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In 2023 we embraced AI. Then we realised something

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The rise of AI in 2023 reshaped how businesses operate, sparking innovation and boosting productivity across industries. At Grow, we eagerly adopted these advancements, integrating AI into our processes to optimise efficiency and creativity. But as the year unfolded, we discovered something unexpected—a profound lesson that changed our approach to growth and connection.

BY james April 10 2024

In March this year, my business coach, Murtaza, made a bet with me. We both had to send out one emailer per month for the whole year. If either of us failed by just one day, we would have to pay the other AED 1,000 (about £220).

I was very much looking forward to treating myself to a GoPro with my winnings, but alas, it remains on my Christmas Wishlist.

Kudos to Murtaza for remaining consistent (although he still hasn’t sent one out this month, so there’s still hope for my GoPro!).

Thankfully, the insane pressure to win the bet meant that I also remained consistent. So here is my final email for 2023, and I thought it’d be good to use this opportunity to round out what has been an extremely interesting and transformative year for the whole world.

Can you believe, this time last year ChatGPT had just been released - many were still unaware it even existed, and gradually as the news spread, it dumbfounded everyone with the realisation of what was to come.

Everything we knew was about to change forever.

Naturally, the first reaction was panic - about how AI would destroy jobs, or destroy humanity itself. But panic isn’t going to help. I decided we should remain optimistic about the opportunities it would bring, in the same way every new technology has done since the invention of the wheel.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what it meant for agencies and consultancies like ours, and how long we had left before our business model in its current form was completely REPLACED by AI.

We took steps to ride the wave, and implemented new processes that used AI in everything across content creation, coding, quality assurance, personal assistance, and even accounting. It’s an ongoing process, but thanks to AI we’ve 10X'd our productivity in some areas which has been such a boon for us and our clients.

Whilst this was happening, three of our long-term employees, who were with us for between 6 to 8 years, decided to venture out and explore new opportunities of their own. As an agency focused on helping others grow, we had nothing but excitement and support for them.

But instead of finding replacements, we decided to create AI automations to handle their most time consuming tasks. AI has enabled us to increase our output, increase the quality of work produced and decrease our overheads. Output up, quality up, cost down.

It’s funny though, because this journey with AI has also made it clear what can’t (yet) be replaced by AI: The human touch.

With me and Laura getting more hands-on, our clients have spoken about how much they value the human relationships. And when you need decades of experience to be able to advise your clients on the best course of action to take, based on tiny nuances in their business situation and their business data, it requires a human. And as it happens, that’s where most of the value comes from.

Anyone can set up a Google Ads campaign or build a landing page, but it’s knowing how to communicate value to the right person, in the right way, at the right time, which makes all the difference between a business that’s growing and a business that’s failing. It takes knowing how all the complexities of marketing, sales and retention play into the revenue growth of a business, and how to adapt these strategies to the current situation which is ever changing. AI is not there yet.

We are looking forward to 2024 with optimism, and we’ll continue to embrace AI to benefit Grow and our clients, adding more and more capabilities as time goes on. I strongly believe that the success of all businesses will be more and more dependent on the application of AI, because those who don’t embrace it will be so far behind the curve, they’ll have no hope of competing.

If any of this scares you, then it’s a signal that perhaps you’re a little bit further behind the curve than you’d like to be. If that’s the case, don’t worry; it’s not as complicated as you might think, and you’re not too late. Please reach out to me and I’ll be happy to help you identify these opportunities within your business or role, so that you can also enjoy the feeling of riding the wave of progress.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Pardoe

CEO

Starting his first business at age eight, James Pardoe has been building, marketing and growing businesses ever since. He has helped hundreds of businesses double their annual revenue within a few short years.

James holds a unique combination of skills spanning business, psychology, design, development and data science. He has shaped Grow’s approach to encompass all of these disciplines, to build an ecosystem that plugs into businesses and builds sustainable long-term growth.

James is also a father of three, a consultant for Google, and a partner in a branding agency.

In 2023 we embraced AI. Then we realised something

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Pardoe

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