecision-makersareadedicatedbunch.Andwhiletheydeserveabreak,only22%reportedthattheywoulduseanextrahourtotaketimeforthemselves.

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening3

Introduction

Timetravelmaynotyetbepossible,butthegoodnewsisthatAIandautomationcanhelpgivesmallbusinessesthatextrahour.

InterestinAIandautomationtechnologyhasexplodedoverthe

last6-12months,andasitpermeatesmoreindustries,itsability

tohelpbusinessesworkmoreefficientlyhasbecomeabundantly

clear.Infact,26%ofSMBssaytheyarealreadyinvestinginAIand/orautomationtechnologywithsignificantresultsandanother44%reportthattheywanttostartusingAI.

ThisreportoutlineshowAIandautomationcanenhancemarketingeffectivenessandimprovetheefficiencyofexecutiontogiveSMBstheextratimetheyneedtoputbackintotheirbusiness(ormaybetotakeamuch-neededrest)!

KeyTakeaways

Smallbusinessesunanimouslysaytheir

biggestchallengeiscustomeracquisition.

Attractingnewcustomersisthebiggestchallengefor60%oftheSMBswesurveyed,anditalsotakesmoretimetoaddressthananyotherchallenge.

SmallbusinessesareflockingtoAI,but

somestillhavequestions.Nearlythree-quarters(74%)ofSMBsareinterestedinusingAIfortheirbusiness,and55%reportedtheirinteresthasgrowninthelastsixmonths.However,80%ofthosesurveyedreporthavingonlyanintermediateorbeginnerlevelofunderstandingofhowAIcouldpotentiallybenefittheirmarketing

efforts.

SmallbusinesseswhohaveadoptedAIareseeingimmediatevalue.91%ofAIuserssaythatithashelpedmaketheirbusinessmoresuccessful,and60%reportedsavedtimeandgreaterefficiency.FurtherillustratingthevalueAIandautomationprovide,28%

expecttheirbusinesstosavemorethan$5000inthecomingyearasaresultofusingAIintheirmarketing.

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening4

26%

14%

16%

TimewithAI.

29%ofSMBssurveyedhavebeenusingAIforlongerthanoneyear.Thisgroupgivesusperspectiveon

howAIcanchangeabusinessovertime.

HowlonghaveyoubeenusingAIand/orautomationtechnologyinyourmarketing?

Morethan

2years

10%

1-2years

19%

6months-1year

40%

Lessthan6months

31%

SpecialSegments

HowlikelyareyoutoinvestinAIand/orautomationtechnologyinthenext12months?

AIUsers.

Overall,26%ofSMBsarealreadyinvestinginAIand/orautomationtechnology.ThroughoutthereportwewilltakeacloselookatcriticaldifferencesbetweenthemarketingeffortsofthisgroupcomparedtothosethatdonotyetuseAI.(44%wouldliketostartinthenext12

monthsand14%havenoplanstouseAIinthenearfuture).

Lookoutforthesespecialsegmentations

ofourdatathroughoutthisreport.

MarketingSophistication.

24%ofdecision-makerssurveyeddescribetheir

44%

Currentlyusing

Notusingbutwouldliketostart

Notusing,Unsure

nointerest

instarting

marketingsophisticationasadvancedorexpert.

Thisgroupgivesusinsightintowhatthemost

developedmarketingstrategieslooklikeforSMBs.

Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesyour

company’sdigitalmarketingsophistication?

30%Basic

Minimalmarketingefforts,limiteduseofdigital

platforms,andlittletonomarketingdataanalysis

43%Intermediate

Somemarketingactivities,moderateuseofdigital

platforms,andoccasionalmarketingdataanalysis

20%Advanced

Well-developedmarketingstrategies,active

presenceacrossvariousdigitalplatforms,and

regularmarketingdataanalysis

4%Expert

Highlysophisticatedmarketingstrategies,

extensiveuseofdigitalplatforms,andadvanced

marketingdataanalysistodrivedecision-making

3%None

Wedonotdoanymarketing

5SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

57%

50%

42%

41%

37%

36%

34%

33%

28%

17%

16%

SMBswith50+

employeesare2xmorelikelythanthosewithunder10employees

tobestrugglingwith

improvingthecustomerexperience.

