As of April 2023, prompt writing has emerged as a valuable skill in the world of artificial intelligence. However, while it may a valuable skill, it isn’t be a complex skill that takes years to perfect and so its potential for providing a sustainable advantage in business is debatable. As the same time, a lack of prompt writing skills is rapidly going to be a distinct disadvantage. Business owner / managers that fail to learn even the basics of prompting will end up with an unsustainable disadvantage.
The learning curve for prompt writing involves understanding that poor prompts can be transformed into better ones, which can eventually lead to good prompts. Tools like ChatGPT and similar systems facilitate this process – you iteratively ask them how improve your prompts. So for example, if you want ask ChatGPT how to win more sales, instead of asking it how you can win more sales, ask it first what information it would need to provide you with the most actionable advice.
Example: “How can I increase my sales?”
Increasing sales can be a complex process, but here are some tips that can help:
- Increasing sales can be a complex process, but here are some tips that can help:
- Understand your target market: Identify who your ideal customer is and what they are looking for in your product or service. This can help you tailor your sales strategy to meet their needs.
- Improve your product or service: Make sure your product or service is of high quality and meets the needs of your target market. Gather feedback from your customers to identify areas for improvement.
- Focus on customer service: Providing excellent customer service can help build customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. Make sure your customers feel valued and supported throughout the sales process.
- Utilize social media: Use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach your target market and promote your product or service.
- Offer promotions and discounts: Offering discounts or promotions can incentivize potential customers to make a purchase. Make sure the discounts are attractive but also sustainable for your business.
- Network and collaborate: Collaborate with other businesses or influencers in your industry to expand your reach and gain new customers.
- Track and analyze your sales data: Keep track of your sales data to identify trends and areas for improvement. Analyzing your data can help you make data-driven decisions to improve your sales strategy.
What information do you need to improve on this response?
As an AI language model, I am always looking to improve my responses. In order to provide more tailored and specific advice for increasing sales, it would be helpful to have more context about the specific industry, product or service, target market, current sales strategy, and any previous sales data. This information would allow me to provide more customized and targeted suggestions for improving sales.
Ethan Mollick‘s statement on Twitter highlights how easy it is to learn to prompt well:
“A lot of companies are building products on top of GPT. The main source of advantage for many of them is their prompt… But it is really easy to get an AI to give you its prompt.”
This suggests that building a business moat, or a sustainable competitive advantage, based solely on prompt writing may not be viable.
It is important to note that this analysis is most applicable to businesses at the forefront of AI integration than to the majority of companies. One can draw a parallel to the effective use of Google searches, which, in theory, should not provide a competitive advantage since it is an easily acquired skill. However, not all users maximize the potential of Google Search, which means that expert users still maintain an advantage over non-experts, even if it is not theoretically a sustainable one.
The reality is though that most business owners lack the time to learn and apply prompt writing skills. While companies with a keen focus on AI tools are likely to invest in learning effective prompting techniques as a matter of priority, the majority of businesses may only scratch the surface of AI’s potential at this stage in its development. Such companies won’t gain a sustainable advantage through prompt writing, as they might not even understand the concept of a good prompt in the first place.
While Mollick’s comments are primarily directed at AI businesses built on good prompting techniques, the broader implication is that business owners who do not invest time in learning about prompt writing may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage compared to those who do.
The extent to which businesses are willing to invest time and resources into learning and applying prompt writing techniques may ultimately determine the competitive edge they gain in the evolving world of AI.
Small businesses need a “Prompts 101” to kick off the process and whilst any prompt skills may not result in a sustainable advantage, a lack of prompting skill will be a unsustainable disadvantage.