COVID-19 has basically necessitated every business to run an online marketing campaign, conduct meetings over Zoom, and accept digital payments. When the first wave of the pandemic hit the world, businesses were ill-equipped to deal with the new restrictions. They didn’t have the infrastructure in place. Now things have progressed. It’s just a matter of taking the next steps for the transition to happen.
For a business to survive during the pandemic, it’s high time they should increase their online offering and reach out to customers at home. After all, consumers are making the type of purchases they never made before. I would like to quote my example here. I never imagined I would subscribe to the Spectrum Gold package in my life but the pandemic made it do it!
Ready to take your business online? Here are some of the business elements that can be digitized:
Your website is your digital storefront. It’s there to help your customers learn about your business, check your product offerings and help them shop for what they are looking for most conveniently. The website has to be well-managed. It must have updated stock, price, and delivery time. Until everything is up and running smoothly, there is no harm in micromanaging.
Admits COVID, there has been a sharp increase in online shopping. Those who already have a website in place can switch to the next phase of digitization by developing a mobile app. To make the most of this trend, you must have a responsive business.
Set up an online payment system that facilitates the transfer of money between the potential buyers and you. For that, you will have to set up a secure payment processing page and accept credit card payments. You may choose to send invoices via email or other electronic means. A paper invoice can be included alongside delivered goods.
It’s easier to push your marketing practices online by creating social media presence. Initially, it’s recommended to focus on one or two platforms where your audience hangs out the most.
For this, you will have to do extensive research on your audience. Benefit from online recommendations, friends, and family, contact influencers, public figures for endorsing your products or service. Write blogs about your products, advertise special discounts. You can also use paid ads to drive more traffic to your site, make them engage with your products, and eventually buy something.
In the era where everyone is on their smartphones and is using social media for killing their time, why not take your business on social media!
Throughout this process of digitalizing the key elements of your business, keep everything simple. There is no way you can move the entire business online overnight. It’s not even recommended to overdo anything.
Take one step at a time. Start by creating your website, keep it functional, updated and make the client your focus. Choose a plain and smooth to use web design and then switch towards something interactive over time. Remember one thing, right now, efficiency is more important than intricacy.
Since you would be handling online payments, you will be needing some sort of IT Security. For that, at the time of buying a domain name and hosting for your website, make your website secure by purchasing an SSL Certificate. Some online platforms have their own powerful security features to add extra layer of security to your website.
Technology changes rapidly. What was popular and cutting edge once can get outdated in months. It doesn’t take much time for something new to take over. Designing a multi-year digital transformation process upfront without evaluating the investment requirements and performance goals until the end of the project makes little sense. Instead, the right approach is to make regular monthly adjustments.
This type of adaptive approach is an essential part of success in digital transformation. It in fact allows your project to evolve while you keep track of other important objectives.
While all aspects of digital transformation are critical to the success of a business, it's important to remember one key point: successful changes are the ones that are proactive rather than reactive. Continuously developing and adapting to competitive challenges can lead to some success, but the most successful transformations occur when a business embraces change and take risks.
Ready to take your business online? Here are some of the business elements that can be digitized:
1: Invest in a Website
Your website is your digital storefront. It’s there to help your customers learn about your business, check your product offerings and help them shop for what they are looking for most conveniently. The website has to be well-managed. It must have updated stock, price, and delivery time. Until everything is up and running smoothly, there is no harm in micromanaging.
2: Optimize for Mobile
Admits COVID, there has been a sharp increase in online shopping. Those who already have a website in place can switch to the next phase of digitization by developing a mobile app. To make the most of this trend, you must have a responsive business.
3: Enable Online Payments
Set up an online payment system that facilitates the transfer of money between the potential buyers and you. For that, you will have to set up a secure payment processing page and accept credit card payments. You may choose to send invoices via email or other electronic means. A paper invoice can be included alongside delivered goods.
4: Be On Social Media
It’s easier to push your marketing practices online by creating social media presence. Initially, it’s recommended to focus on one or two platforms where your audience hangs out the most.
For this, you will have to do extensive research on your audience. Benefit from online recommendations, friends, and family, contact influencers, public figures for endorsing your products or service. Write blogs about your products, advertise special discounts. You can also use paid ads to drive more traffic to your site, make them engage with your products, and eventually buy something.
In the era where everyone is on their smartphones and is using social media for killing their time, why not take your business on social media!
5: KIS (Keep It Simple)
Throughout this process of digitalizing the key elements of your business, keep everything simple. There is no way you can move the entire business online overnight. It’s not even recommended to overdo anything.
Take one step at a time. Start by creating your website, keep it functional, updated and make the client your focus. Choose a plain and smooth to use web design and then switch towards something interactive over time. Remember one thing, right now, efficiency is more important than intricacy.
6: Make It Secure
Since you would be handling online payments, you will be needing some sort of IT Security. For that, at the time of buying a domain name and hosting for your website, make your website secure by purchasing an SSL Certificate. Some online platforms have their own powerful security features to add extra layer of security to your website.
7: Remain Adaptive
Technology changes rapidly. What was popular and cutting edge once can get outdated in months. It doesn’t take much time for something new to take over. Designing a multi-year digital transformation process upfront without evaluating the investment requirements and performance goals until the end of the project makes little sense. Instead, the right approach is to make regular monthly adjustments.
This type of adaptive approach is an essential part of success in digital transformation. It in fact allows your project to evolve while you keep track of other important objectives.
Final Words
While all aspects of digital transformation are critical to the success of a business, it's important to remember one key point: successful changes are the ones that are proactive rather than reactive. Continuously developing and adapting to competitive challenges can lead to some success, but the most successful transformations occur when a business embraces change and take risks.
Posted In:
Digital Marketing