24%

22%

22%

20%

20%

19%

16%

16%

11%

1.0AttractionorDistraction:TheNewCustomerDilemma

AttractingnewcustomersiskeepingthevastmajorityofSMBmarketersup

For60%ofthosesurveyed,attractingnewcustomersisoneofthegreatestchallengestheyarecurrentlyfacing.But

whilefindingandengagingnewcustomersisbyfarthemost

atnight,anditisalsowhatiskeepingthemmostoccupiedduringtheday.

Whatarethegreatestchallengesyourbusinessiscurrentlyfacing?(Segmentedbynumberofemployees)

1-9employees10-49employees50ormoreemployees

70%

commonlyreportedchallengeoverall,topbarrierstosuccessvarygreatlybycompanysize.

Non-profitsfacedifferenthurdles.

Non-profitSMBsreportsignificantlymore

difficultywithhiringandretainingstaff(50%vs29%offor-profitSMBs)andalackof

expertiseindigitalmarketing(37%vs19%offor-profitSMBs).

Attractingnewcustomers

Marketingtotargetaudience

Thesmallestbusinessesaremorechallengedbyattractingnewcustomers.

Convertingleadstosales

46%

45%

Accesstofunds/

capital

30%

Lackofexpertiseindigital

Improvingthecustomer

Complicatedand/orineffective

Hiringandretainingstaff

6

marketing

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

experiencedigital

marketing

1.1AttractionorDistraction:TheNewCustomerDilemma

Attractingnewcustomersisalsothechallengethatrequiresthemost

timeandattentionaccordingto31%ofallSMBssurveyed.

Whichofthesechallengestypically

requiresthemosttime/attention?

Attractingnewcustomers

31%

Hiringandretainingstaff

17%

Convertingleadstosales

14%

Marketingtotargetaudience

11%

Accesstofunds/capital

8%

Complicatedand/orineffectivedigitalmarketing

7%

Lackofexpertiseindigitalmarketing

6%

Improvingthecustomerexperience

6%

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening7

B2CB2B

1.2AttractionorDistraction:

TheNewCustomerDilemma

Improvementsareneeded

throughouttheentire

customerjourney,tohelp

SMBsmovefasterand

improvethewaytheymarket

themselvestocustomers.

Intheyearahead,overhalfofSMBshavetheirsightsseton

improvingtheirsocialmediamarketing(52%)toovercome

theirtopchallenges.Thisindicatesthatmostsmallbusinesses

feelthatsocialmediaisthebestpathwaytoacquiringnew

customers.Otherareastheyplantoimprovearewebsite

experience(43%),customerrelationshipmanagement(32%),

andemailmarketing(31%).

SMBsintheconsumerspacefeelmorestronglyabouttheir

needtoimprovesocialmediaefforts(59%forB2Cvs48%forB2B).WhileimprovingreportingandeventmarketingaremoreimportanttoB2Bs.

8SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

Whatareasofyourmarketingstrategywould

youmostliketoimproveoverthenext12months?

(Marketing/SalesChannel)

Socialmediamarketing

59%

48%

Websiteexperience

41%

40%

Customerrelationshipmanagement

31%

37%

Emailmarketing

30%

32%

In-personcustomerexperience

24%

21%

Eventmarketing

11%

19%

Branding/design

22%

18%

Reporting

6%

12%

SMS/textmarketing

12%

11%

Onlineratingsandreviews

19%

10%

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening9

There’sagoodchance

thatsomeone’sfirst

experiencewithyour

brandwillcomevia

socialmedia...

Soit’simportantforsmallbusinessestobeactive

ontheappropriatechannels.However,socialis

mosteffectivewhenit’sincorporatedintoabigger

marketingstrategythatincludesemailmarketingandautomation.

