Technology has revolutionised business practices on many fronts whether it’s production, packaging, delivery or services. If developments such as the Internet of Things are anything to go by, a lot more is still in store.
This growth has also led to a change in how businesses approach their marketing and communications. To succeed as a business, you need to think about technology and how you can adapt to the changes.
At the moment, some businesses only operate online with no single physical store. The large majority of companies also have a website to promote their products and services which means that having an online presence is not really a matter of choice but rather necessity for businesses.
Social Media has also provided an avenue through which businesses can interact with their clients and give feedback when necessary. It has also provided a platform for the clients to provide feedback, recommendations, and reviews after service.
So it’s safe to say, to succeed in business in today’s world, you need to be digitally smart. You need to follow best practice techniques and provide a great experience for customers and potential customers.
In this article, I’ll cover some of my tips you should consider to help your business to be more digitally smart and to succeed.
Data Security
No matter the size of your company, the need for data security has never been so high. At the moment you are probably only aware of data security breaches with some big name companies.
However, it doesn’t just happen to big business, even small businesses get attacked from time to time. In fact, the small businesses can often be an easy target as they tend to have weaker security and monitoring.
To protect your digital assets, employee and customer details, you can use some of these techinques:
Install firewalls on your computer and digital systems to help guard you against hacking.
Keep your systems updated. This means installing updated software that is high quality.
Ensure you have a password management system where only authorised persons can have access to the data.
You should have a data backup plan to help you regain the data lost.
To be safe from loss caused by the data breach, you can go for data insurance.
Working with reputable cyber security companies reduces the risk of loss if your systems are breached.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
At the moment, most big companies already countless posts on social media. This should be a indicator of how important social media is to businesses. You should also not hesitate to follow suit. Have your social media game on. Create your business profile on major social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others.
These are platforms you can use to get new leads and clients. You can also use them for customer interaction and engagement. Moreover, you can get reviews from customers and recommendations which will help you in improving your product and service satisfaction.
You can also have a look at some of the strategies employed by your competitors and other big companies in the industry which you can apply for your success.
Use Working Online Marketing Strategies
If all the money invested by businesses in online marketing is anything to go by, be ready to experience digital interactions even more. Companies are channeling their marketing budgets from the mainstream media and instead directing it to the online world.
Smell the coffee? Get up and start using some of these online marketing strategies:
Content is King: This will not change any time soon. This means that anytime you are creating your marketing content, go for value and information to the clients.
User Friendly Website: Ensure that you build a website that is easy to use by the clients. Use fonts that are easy to read and high-quality themes. Make their experience worthy. Give vital information on the website and allow for interactions. You can learn from some bigger companies that are doing it well already and borrow ideas from what they do.
Mobile Friendly Website: Studies show that most people are using their mobile phones to access the web. This means you must have a website easily accessible through the mobile devices. This implies that it should be fast loading and easy to read. This will ensure that the clients make a return visit to the site.
Video: The use of video as a marketing strategy has been on the rise. Videos provide a way for customers to learn how to operate and work with your products more than they would when written. The ability to remember a video content is also high.
SEO: Many prospective customers still use search engines to look for goods and services. This means the higher you are ranked in search engines, the better the chances of potential customers finding you.
Customer Satisfaction
No matter how well you implement these digital tips in your business, without customer satisfaction your business could be doomed. You should ensure that you provide the best quality experience for your potential customers. Clearly displaying the benefits of your products and services can help you to attract customers. To give you an example, details of improvements should be displayed and benefits to customers should be highlighted. You should also use customer’s feedback to help improve your quality.
Where to from Here
As you start looking into making your business an online powerhouse using these digital tips, do remember the saying ‘Strategy over Tactics.’ By developing a clear strategy, you can evaluate what works for you and what doesn’t and if your business targets are met. You can then use this information to take your business to the next level.
For some further reading, check out these recent Marketing.com.au posts:
Helen Cartwright is a passionate blogger, who excels in the Digital Marketing and Technology niche. When not wired in marketing strategies she ghost-write for a variety of authors who have their work published on leading online media channels such as The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com.
