The internet has been around for quite some time, but not everyone wants to make the big switch to get their business online and into the digital age. It’s understandable, because if something works, there’s no need to switch it, right?
Wrong. In fact, not going online and getting your business into the digital marketplace could prove fatal. Take restaurants and takeaways for example. Are you more likely to look online to search for a place to deliver you food, or are you going to go to your front door to pick up the leaflets and flyers they pour into your home?
But fear not, going digital isn’t as scary as it sounds. It’s actually rather easy, and it’s one of the best ways to start introducing technology into your business.
Digitise Your Records for Speed and Efficiency
Accessing data has become somewhat of a challenge for old businesses that still rely on paper documents and storage. Businesses run faster, more efficiently, and more cheaply when the reliance on paper is removed and shifted to software. Picking out documents and finding them on a network is much faster, secure, and safer than looking through archival boxes.
If you’re a new and modern business, chances are you’ve already hooked up digital systems to help organise your business. However, if you’ve been running your business for a long time, then chances are you’ve still got a massive archive of paper records and documents that are just sitting somewhere and gathering dust.
Yet, it’s not as simple as getting rid of them. Most of the records are probably going to be used at some point, and it’s legally required for businesses to keep records for almost everything. There are plenty of services around that specialise in records management and will be able to sort all your paper documents. In addition to scanning and digitising your documents, they’ll usually offer data protection services and even destruction of old records.
Get Noticed on More Advertising Channels
Without advertising, your business is doomed to fail. The businesses that thrive will be able to exploit every avenue they can. Digital or traditional, TV or radio, flyers or emails, you need to use everything at your disposal.
The advantages of marketing a digital business are clear from the start. Not only can you advertise with web pages ads and online storefronts, you can also use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to get noticed. Not only do these services offer big advertisement opportunities, they also allow you to target your ads to specific demographics.
One of the biggest downfalls to traditional media is the cost involved for very low interaction rates. If you advertise on national television, expect to pay a massive premium and for potential customers to only know you by name. When you advertise in newspapers, it’s hard to get noticed because of the demographic that actually reads newspapers in the first place.
Instead, switching to online digital advertising allows you to target specific demographics. If your product is a chocolate bar, then you can target people that regularly browse chocolate-related websites and your ad relevancy will shoot through the roof. The cost associated is also lower because a number of websites and services out there that are willing to take your money to have your advertisements appear.