ConstantContact’smarketingplatformispowered

bycutting-edgeAIandautomationtoolsthatcan

helpsmallbusinessesattractnewcustomersand

keepthemcomingbackformore.Wegiveyoutoolstomanagemultiplechannels(includingsocialmedia),andgiveyouaccesstopowerfulAIandautomationstoensuretherightmessagereachestheright

customerinthechannelstheyprefer.WithConstantContact,youcanturnyoursocialfollowersintorepeatcustomersand,hopefully,ravingfans.

41%

33%

27%

26%

12%

2.0HarnessthePower:HowCanAIHelpSMBs?

InterestinAIisstrong,butit’sclearthatthereis

stillaneedformoreeducationaboutitsbenefits.

SmallbusinessesaredefinitelyhearingthebuzzaboutAI,andtheyarelisteningwithintent.Nearly

three-quarters(74%)ofSMBsareinterestedinusingAIfortheirbusiness,andthatinterestisaccelerating

–55%reportthattheirinterestgrewinthelast6months.But,80%ofthosesurveyedreporthavinga

beginner–intermediateunderstandingofhowAIcouldpotentiallybenefittheirmarketingefforts.

HesitationsfromthosewhodonotuseAIgiveaclearpictureofthisgenerallackofunderstanding.They

haveconcernsaboutdatasecurityandtheperceivedcostsassociatedwithusingAI,whichsuggeststhat

theyneedmoreguidanceonhowtogetstartedusingitintheirmarketing.

Whatareyourconcernsorhesitationsaboutusing

AIand/orautomationtechnologyinyourmarketing?

44%

I’mconcerned

Thetechnology

Itwouldtake

Thereareno

Idon’tfeelthey

Idon’tthinkit’s

aboutthe

istooexpensive

toomuch

AI/automation

wouldhelpmy

ethicaltouseAI/

securityofmy

toimplement

timetolearn/

toolsbuiltfor

business

automation

data

implement

smallbusinesses

10

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

Nonprofitsare53%morelikelythanotherSMBs

tohavealreadystartedusingAIandautomation.

Breakdown:ExtentofuseofAI(Companysize)

50+employees

Notusing/unsure

20%

Using

40%

Wouldliketostart

41%

10-49employees

Notusing/unsure

20%

Using

30%

Wouldliketostart

50%

1-9employees

Notusing/unsure

46%

Using

12%

Wouldliketostart

42%

2.1HarnessthePower:HowCanAIHelpSMBs?

WhoisalreadyusingAI?

26%ofallSMBssurveyedarealreadyinvestinginAIand/or

automationtechnologyandanother44%wouldliketostart.LargercompaniesaremorelikelytobeusingAIrightnow.40%ofSMBs

withmorethan50employeessaytheyareusingAI(comparedto30%with10-50employeesand12%with1-9employees).

MarketingSophistication.

Overhalf(51%)ofSMBswith

advancedorexpertmarketing

sophisticationarecurrentlyusingAIintheirmarketingprograms.

11

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

2.2HarnessthePower:HowCanAIHelpSMBs?

SMBsareusingAIforsocialmediaandcontentcreation,butcould

EASILYbeusingitformuchmore.

WhereareSMBsputtingAItouse?Socialmedia,contentcreation(writingorimages),andintheiremailcampaigns.TheseareasarealsoamongtheeasiesttoimplementAIintoaccordingtothosesurveyed.

88%ofSMBsareusingAIintwoor

moreoftheseareasand70%areusingitinthreeormoreoftheseareas.

Inwhichofthefollowingareasof

Themostadvancedmarketingstrategiesare3xmorelikely

thanlesssophisticated

strategiestobeusingAIforanalyticsandSMSortext

campaigns,andmorethan2xmorelikelytobeusingAIforwebsiteformsandCRM.

