What are the benefits and costs of having a digital presence for your small business? Is it worth the hassle, and where will you fund the time to dedicate on top of an already hectic schedule? Those are the questions every business should be asking themselves.
Does your business currently have an online presence?
Website only
Online sales
Mobile app
Social media
You can vote for more than one answer.
Trends over the past ten years indicate that the growth of E-commerce is undeniable. Depending on your business type, finding a way to get a slice of this pie will undoubtedly help your bottom line.
Benefits of going digital
Visibility
Online reviews are potentially the most common form of online engagement; research by Invesp indicates that
90% of the consumers read online reviews before making a purchase and 88% of the consumers will be prompted to take an action after reading positive reviews
Online reviews aside, having an online presence allows you to present your products/services to customers in the most favourable light. The first impression is often the last impression people remember. And the first impression is usually made online.
Some great ways to promote your online presence include:
Have a sleek and simple website with details of the products and services you provide and easy ways for customers to engage with you.
Social media engagement, to let people know you're engaged and active
Online reviews Are a great way to promote and establish credibility, whether Booking.com for accommodation or google reviews for everything else. Make sure you know what is being discussed about your business online and engage positively in the conversation.
Mobile is for the internet, what websites were in the '90s; few businesses have them, but they have a distinct advantage of creating better customer relationships.
Scalability - do more with less.
The operations of a small business are challenging at the best of times. Technology allows you to automate non-essential tasks and frees you up to deliver your core products/services more efficiently.
Think of time like any other resource (e.g. money); you only have a limited amount of it, and the return you derive from it will directly impact your profit margin.
With the right technology, you can do more with less, provide better customer responses, close more sales, and deliver a better experience for every client so they repeatedly return (and bring their friends). Ultimately this means more $$$ coming through the door for the same (or less even) effort.
Scalability improvements include:
Automation of repetitive tasks, e.g. automated email responses
Tools integration allows you to connect tasks from a single place efficiently
Administration Automation - Automating your administrative tasks, such as billing, taking payments, follow-ups, and issuing receipts, can free up many hours a week, which you can allocate to more productive work.
Knowledge articles/FAQs.
Efficiency
The technology revolution over the last decade has produced previously unimaginable tools, from email automation to creating beautiful experiences for your customer online. The entire customer journey can be automated, resulting in fewer overheads for wages and quicker, more reliable customer experiences, and improved sales results for your business.
Costs
Financial - Staff salaries are the most expensive cost every business faces. Automation will free up your employees to focus on the most productive activities.
Time - digitization of your business could be the best use of your time. What is the most productive activity I could be doing to move the business forward? As the business owner, everything else should be delegated or digitally automated.
Summary
Making your business more effective means more time as the business owner to spend doing things you love; as well as
more money left in your pocket
better products and prices for your customers
more job satisfaction for employees
Join our community to learn what others are doing to stay ahead of their competition in this digital age!
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