Five ways digital will transform business in 2016

Digital transformation Craig Law
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In today’s connected world, and especially as customer expectations around digital engagements continue to rise, a robust digital presence is essential to business success.

Being both digitally-savvy and engaging customers through digital proficiency is extremely important and presents the opportunity for growth and transformation in SMEs.

Digital transformation is less about taking on new technology and more about how businesses can be fundamentally changed to operate more efficiently with technology. Here are five key actions businesses, whether they have digital strategies or not, can move and scale towards transforming digital operations and boosting business productivity and market share.

  • The first way a business can move towards digital business operations is through its website’s content and value. Rather than just presenting information to users and prospects, your website needs to generate engagement and do it quickly. From there, the user needs to be guided to a purchase or key takeaway that’s concise, easy and seamless. A good website should also be optimised for mobile users.
  • Improving your webpage’s ranking will help boost business awareness and the content being disseminated. Search Engine Optimization not only helps current customers to see your site more prominently, but also increases the potential for prospective customers to find your content when searching for similar solutions and vendors.
  • Social media. Be where your customers are, and engage with them how they prefer to engage. This will increase loyalty and engagement across the board, and also showcases your business as more approachable to key customers. Social media often shows a different side of a company and its real tone and personality can shine through in a more informal environment.
  • Avoid getting lost in the clutter and onslaught of emails your customer receives daily. While email has most likely – and rightly so – been part of your digital strategy and communication before now, doing it right is imperative to your success. Don’t let customers tune out your messages by ensuring email campaigns are optimised. The more engaging the message, the more results you will have to measure.
  • Don’t just push out content for the sake of pushing out content. It needs to be relevant, educational and grab customers’ attention. Giving customers an experience to remember and relate to will boost sales and credibility.

While digital transformation is a journey, businesses can move towards efficiency in operations and promote change this year armed with these five tips. Being digitally savvy and adaptable to changes in how customer prefer to receive information and do business will go a long way.

Craig Law, Managing Director, Progress