Nearlyhalfof

SMBsthatare

usingAIare

creatingcontentwithit.Learn

moreabouthow

ConstantContact’s

AIContent

Generator

allowsmarketerstocreate

Wheretostart?Getstarted

engagingcontentinjustafewclicks.

withAIbysettingupsimple

automationslikewelcome

emailsoranniversarymessages

oruseittoimprovethecopy

youuseinyourcampaigns.

yourmarketingdoyoucurrently

useAIand/orautomation?

52%SocialMedia

44%Contentcreation(writingorimages)

41%Emailcampaigns

38%Adtargeting

35%Analytics

34%Websiteforms

30%CRM

25%SMS/textcampaigns

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening12

yearofuse.Inotherwords,AIand39%45%57%

2.3HarnessthePower:HowCanAIHelpSMBs?

SMBswiththemostexperienceusingAIseethevalue(andarewillingtoemptytheirpocketsforit).

OnethingwelearnedfromtheseAlreadyseeingapositiveimpact

allfromAIand/orautomation.

automation,themorevaluethey(TimeusingAI)

see.Infact,39%ofSMBsthathave

beenusingAIforlessthan6months

haveseenimmediateresults–but,

thisnumberjumpsto57%aftera

marketingautomationcanhavebothLessthan66monthstoMorethan

animmediateandalastingimpactmonthsoneyearoneyear

onyourbusiness.

Withthisinmind,isAIworththeinvestment?ThemajorityofSMBswouldlikelysayyes.

toaccessAIandautomation.

Infact,70%ofSMBswouldbewillingtopaymore

AndthelongerbusinesseshavehadtoworkwithAI,themoretheyarewillingtopayfor

it.One-thirdofSMBsthathavebeenusingAIformorethanayearsaytheywouldbe

willingtopayatleast50%moreforamarketingplatformthatgavethemaccesstoAIandautomationtechnology.

13SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

92%

ofthosewho

alreadyuseAI

feelthatitis

importantformarketingtoolstoincludeAI/automation

functionality.

3.0AIischangingthegameforSMBs

91%ofSMBssaythatusingAIhashelpedmaketheirbusinessmoresuccessful…buthow?

Rememberallthethingssmallbusinessessaidtheywoulddowithan

extrahourintheirweek?Well,60%ofSMBsthathavestartedusingAI

formarketingreportthatithashelpedthemsavetimeandworkmore

efficiently.Justhowmuchtime?One-thirdofAI-userssavemorethan40minutesperweekonmarketingeffortsand72%estimatetheysavemorethan25minutes!

42%ofSMBswithmorethan50employeessaytheyhavesavedmorethan40minutesperweekthroughtheuseofAI.

45%ofexpertmarketerssaytheyhavesavedmorethan40minutesperweekthroughtheuseofAI.

Howmuchtimeeachweekdoyouestimate

youhavesavedinyourmarketingeffortsby

usingAIand/orautomationtechnology?

0-10minutes(negligible)

8%

60+minutes

(substantial)

11%

11-25minutes(verylittle)

20%

41-60minutes

(significant)

22%

26-40minutes(noticeable)

39%

AIcanbeamore

powerfultime-saverwhenusedonvariouschannelsthroughoutthecustomerjourney.ThoseusingAI

infourormoreareasoftheirmarketingstrategysawmoretimesaved.

14

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

Estimatedtimesavedperweek(NumberofareasAIisused)

Morethan25minsavedMorethan40minsavedMorethan60minsaved

UseAIin2+areasUseAIin3+areasUseAIin4+areas

35%

32%

19%

12%

74%

74%

41%

81%

11%

Expecttosave$1000+nextyear

64%

61%

60%

UsingAIin

2+areas

UsingAIin

3+areas

UsingAIin

4+areas

Expecttosave$5000+nextyear

43%

29%

28%

UsingAIin

2+areas

UsingAIin

3+areas

UsingAIin

4+areas

SimilartothetimesavingsgeneratedbyAI,

smallbusinesseswhouseAIinmultipleareasoftheirmarketingalsoseeincreasingcostsavings.

