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In the COVID and post-COVID times, digital strategy for business is essential. As you already know, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the way we sell, buy, communicate, and do business in general. Companies that have adjusted to this new business scenery and currently operate online–thrive. That’s why you need a digital strategy for business. To grow your company at a time when hundreds of organizations decrease their scope of work or even shut down altogether. But the good news is–you can avoid this fate. In this article, we will show you how a properly designed digital strategy can help your business.
Soon every single company will have to have a digital strategy. No matter how many people they employ or what kind of services they offer. The global network is the only business environment absolutely resistant to COVID and other pandemics. Internet operates 24/7, 365 days a year. Naturally, it’s not entirely fail-safe. In fact, governments have the necessary tools to block it or shut down within minutes.
But when you compare all of the pros and cons of brick-and-mortar companies and digitized businesses–these that operate online have a clear advantage. Running a business on the internet is cheaper and more straightforward.
It’s like any other aspect of running a company–the more planned and organized it is, the more chance of succeeding you have. That’s why your digital strategy should comprise all of the relevant elements. Many experts believe that there should be nine elements of a decent digital strategy for business. That’s not necessarily true, and some of the elements absolutely necessary for one company can be totally irrelevant for the other.
Anyhow, when you’re working on a digital strategy for your business, you should consider the following elements:
Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements
It’s a strictly marketing-related subject, but we decided to separate these two questions. The very first thing you have to think of is your online presence. Today, a website is not sufficient; it’s just a beginning. There are many places where you or your company should be present:
Today, it’s one of you must-haves. And Facebook should be your first choice. First of all, that’s by far the largest social media platform ever. It has 2.5 billion active users monthly[1]. Today, both B2C and B2B companies utilize this platform, although the fact is, rather B2C companies will find a place for themselves here. Facebook is tremendous for one more reason–their Facebook Ads offer. But we will talk about that more in the marketing section.
This is obvious; Google is where your online business starts. There are many ways to promote your business on Google:
If you sell products online, marketplaces are the place to be. Find out what are the most popular marketplaces in your country. In the United States–it’s Amazon. In Poland–it’s Allegro. What’s interesting, Facebook also has a marketplace, and currently, they’re working on the new offer for online stores–Facebook Shops.
When it comes to digital marketing–you should get acquainted with performance marketing. It’s an excellent option for almost every company. With performance marketing, you pay only for the results. There are various performance marketing tactics and different forms of the settlement available, but, in general, it all comes down to paying for a specific action that users take. Performance marketing is by far the quickest and most efficient way to grow your online sales.
If you are interested in this form of promotion, consider these tools:
Naturally, the internet offers many more forms and techniques for online advertising. Some of them are efficient, but the general idea is that you should take care of your Facebook and Google presence. Why these two channels?
The answer is quite simple. Because these two channels combined allow you to reach almost every Internet user!
With these two platforms, you can decide (with a striking precision!) who and when will see your ads, making them effective.
It’s another vital aspect of every online business. According to Gladly’s 2020 Customer Expectations Report[3]:
These numbers tell one story–communication is one of the crucial aspects of running an online company. Today, communication between your company and customers, suppliers, and partners has to be quick and easy. Preferably also 24/7. You have to make sure your contact details are easy to find and clear. It is also vital to provide various ways of communication. A multitude of companies provides at least three forms to choose from: phone, email, and chat (it can be Facebook’s Messenger or What’s App). It seems that today, it’s your minimum.
If you run an online store or another business type that operates 24/7, you should provide communication channels that also work around the clock. For example, think about chatbots. If they are properly programmed and supported by various machine learning algorithms, they can be a fantastic support for your customer service department. Chatbots work 24/7, never get tired, never call in sick. But there is one essential success factor. Chatbots have to be combined with ML-fueled algorithms so that they can learn from every conversation and improve themselves in time.
Although that’s the last part of this text, it’s still essential. Your company should utilize various tools that help you work more effectively or sell more. But be cautious! It’s easy to overdo with them. Keep it simple and use only the indispensable ones.
Nowadays, the offer of digital tools is comprehensive. They help you with:
And many more aspects of running a digital company. However, there are a few must-haves, and these are:
15GB of free storage space and access to tools that help you create, manage and work on digital files (texts, sheets, presentations, forms). Google Drive is commonly used and for a reason. It’s a versatile and useful tool, especially when your team is scattered all around the globe.
If you want to be efficient in sales and marketing, you need to measure all of your campaigns and efforts. And this is what Google Analytics is all about. It’s a free tool that, when combined with your website, help you measure traffic on your website.
Thanks to Google Analytics, you know:
This tool also helps you assess the quality of your Google Ads campaigns.
At some point in your company’s development, you will see the need to harness data your company possesses and processes. And that’s the point where you will need big data analytics and business intelligence. Both of these services are quite similar. They are based on gaining useful business knowledge that aids you in making strategic decisions.
Big data analytics is your guide through data your company process. It helps you answer such questions as, “why X happened and will it happen again?”, “how to prevent Y from happening?”, “how will improving Z affect our company?”
Big data analytics and business intelligence are based on information from your company and the market itself. They help you improve customer service and sales, identify trends, enhance the recruitment process, and manage big data in your company.
If you are interested in implementing big data analytics, we recommend you read these two articles:
If you’re thinking about implementing big data analytics or business intelligence in your company, we’re more than happy to help! Addepto is an experienced AI consulting company. We work both with large corporations and small B2B companies. With our experience, you will make the most of the data your company processes.
[1] Maryam Mohsin. 10 Facebook statistics every marketer should know in 2021. Feb 16, 2021. URL: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/facebook-statistics. Accessed Sep 28, 2020.
[2] Tara Johnson. What is the Google Display Network?, June 13, 2017. URL: https://tinuiti.com/blog/paid-search/google-display-network/. Accessed Sep 28, 2020.
[3] Gladly. Customer Expectations Are Changing. Are you Ready to Exceed Them?, URL: https://go.gladly.com/customer-expectations-report-2020. Accessed Sep 28, 2020.
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