Almost every part of our lives is in some ways enhanced or modified by digital technologies. The way we communicate has changed. So did the ways we gain knowledge, spend our money, and entertain ourselves. Thanks to new, innovative technologies, we live in a world where we can access almost anything we want with a couple of clicks.
The world of business is not immune to this transformation. Businesses of all sizes are increasingly relying on digital technologies for everything from customer acquisition to employee onboarding. While digital transformation is a huge trend, there is still a sizeable number of businesses that are resisting it. More than one in three businesses don’t have a digital transformation program and don’t have a plan for one in the future. Being in that group will leave your business at a serious disadvantage against your digital-savvy competitors. So, when you decide to get serious about digital, here are five priority areas you need to address.
Security
You might think that small and medium businesses don’t get as many cyber attacks as big companies. After all, SMBs have fewer resources that would interest hackers. That makes them a smaller and less significant target.
Nothing could be further from the truth. 43% of all cyber attacks that happen target small businesses. Whether they are after your money, data, or they want to use your network to launch DDoS attacks against third parties, hackers will be interested in your business. And you will need to be able to protect yourself. Using strong security software is just one of the steps you will need to make. You will also need to educate yourself and your employees on the latest security practices.
Digital Marketing
The digital world is increasingly becoming the place where customers and businesses meet. People are turning to websites and social media pages to discover new products and buy them. People also use the Internet in their product research. To put it simply — people are doing everything online, and businesses are going online because that is where their customers are.
Digital marketing can be a very effective tool for reaching new customers. It has a low barrier to entry and it doesn’t have to cost too much. You don’t even have to handle your business’ digital marketing campaigns. You can always rely on companies that offer professional digital marketing services and let them do the work for you.
Productivity
Productivity is one of the many areas where businesses could always use some improvements. The more productive you and your employees are, the more you will able to do with a fixed amount of resources. Increased productivity leads to spending less time and money on creating the same output, or increasing your output while spending the same amount of time and money. Either way, it is good for your bottom line.
Adopting digital productivity tools should be among your most important goals during digital transformation. You will need to identify areas that need improvement first. Then, choose from the available tools that target problem areas such as communication, reporting, project management, or workflow design. Soon enough, you will start seeing the benefits.
Cost-Reduction
Increasing productivity can lead to cost-reduction. However, it is not the only thing you can do to keep the overhead down and increase the profitability of your business. There is a strong need for cost-reduction products and services among business. And where there is a need, digital technologies move in to fulfill it.
One of the ways you can use digital transformation to reduce costs is by outsourcing some of your workloads to freelancers. Today’s freelancers operate in the digital space, so you can access top talent from across the world without breaking the bank. You can also use automation tools to save hours of work spent doing menial and boring tasks.
Customer Experience
In their effort to attract more customers and keep them from going to the competition, businesses are putting more emphasis on creating a high-quality customer experience. Using advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, businesses are offering their customers highly personalized products and services.
And you should consider doing it, too. Improved customer experience can lead to better customer acquisition and retention. Best of all, customer experience enhancements don’t have to be so hard to implement. Something as simple as a machine-learning powered search bar that offers recommendations can work really well.
Conclusion
If you want your business to survive and thrive, digital transformation is inevitable. Many businesses have realized that already, and are way ahead of you in the process. The sooner you start the transformation, and the smarter you are at implementing new solutions, the less you will be left behind. It will also help you stay ahead of the competitors that are still on the fence with digital transformation.
