Practical Guide: How to Optimize Your SME with AI - Lessons from Crece.do

Artificial Intelligence for SMEs: From Theory to Practice

On October 18, the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo organized an event that brought together Dominican entrepreneurs with a common goal: understanding how artificial intelligence can transform small and medium-sized businesses. Lucas Pradel, CEO of CariBid, was one of the main speakers at "Optimize Your SME Processes with AI," where he shared practical insights on how to implement AI without unlimited resources or specialized technical teams.

During his presentation, Lucas addressed an uncomfortable reality that many Dominican business owners face: fragmented manual processes, data scattered across multiple systems, and decisions made more by intuition than by data. This article summarizes the key learnings from the event and how you can apply them to your business today.

The Real Problem: Why AI Matters Now

Dominican SMEs have a competitive advantage that many don't leverage: democratized access to AI technology. Five years ago, tools like ChatGPT, advanced automations, and data analytics were the privilege of large corporations. Today, any business can access them at zero or very low cost.

The problem isn't the lack of tools. It's the lack of clarity on where to start.

The Formula: One Process, One Tool, One Result

Lucas presented a simple but devastatingly effective framework for implementing AI without complications. Instead of thinking about massive digital transformation, focus on:

• One specific process: Identify the most repetitive task that consumes your time. Is it answering emails? Generating reports? Following up with clients?
• One right tool: Choose the correct technology for that specific task. It doesn't need to be sophisticated.
• One clear KPI: Define how you'll measure success. Hours saved, errors reduced, or sales increased.

With these three elements, you have a 30-day pilot that can change how your team works.

The First Win: 30 Days to Prove Value

One of the most important points of the talk was redefining what "success" with AI means. It's not automating your entire business in a month. It's getting a task that used to consume 4 hours to now take 30 minutes. It's reducing errors in a key process. It's giving your team more time for what really matters.

Lucas summed it up: "AI should give you breathing room. Time, clarity, and a little more money in your pocket." That's a first win.

Before AI: Digital Transformation is the Foundation

Here comes the critical point that many businesses ignore. Lucas was clear: "If you try to apply AI to processes that aren't digitized, you'll fail."

What does this mean? If your data is in WhatsApp, physical notebooks, and three different Excel files, AI can't help you. First, you need to centralize your information.

The first steps don't require AI. They require basic digitization:

• Cloud accounting software instead of Excel
• Online forms instead of WhatsApp messages
• Shared calendars to avoid appointment confusion
• Centralized inventory that your entire team can access
• Digitally signed documents

Once you have these foundations, AI multiplies your capacity. Without them, it simply doesn't work.

Opportunities and Challenges: What You Need to Know

Lucas presented an honest analysis of where AI can help you and where you'll face obstacles.

The Opportunities

• Appear bigger: An SME with well-implemented AI can offer services at the level of much larger companies.
• Speed: Marketing campaigns, reports, and analysis that took weeks now generate in minutes.
• Creativity at scale: Content, designs, messages—all can be generated by AI to maintain consistency without tripling your team.
• Growth without structure: Scale operations without hiring more staff.

The Real Challenges

• Messy data: If your information isn't organized, AI can't do anything with it.
• Lack of clarity in requests: Knowing how to "ask AI properly" is an art. Poorly designed prompts = mediocre results.
• Resistance to change: AI transforms processes. If your team isn't aligned, it ends up forgotten.
• Constant evolution: AI models change fast. What works today may be outdated in six months.

Your Digital Maturity Level: Where Are You?

During the event, Lucas presented a 21-question diagnostic that helps locate where your business stands. The questions are divided into two categories: technology enablers (strategy, culture, team) and digital business (customers, operations, data, suppliers).

The result places your company at one of four levels:

• Level 1 (Initial): Don't use AI yet. Focus on digitalizing the basics. Organize files, use cloud tools, automate the simple stuff.
• Level 2 (Emerging): You can start with simple AI. WhatsApp chatbots, content generation, email automation.
• Level 3 (Structured): This is the ideal moment for advanced AI. Data analysis, predictions, optimization of complex processes.
• Level 4 (Transformed): AI integrated across the organization as an engine for continuous innovation.

Which level is your business at? The answer determines your next step.

Three Real Cases: AI in Action

Lucas presented three concrete examples of how SMEs have successfully implemented AI. Although they come from different contexts, all follow the same formula.

Case 1: The Bicycle Shop That Automated Customer Service

A bicycle and accessories shop received dozens of daily inquiries about stock, prices, and shipping. Its sales team spent the day answering the same questions.

The solution: A chatbot integrated into its website and WhatsApp that instantly responds about availability (connected to inventory), suggests related products, and sends automatic reminders to customers who abandon their carts.

The result: Increased conversions, team with time to sell (not answer), and happier customers because they get instant responses.

Case 2: The Dental Clinic That Stopped Losing Appointments

A dental clinic faced a classic problem: missed calls, patients who forget appointments (no-shows), and staff saturated responding to WhatsApp all day.

The solution: A virtual assistant that allows 24/7 appointment scheduling, sends automatic reminders 24 and 4 hours before, and manages cancellations with natural language.

The result: Fewer missed appointments, free phone lines, always full schedule, and staff focused on seeing patients, not administration.

Case 3: The Hardware Store That Sells Quotes in Minutes

A hardware store that sells by quote faced a bottleneck: clients sent photos of materials via WhatsApp, and the quote took 3-4 hours to return. Many clients went to another supplier who responded faster.

The solution: A quoting robot with image recognition. The client sends a photo, the bot identifies the materials, asks for details if needed (galvanized or steel?), and generates a PDF quote in seconds.

The result: Sales closed in minutes instead of hours, team free to negotiate large projects, and clients impressed by the speed.

CariBid: Digital Transformation in Practice

As CEO of CariBid, Lucas didn't just share theory. His platform is a living example of how to implement digital transformation at scale.

CariBid fully digitized the auction process in the Dominican Republic. From user registration to digital contract signing with CariBid Sign, everything is integrated. Data is centralized, notifications are automatic, and the system protects buyers and sellers with payment hold technology.

CariBid demonstrates that an SME doesn't need a giant corporate structure to offer enterprise-level service. What it needs is clarity on the problem, the right tool, and disciplined execution.

Your Next Step: The 30-Day Pilot

You don't need to transform your entire business tomorrow. Start small.

Answer these questions:

• What's the most repetitive task that consumes your time? (This is your process)
• What tool could automate it? ChatGPT, a chatbot, an automated form, a simple script. (This is your tool)
• How will you measure that it works? Hours saved, errors reduced, customer satisfaction. (This is your KPI)

With these three answers, you have a 30-day pilot. Execute, measure, learn. If it works, scale. If not, adjust and try again.

To review the complete event and other insights about digital transformation for SMEs, you can check the official publication on Chamber of Commerce LinkedIn.

Conclusion: AI Isn't the Future, It's Now

Digital transformation and AI aren't luxuries. They're accessible tools that can give you a real competitive advantage. But only if you implement them correctly.

Start with one process. Use one tool. Define one result. The next 30 days can change how your business works.

Ready? Visit CariBid.com to see how digital transformation is revolutionizing auctions in the Dominican Republic, and take inspiration for your own 30-day pilot.