So you’re not a digital native? That shouldn’t stop you from immigrating to the tech side and boosting your business.
If you’ve ever travelled abroad, you’ll know what it’s like to be in a new place, with new rules, different cultural expectations, maybe another language. Something that’s usually easy, like catching a bus or ordering dinner, suddenly becomes a challenge.
For the locals, everything is second nature. And if you stay a little while, you’ll start working things out until one day you feel right at home.
Digital business is similar. Some companies are “born in the cloud” – they’ve been digital from day dot and never known anything other than the frictionless, online experience that comes with leading business applications. Their go-to form of communication has always been digital. Standard forms of business information exchange like email get replaced by collaboration tools like Slack or Trello.
These businesses increasingly set customer and employee-experience standards. Businesses that surprise and delight with digital experiences are surging in customer preferences.
For a small business with workflows built around desktop tools and applications, making the change to digital is more daunting. But the impact is tremendous. According to PwC’s Small Business Digital Growth report, small businesses in Australia could unlock an extra $49.2 billion in output over the next 10 years by making better use of technology.
Better customer experience, business management and strategy, supply chain and sales and distribution are four core areas where technology will make a difference for small business. In New South Wales alone, almost 275,000 businesses stand to benefit, according to PwC.
So, what can digital immigrants learn from the digital natives?
The tools – Digital natives are using cloud-based applications like Google’s G Suite, Zoom, Canva and Slack to improve the flexibility and efficiency of workflows. This enables staff to work and collaborate at any time, from anywhere. Savvy businesses are leveraging social media platforms to market themselves and tapping into content marketing to tell their story online. By creating free content they’re able to provide real value to their customers.
The mindset – Transforming to digital shouldn’t be a big bang. It’s a process of ongoing evolution. Technology changes continuously and so should your business, based on what makes most sense in adopting new ways of working.
The benefits – Wins include real-time communication with customers and employees, collaborating with people regardless of location, easier information exchange and greater efficiency. Digital native businesses are demonstrating how much easier traditional business processes can be.
“Small businesses in Australia could unlock an extra $49.2 billion in output over the next 10 years by making better use of technology.”
Don’t know where to start? Here are a few tips:
- Pick one key workflow or application at a time. There’s no need to overhaul everything at once. Think about the areas that cause pain for your customers or your team and prioritise.
- Be mindful of the appetite for change. Don’t give in to fear of change but don’t overwhelm yourself or your team either, as change is constant and should be an ongoing cycle in improving your business. Engage your team or customers early and run small pilots if needed before you make the switch. Seek feedback along the way and adjust as needed. Allow time for new technologies to become embedded with your team or customers before switching to the next one.
- Partner with a trusted advisor like your bookkeeper or accountant. They’ve guided other small businesses through transformations and will share valuable insights. In the case of your digital content strategy, an authority like Jeff Bullas will help you bring your business to life online.
- Look for integration points or plug-ins to help your efficiency and productivity. Once you’re connected, consider which integrated apps will help solve your key business challenges and maximise the benefit you get from existing digital tools.
- Adopt cloud accounting technology. Solutions such as QuickBooks automate your data entry, plus so much more. Ultimately, using such technology will free up your time to focus on what’s most important to you.
When travelling into the unknown, it’s always best to look at how the locals do it – and preferably to find someone who’s willing to help. We all start somewhere but, with a bit of patience and persistence, you will become fluent in no time.
Bianca Bowron-Cuthill, Head of Customer Success, Intuit Australia.
