Do I need to go digital?
We have some clients that come to us with a really clear idea of what they need and others who are starting out and really just want some honest advice. They wonder whether they even need to bother with a digital strategy and how to make sense of the various channels out there from socials to sites. Most modern businesses do have a digital presence and there are some good reasons but there are times when (as much as it’s bad for business) we advise against it.
Credibility
Having a digital presence and particularly a website is a good opportunity to demonstrate your credibility and professionalism. Social channels do give you a presence but because there is a constant flow of posts, updates and comments they can be a little more limited in providing clear messaging and information and may not give a full picture of your business without potential customers having to sign up or scroll through content. Having a coherent, well branded and professional website can give customers confidence in your services too - it’s a reflection of your approach to business.
Widen your audience
The benefits of a digital presence have never been clearer after the last year of largely remote trading for a lot of businesses. The need to connect with customers without physical contact has led to a lot of companies rolling out an online presence. As well as this advantage another benefit is access to new customers who may not be able to visit physical premises - they might be local people who haven’t explored services locally or even others from further afield and potentially even in different geographies.
As far as websites versus social - it’s hard to imagine but not all customers use social media channels and some are actively moving away from them because of privacy concerns. Websites can offer an additional public channel of communication, that anyone can access without the need for an account or to commit to joining groups, following or liking.
Establish a following
Having an online presence can help you build up a following of users - whether that’s through social channels where you can constantly push content out or via a mailing list through newsletters and updates. This allows you to remind previous customers about your offer and encourages organic growth through word of mouth as well as repeat business. It’s a great way to assert your brand and keep customers up to date with any changes you make to products and services. The main challenge is ensuring you have a good strategy in place and keep a regular flow of new and interesting content.
The alternative
There are sometimes when having a digital presence doesn’t work for customers. We spoke to one client who was hiring out a holiday home - at the time they only had one property on offer and it just didn’t make sense for them to invest in a whole digital strategy when there were alternative re-sellers with already established operational workflows and client bases. For smaller craft businesses with limited throughput and no major ambitions to grow beyond a hobby or side project the same may apply. With sites like Etsy or Not on The High Street, it may not always make sense to invest in socials and sites. Remember if you do embark on going digital you need to be able to put in time and effort to reap the rewards. There’s nothing more damaging than an out of date or poorly executed strategy, so if time and commitment is going to be an issue, we’d say it’s better to do nothing at all than put in place a half hearted plan.
If you’re still unsure how far and how deep to go in establishing a digital presence then please do feel free to get in touch! We’re here to help even just as a sounding board and we won’t take on any projects unless we believe we can offer value to your business.
