Checklist: The digital plan your business needs to succeed

If you’re not sure what “going digital” looks like in practice, the many opportunities for growth are likely going to be invisible to you. However, we’re all operating businesses in the digitised marketplace and the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented and unexpected growth in the digital savvy-ness of our customers.

It has been the catalyst, the urgent driver for businesses to change their business models, adopt e-commerce and better use digital and social media channels to build a loyal customer base.

Proactive businesses have become conditioned to adapt to the continually evolving consumer changes led by exponential change and growth in technologies, digital marketing and e-commerce practices. For many businesses, not only did their usual channels to connect and do business with their customers change but also their customer segments and source markets changed as consumer needs were rerouted in response to the pandemic.

Going at it alone

In a survey of more than 500 small businesses by Navii Digital in 2020, one of the most common challenges the SMEs were seeking to overcome when it comes to growing their business was the fact that they did not have a digital plan. They reported that they were doing digital marketing and social media in an ad hoc manner, which led to wasting time and not achieving a measurable return on investment.

Survey respondents also often cited a feeling of overwhelm by having identified areas they wished to prioritise but lacked the resources and knowledge to know how to guide their efforts.

These first-hand responses from small businesses provide a picture of the pain points of the business owners who don’t have a digital plan. What it doesn’t demonstrate are the positive outcomes that can be achieved through having a tailor-made digital plan to guide their investment, including time, human resources and money.

What businesses stand to gain

Going digital encompasses many aspects of better business and marketing practices. However, one of the most valuable benefits is a vastly improved customer experience.

In the new consumer marketplace, your customers are demonstrating a preference for service and product providers who can treat them as an individual through digitally optimised personalised marketing, sales support and customer service. A recent Salesforce survey found that at least 66% of customers expect brands to understand their needs and expectations. If your business is not able to provide a high-tech, high-touch experience throughout your customer’s purchase journey, you will be left in the wake of your competitors.

A common trait of entrepreneurs is a relentless pursuit of continual improvement in their customer’s experience of their products and customer service interactions — including their online customer journey. All businesses that wish to grow and be sustainable can take inspiration from this commitment to customer experience.

For your customers, improvements that lead to more personalised offers and services generate a stickiness to your brand. Customer loyalty is the winner in your strategy, as any hard-working business owner knows that it’s much more profitable to sell to loyal customers and people who know your brand than it is to find, attract and sell to new customers.

Finding digital direction

Going digital and staying up to date with the expectations of your customers can be understandably overwhelming for businesses. This is especially true for small businesses that don’t have the specialist knowledge and skills in their team to map out the opportunities and manage the implementation of improvements in a risk-managed approach.

Businesses of all sizes need to regularly review and analyse their practices and compare them with the latest consumer trends in order to identify opportunities for improvement. Outlining your unique priorities, setting goals, and mapping a path to meeting these targets under professional guidance will enable your business to grow sustainably.

There are several areas of digitisation that should be considered when developing a digital strategy, including:

1. Digital marketing to build brand awareness and specific tactics to drive online sales

   ●  Social media strategy;

   ●  Advertising campaigns;

   ●  Online reputation management; and 

   ●  Email marketing.

2. Online presence optimisation to maximise findability and reach

   ● Website development;

   ● Search engine optimisation (SEO); and

   ● Local search strategy (e.g. optimising your Google My Business listing). 

3. Tools and processes to enable great customer service that multiplies conversion rates and drive customer loyalty

   ● E-commerce functionality;

   ● Live chat; and

   ● Email automation.

4. Automation, data integration and analytics to save time and money and inform business decision making

   ● Systems connectivity and automation;

   ● Analytics tracking to measure performance and ROI; and

   ● Cloud-based data management.

To achieve positive outcomes, all the strategies that a business identifies as being aligned with their goals must be based on critical information, a clear picture of your ideal customer and an understanding of what works. Through a tried-and-true formula of market segmentation and clearly defined customer personas, businesses are well-positioned to tailor their digital plan to meet their customer’s needs and to connect with them through their favourite digital channels, content and customer service practices.