Arion Herbert and his wife, Erica, got their recreational sports-league business started in 2016. They transformed a small gathering into a large league with participants from all around Charlotte, N.C, called Main Attraction Recreational Sports, or MARS. Now, they generate close to $500,000 in annual revenue, and the success, he says, is in part due to generative artificial-intelligence tools.
When Herbert hired assistance through the online freelance marketplace Fiverr to create AI-generated marketing materials for their events, the results went beyond word of mouth marketing and a homemade logo. “It’s a no-brainer for us,” he said. It’s said that approximately 23% of small businesses in the U.S. are using AI technology to produce goods and services, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Know more about the impact of AI technology on small businesses, read here
Herbert’s company created an AI-generated ad for MARS’ kickball festival for $19.66. This was made possible by the freelancer that was hired by Herbert’s company who used text-to-image AI tools like Microsoft Bing’s MSFT image creator and Midjourney. These tools helped MARS save money. Images that cost $50 would have previously cost the company $250 to create. “It’s low risk, high reward because the prices that we pay for this content are so feasible in terms of what you would spend to get content like this created [by a human],” Herbert said. Roughly 60% of small businesses in the U.S. currently using AI in their marketing say they have saved time, with 33% estimating that they save more than 40 minutes per week on marketing by using AI.
Learn more about the use of AI in marketing by small businesses, click here
But as the cost of labor, rent and raw materials have risen, it’s been a tough time for tech companies that provide services to small- and medium-sized businesses. The challenging business environment has made it all the more critical for small businesses to find cheaper alternatives to traditional business-to-business services.
