How AI marketing tools can help SMEs & start-ups take the big leap

Technology has created an ocean of opportunities in the advertising and marketing world as every day, by every minute, there is a new idea, a new innovation happening. Be it the world of artificial intelligence, virtual reality or automation, every day there is something new to be worked with. These tools are even more integral for small-sized businesses and startups who can use them to get the recognition and reach the masses before their competition. But are they using it to their full capacity? We asked a few experts.

Shashank Rathore, Vice President, E-commerce, Interactive Avenues, believes there is a slow growth in terms of adopting technology by India’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) and they are still stuck on traditional methods of advertising. “While many are adopting an extremely dynamic, aggressive, and bold approach towards digital, a significant percentage of SMEs in India continue to rely on traditional marketing methods due to lack of awareness. The success of new-age, digital-first brands like Mamaearth, Plum Goodness, and Wow Skin Science, is encouraging more small businesses to proactively embrace digital marketing tools.”

McKinsey, in one of it reports titled Digital India: technology to transform a connected nation, said “Our survey found 70 per cent of small businesses use their own websites to reach clients, compared with 82 per cent of big companies. Small businesses are less likely than big companies to buy display ads on the web (37 per cent versus 66 per cent), but they are ahead of big companies in connecting with customers via social media, and more likely to use search-engine optimization.” So there is a disparity, but there are also certain spaces where smaller businesses are focusing more on.

“There is a heavy dependency on social media and platforms like WhatsApp to push out offers and promotions but there is little effort put into content,” Rajat Ojha, CEO, Gamitronics and Partynite Metaverse says, as he explains that certain companies need to scale up their digital marketing skills to keep the revenue coming. “Also, among B2B companies, digital marketing is very under-explored. They are more traditional and archaic in their approach to marketing. This will have to change if they need to scale up and reach a larger audience base because every company and brand needs to build their image and marketing is not always about revenue. If the right noise is made, then the revenue will eventually flow in.”

Startups in India have seen a massive growth over the last few years as an increase in funding gave tremendous boost to entrepreneurs to grow their trade. Small-sized businesses, on the other hand, had two tough pandemic years but awareness and government boost seem to have molded them up towards a better recovery. However, use of technology to advance their marketing skills is the need of the hour for these businesses. Recognition, leadership and business can only come from better use of technology that is available in vast numbers.

Use of technology: Quantity or quality?

Rajat Ojha believes it is the use of the technology that matters more than what you are using. “I feel in this case it is not so much about using the technology, it is really about how they are using it? Social Media usage for brands, companies will have to be more meaningful and not just mindless posting with little engagement. There has to be more stories to tell and tell them creatively. Just to give you an example, Netfilx’s Instagram page is a delight. They are promoting their content but every post has a theme, message, meme, joke or some takeaway. SME and smaller brands can draw from these pages. Another aspect of digital marketing is to test multiple platforms and channels and look for innovative means. Are banners working? Will a WhatsApp burst work? AI and programmatic advertising will give the numbers but the creative aspect has to be cultivated. Marketing is as much an art as it is a science, one has to learn on the job.”

Hareesh Tibrewala talks about how size is not the issue for companies but how they using their digital services. “I see a huge disparity in the usage of digital marketing in the MSME sector. I have seen small 20-member companies do a fabulous job. And I have seen larger 100-crore business having no clue about the potential of digital. So, it does not really seem to be “size” issue…I think it is the vision of the management that determines the digital maturity of the organization.”

Vyom Shah, Founder at Foodism, says that affordability is not the problem here as everything is available on the internet now. “The internet is available to them, and they don't have to worry about whether or not they can afford it. With the advancement in technology and the introduction of AI-powered tools, SMEs and startups can benefit a lot. SMEs and startups generally have a limited marketing budget. By investing in affordable AI tools, SMEs can streamline their marketing efforts, reach new customers, and better understand the impact of their marketing activities.”

Speaking on ChatGPT, Neeraj Bassi, Chief Growth Officer, Cheil India, says what you do with the tool is more important than the tool you are using itself. “There are new tools and new solutions coming up constantly. For example, today Twitter is full of links on how to use ChatGPT for marketing, a tool that is barely three months old! I am sure, soon leveraging ChatGPT would be part of curriculum for an upcoming online course. So, there is no end to tools. My advice to a lot of start-ups is to focus on analysis of inputs received from the tool and create a plan for action in the market. Your fortune would change basis what you DO in the market and not the tool that you used to arrive at the action plan.”

Technology to be incorporated into marketing by SMEs

Birma Ram, Founder, BabyG, lists down certain tools that SMEs should make use of to build their business and drive growth for the company. “There are many marketing technology tools to help SMEs to market themselves better. Here are a few examples: Social media management tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social can help SMEs manage their social media presence more effectively by scheduling posts, monitoring engagement, and analyzing data. Email marketing software such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor can help SMEs to create and send targeted email campaigns. Content marketing tools like HubSpot, CoSchedule, and ClearVoice can help SMEs to plan, create, and distribute high-quality content. Search engine optimization (SEO) tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz can help SMEs to optimize their website for search engines. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot can help SMEs to manage their customer relationships more effectively. Marketing automation platforms like Marketo, Pardot, and Act-On can help SMEs to automate their marketing workflows, track customer behavior, and deliver personalized experiences.”

Shashank Rathore, Vice President, E-commerce, Interactive Avenues adds on to the above list. “I personally follow a Think, Plan & Act philosophy, where technology can improve the quality of output and help save both time and cost at every step. There are many marketing technology tools that can help SMEs market themselves better. Some popular ones include: Landing Page and Form Builders: Tools like Unbounce, Leadpages, and Gravity Forms can help SMEs create effective landing pages and forms that drive conversion and E-commerce: Platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce can help SMEs effectively sell their products and services online.”

Rajat Ojha gives a clear picture of what SMEs fear and what should they do instead. “The SME sector is fearful of cost but there are multiple ways of exploring and news use cases are coming up every day which can be very cost effective. They have to understand the larger implication, treat it as an investment and not an expense and develop an appetite for it.”