With small businesses slated to spend $75,000 every year on digital marketing, digitization has created powerful changes in every enterprise.
The way you did business just 5 years ago might look nothing like the way you’re doing it now. If you don’t keep up with the changes, you could end up losing your hard earned place in your local market.
Digitization has helped to streamline some costs but has extended others. While you might have less of a need for customer service representatives, you definitely need more full-time tech support than ever before. In fact, you might be employing more people now than you would have been before digitization.
If you’re wondering what digitization can do to improve your company, here are 6 reasons you should consider it for every aspect of your business.
1. Cut Employee Costs
One of the biggest costs for any operation is labor costs. When you factor in the time people spend in your offices, the cost of keeping the offices open, and the productivity lost by employee absence, it adds up. One of the best ways to cut costs is to digitize as much as you can of the production process.
When people can contribute their work or communicate with one another online, you don’t have to worry about any obstructions. Employees will get the information they need from one another in an expedited and efficient manner.
When people who are sick stay home and continue to contribute, they protect the rest of your workforce while maintaining their own productivity. This is a win-win situation for any business. With a strong platform to work remotely, your company will be sure to thrive.
2. Improve the Feedback Process
One of the biggest drags on the process of completing projects is the feedback cycle. It’s an absolutely essential component of getting the work done right but it can feel like a serious drag. Having to go back and forth between the team and the client can slow down productivity in a big way.
Instead of meetings, you could run an online forum where everyone could get access to the product. They could see how it works, ask questions, and make an analysis in their own time. Leave the comments open and let people take a look at their leisure instead of giving them the pressure of a meeting.
Digitizing your work process also prepares you for any kind of emergency. If a customer has a problem that needs to be fixed post-haste, you can address it immediately. You can get the right staff members in touch with them and put your customers’ mind at ease as quickly as it was thrown into disarray.
3. Increase Safety
There’s no office on the planet that doesn’t have a vital need to keep employees safe. Employees should also be able to know that their building is safe and secure.
One of the best ways to put your employees at ease is to have everything about this process digitized. All employees should have access to digital records about your most recent testing, the results of those tests, and when the next tests will be.
Employee accountability should also be a part of this system. If they experience any technical or safety issues, they should report the incident digitally. That way, everyone will have access to the same information and maintain the safety of your system.
4. Better Customer Service
When you digitize your business, you can improve your interaction with customers. Customers that are able to interact with you immediately through their mobile devices will report higher satisfaction. They’ll feel connected to your company and happy to be able to get their questions answered quickly.
When customers need a reorder, you could have a system set up to place the order in advance. Otherwise, you could set them up with a series of reminders to reorder their favorite products or services. Virtual digital customer service representatives walk them through every step of the way.
If you have an app, in-app purchases could make the process a breeze for customers.
A digitized customer platform puts the power in the hands of your clientele rather than having customer service professionals mediating their every need.
5. Communicate Better with Other Businesses
One of the most important levels of business communication is what you do with other businesses. If you deal with distributors or suppliers for your products, digitizing your ordering and communication process can save time and money.
Having a shared spreadsheet with contact information for all of the businesses you interact with most often will improve the speed that you do business with. If your main buyer is on vacation or sick, the world doesn’t need to stop. If anyone has access to your ordering system, they can hop in your buyer’s chair and do all of the buying without anyone noticing the difference.
6. Distribute Faster
No matter what industry you’re in, there’s probably a way to distribute your products and services faster through digitization than you’re doing now. Digitizing your business might mean adapting your business or slightly pivoting how you offer your services. In the end, it’ll mean that you can give customers what they want faster than expected.
This buys your team more time for developing products, testing them, and doing the research they need to do. Every element of your sales funnel will be affected if you can shorten your distribution time. If you’re able to distribute faster than your competitors, you’ll easily become the go-to brand in your industry.
Digitization Will Bring New Issues
While digitization has solved many problems in the way we do business, it’s also introduced a few new ones. Digitization will cause you to have to learn new techniques, new programs, and educate employees in new ways. Be sure you’re staying ahead of trends to ensure that you don’t lose any ground in the digitization revolution.
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