The world is evolving at a rapid rate and it can be hard for businesses to keep up. The number of technological advancements is rising at an overwhelming pace, such as those associated with artificial intelligence (AI), self-service, sustainable energy, facial recognition, hosted telephony, unified cloud communications and augmented reality – to name a few.
Businesses that do not keep pace with this evolution and incorporate the opportunities within their strategy will lose their competitive edge by not responding to changing customer demands. Some of these technologies are even becoming a hygiene factor which means they might no longer provide your business with a competitive advantage, but you will be left behind if you don’t use them.
In this blog, we’ll explore why AI is a non-negotiable for future growth, and how being adaptable and taking advantage of the benefits of AI within your business strategy is critical for continued, longer-lasting success.
5 Core Benefits of AI & Business Strategy
We know business owners want to embrace AI but don’t always know how or where to start. Understanding the benefits of AI, what it can and cannot do for your business is usually a good place to start.
1. Data-Driven Decision Making
AI can leverage large data sets and provide actionable insights in real time. Businesses can use AI to make smarter, faster decisions, minimising risks and maximising opportunities. This data-centric approach ensures that strategies are grounded in facts rather than intuition.
2. Agility in Market Response
In a dynamic market environment, agility is paramount. AI enables businesses to swiftly respond to changes in the market, whether that be through predictive insights, pricing models or trend analysis. By integrating artificial intelligence, companies can stay ahead of competitors by adapting quicker to market demands.
3. Operational Efficiency & Automation
AI can automate routine tasks and streamline operations. From customer service chatbots to robotics, support with machinery and systems can lead to manufacturing and supply chain process optimisation. Businesses embracing AI not only reduce operational costs but also improve efficiency and free up resources for innovation and growth.
Discover our ‘Operations Route to Competitiveness’ module that facilitates operational efficiency and optimisation across manufacturing and supply chain.
4. Personalised Customer Experiences
AI allows businesses to deliver highly personalised experiences by analysing customer data and predicting their needs. This leads to higher satisfaction, retention and increased revenue.
5. Innovation and Competitive Differentiation
While AI levels the playing field by becoming a standard business tool, innovative applications of AI can still provide a competitive edge. Businesses that creatively integrate AI into their products and services can differentiate themselves, offering unique value propositions that set them apart in the marketplace.
The Growing Role of AI in Strategic Thinking
AI and business strategy go hand in hand. As AI becomes an integral part of our day to day, it’s no longer just an option but a strategic necessity! The benefits of leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning are significant and can range from better analysis and insights, successful decision-making and exceptional customer experience to revenue growth, operational effectiveness and optimisation.
Making Strategy Pay
How you leverage AI will differ depending on your business and industry. That’s why AI shouldn’t be your strategy but rather be a part of your overall business strategy. Oakwood’s unique methodology, ‘Making Strategy Pay (MSP)’, can help you do just that. It provides a platform for high-growth businesses seeking a step change in performance. It empowers leaders looking to accelerate growth, giving them the tools and know how to create an ambitious growth strategy, both in terms of its development and execution.
The objectives of the MSP process are to enable more substantial, profitable and cash generative growth. Along with strategic clarity, greater focus and alignment, this leads to more sustainable, scalable business and helps to create significant stakeholder and enterprise value.
Within Oakwood’s ‘Making Strategy Pay’ process is a ‘Key initiatives and risks’ section that forms part of the ‘execution’ phase. Technology in its broader sense is very often a key initiative. As a sub element, AI is highly likely to feature. It then leads to core questions such as:
- What elements of AI are we going to use?
- How do we use it to improve performance?
- Who owns it, with what objectives, means of measurement, milestones, costs, etc?
- How can we use it to drive improved performance and efficiencies?
- How do we incorporate it into our proposition to make it more compelling and set us apart from competitors?
- How much consideration do we need to give AI when analysing our potential growth markets?
- What impact is AI going to have on shaping our organisational strategy?
These are all questions that Oakwood can support you in answering. Together, let’s use AI to create transformational results!
“Oakwood helped us create a 5-year strategy to take our business up to $10 million from just over $1 million, becoming a market leader. I would not hesitate in recommending the Oakwood team.”
– Ben Leggott, Managing Director – Tank Vision
The Risks of Ignoring AI
Ignoring AI places businesses at a significant competitive disadvantage, leading to missed opportunities for growth and efficiency. As AI becomes more accessible, it’s already being widely adopted across a plethora of industries, driving faster decision-making, personalised customer experiences and improved operational efficiencies. However, it’s clear that AI will soon become a hygiene factor – a basic standard expected by customers and partners alike. Without it, businesses may struggle to meet industry benchmarks, let alone excel.
As it becomes more mainstream, simply using AI will no longer be enough for a competitive edge and companies will need to find other differentiators to stand out, whether that be unique brand positioning, superior customer service or innovation in products and services. All of these elements should be key components of your business strategy and can no longer be ignored if you want to truly stand out!
Mitigating the Risks of Bad Implementation
Although AI is an essential for every business, it can become a risk if implemented incorrectly. Here are some of the caveats to mitigate these risks:
- Create guidelines on AI usage and review them regularly
- Identify champions in your teams to lead the innovation and training
- Train your teams (understand what AI is good at vs. not good at, identify the right tools and models to use, etc)
- Weigh acceptable risks vs. benefits for each area before implementing (i.e., financial data needs to be accurate so you cannot risk using AI if it might ‘hallucinate’)
- Don’t share confidential data
- Get humans to review the output before publishing
Let’s Talk!
Will your business thrive in the face of AI, or risk getting left behind? The choice is yours.
We support you on your journey and inspire you by providing coaching, mentoring, expert research, analysis and the right contacts to build the business of your dream – leveraging artificial intelligence as a core component of our strategy. Contact us today and take the first step towards lasting success.
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