Nearlyhalf(43%)ofSMBsusingAIinfourormoreareasoftheirmarketingexpecttosaveatleast

$5,000inthecomingyear(almost15%morethanthosewhouseitintwomoreareas).

3.1AIischangingthegameforSMBs

AICanHelpSMBsSaveMoney.

It’snotjusttimethatsmallbusinessescrave–theirbudgetsareoftensmallandtheyalwayshavetothinklean.Smallbusinessesknowthattimeismoney,andthat’swhyit’sencouragingthat58%ofSMBs

currentlyusingAIintheirmarketingexpecttosavemorethan$1,000inthecomingyear.Another28%expecttosaveover$5,000.

Howmuchmoneydoyouexpecttosavein

thecomingyearasaresultofusingAIand/orautomationtechnologyinyourmarketing?

$25,000

5%

$0-$499

20%

$10,000-$24,999

8%

$5,000-$9,999

15%

$500-$999

22%

$1,000-$4,999

30%

15

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

ConstantContact

offersafree60-day,nostringsattached,trialtogettoknowourAIandautomationtools.

Startyourstoday.

3.2AIischangingthegameforSMBs

SMBsaregettingtoknowtheircustomersbetterbecauseofAI.

Howwelldoyouknowyourcustomers?Thirty-eightpercentof

SMBsthathavebeenusingAIformorethanoneyearsaythey

havegottentoknowtheircustomersbetterasaresultofusingAIintheirmarketing.AIcanhelpsmallbusinessessegmentcontacts,understandtheirbehavior,andspottrendsintheirengagement

history.Allofthishelpsthemsendmoreeffectiveandefficientmarketingcommunicationsandbuildstrongerrelationshipswithcustomers.

Morethan1year6months-1yearLessthan6months

DescribethebiggestimpactsthatAIand/or

automationtechnologyhashadonyourmarketing.

(TimeusingAI)

I’vesavedtimeandworkedmoreefficiently

46%

55%

79%

Ihavegrownmybusinessfaster

43%

33%

21%

Ihavegottentoknowmycustomersbetter

38%

22%

11%

I’vemadefewererrors

38%

37%

39%

Iammorecompetitivewithbiggercompanies

27%

22%

16%

I’vesavedmoneyandstretchedmybudgetfurther

27%

29%

21%

Ihaven’thadtohireadditionalemployees

8%

6%8%

16

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

3.3AIischangingthegameforSMBs

Companysizealso

contributestotheareas

AIismostuseful.

LargerSMBshavebeenabletogrowtheirbusiness

fasterandcompetewithbiggercompaniesasaresultofusingAI,whilesmallercompaniesaresavingtimeandworkingmoreefficiently.

17

SmallBusinessNow:AnAIAwakening

DescribethebiggestimpactsthatAIand/or

automationtechnologyhashadonyourmarketing.

(Companysize)

I’vesavedtimeandworkedmoreefficiently

50%

63%

78%

I’vemadefewererrors

38%

44%

26%

Ihavegrownmybusinessfaster

38%

33%

17%

I’vesavedmoneyandstretchedmybudgetfurther

29%

23%

22%

Ihavegottentoknowmycustomersbetter

29%

19%

17%

Iammorecompetitivewithbiggercompanies

26%

19%

17%

Ihaven’thadtohireadditionalemployees

9%

5%9%

50+employees

10-49employees1-9employees

TheBottomLine

AIandmarketingautomationaren’tjustforlarge

corporationsanymore.Thesetechnologiesarenow

accessibletosmallbusinessesforthefirsttime,andtheycanbeeasilyimplementedandintegratedintoexistingtechnologystacks.

OurfindingsshowthatAIandmarketingautomationcanhelpsolvesomeofthebiggestchallengessmallbusinessesface–attractingnewcustomers,marketingtothemanddeliveringamemorableexperience.Smallbusinesses

recognizethisopportunity,andmanyhavealreadybegunleveragingthemtotellbetterstories,sellsmarterand

workmoreefficiently.Bestofall,theyarespending