Australian SMBs cite economic factors as top concern, yet many ignore their best asset: customer data. Renee Chaplin explains how AI changes that equation entirely.
Small business owners have seen it all, and they know that the economy is consistently inconsistent. From a pandemic which wiped out footfall, to inflation and interest rate rises, and now tariff changes from abroad, any economic ripple is often felt by small business owners.
And they’re acutely aware of this. We undertook a survey of small business owners across A/NZ, The US, UK and Canada this year which asked, among other things, what trends may impact their business the most in 2025; 35 per cent of A/NZ SMB owners cited economic factors (inflation, interest rates, etc.) as their biggest potential impact — second-most among polled regions (behind the US at 40 per cent).
The one constant that owners can rely on is their customer data. They can tell who shops regularly, who has fallen off, and who engages well with their brand. That data is virtual gold for SMBs, but instead of cashing in on the treasure, many are leaving it to collect dust.
From helping to future-proof a business to allowing SMEs to compete with their industry’s giants, the value of customer data can’t be ignored.
However, small business owners and operations generally don’t have the time, resources, or expertise to leverage these important insights to support better business decision-making.
Interestingly, the advancement and accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting this narrative. It is making data mining easier, more cost-effective, and faster to analyse than ever before.
Utilising AI to compete with the giants
When it comes to marketing, time poor small business owners can often feel like it’s a case of flinging something against the wall and hoping it sticks. But the ability to mine customer data can ensure a more strategic approach to marketing.
A key reason to mine the data is to develop deeper insights into the customer base and extract meaningful, actionable insights to better understand their behaviour, preferences, and needs.
By identifying patterns, trends, and relationships within large datasets, businesses can market more effectively. They can drive return on investment (ROI) up and Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) down, understand buying trends and adjust their go-to-market, personalise marketing efforts and offers, improve customer service, develop targeted products, optimise pricing strategies and enhance the overall customer experience.
This was once outsourced, costing tens of thousands of dollars or requiring a large team of marketers and analysts, restricting which businesses could feasibly access it. However, it is now attainable for SMBs with little investment in time and resources.
The recent advancements in AI and automation means much of the heavy lifting can be taken off the shoulders of business owners. The new technology can help them analyse who their customers are, what customers want, what is driving the most engagement, when touchpoints are most effective, and whether certain campaigns led to sales and in what timeframe.
This sounds like a lot of work – but with the right AI-driven marketing tools, it can take mere seconds or minutes.
So, instead of trying their hand at various marketing methods and hoping to receive some return, SMBs can utilise their customer data to market the right products to the right people in the right ways.
Transforming small business marketing
It’s more than the practical application of AI in data mining that makes it an attractive marketing tool. The capabilities to step in and automate aspects of the marketing function is also a desirable bonus.
Much of what SMBs currently do now to market their business and products won’t change. It’s just how they’ll be done, that will.
Our study earlier this year found that 93 per cent of new ANZ SMBs cite technology as essential to the growth and success of their business, with 76 per cent planning to use AI for marketing in 2025 – making the region the most likely to incorporate AI into their marketing plans this year.
From content and image creation, multichannel campaign planning and scheduling, automating touch points triggered by customer behaviours and actions, to sending emails with subject lines that are more likely to resonate with audiences. The opportunities offered by leveraging AI on the marketing front feel nearly endless.
Many of these actions are modern marketing 101, but they can be time-consuming and tedious for SMEs with limited staff, time, and resources. Especially those without expertise.
We undertook research into the state of SMB marketing which revealed that, despite 85 per cent of SMEs across Australia and New Zealand understanding that using multiple channels – such as email, social media, SMS, and events – in marketing campaigns typically leads to better results, just 17 per cent of them regularly run multichannel campaigns.
Freeing up time, which is one of the most valuable commodities in business and allowing AI to take the reins, means those running the business can be more strategic and focus on high value tasks.
AI is changing everything, including what worked
We are witnessing a rapid change in the marketing landscape due to AI’s usage as a source of information. People are jumping online and either going straight to AI tools for information or using search engines, which are themselves showing AI-overview results.
It was recently revealed that there has been an overall drop of 15–64 per cent in organic traffic due to AI-overview-rich results appearing atop search engine results pages (SERPs).
This has reduced the need for people to visit sites and has drastically impacted inbound leads. In much the same way people moved away from traditional forms of consuming advertising (newspaper and TV) to more digital versions (mobile and social media), we are seeing an equally seismic shift from traditional search to an AI driven equivalent.
Thus how small businesses market themselves is more important than ever. They must select the marketing channels that are delivering real results, ensuring every engagement touch point counts and stretches their budget further.
And that brings us right back to utilising customer data. If small businesses are going to develop and maintain a competitive edge, they must understand their customer. This means getting closer to what the customer wants, needs, and what will entice them to return.
There is no value in collecting customer data and saving it for a rainy day. Small business owners must take action and utilise the AI tools they have at their fingertips now to drive their business forward. Whether it is data analysis and insights, automation of tasks and projects, or content creation and personalisation, customer data is the key to unlocking customer growth and loyalty.
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