Why does every business need technology solutions?

The last year has been one of the most challenging and unpredictable 12 months in human history. Very quickly we all pivoted from the world we knew to a new normal. This has presented challenges to employees and businesses alike.

From seemingly business as usual at the start of 2020, to remote working and social distancing by the early spring, we have been tested as individuals and as a collective society over the last year. With uncertainty still around, albeit a beacon of hope with the vaccination rollout across the globe, there does now appear to be genuine optimism and hope for the months ahead.

However, one of the by-products of the pandemic situation is the need for all types of businesses to invest in technology solutions so that they can continue to operate in the new commercial realities that are present.

Recent press releases from companies like Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and Google have shown a real increase in online activity since the start of the global pandemic. With many of us spending more and more time at home than ever before, online platforms have seen a huge spike in demand.

A study released a short while ago actually found that the average adult in the UK is now spending upwards of 5 hours per browsing the internet, this represents a massive opportunity for businesses to connect with their audiences online.

In this week's blog, we wanted to answer a key question that we often get asked here at iOB Business, namely, why does every business need technology solutions?

Setting the scene
Marketing is all about being visible where your customers spend the majority of their time. Traditional marketing methods or offline marketing, such as print, are not as effective in the new normal. Whereas previously, many businesses could rely on traditional methods of promotion such as leaflets, flyers and posters to connect with customers, the new environment has made many offline marketing strategies redundant.

It is for this very reason that many industry analysts, including ourselves, have seen a big shift in the adoption rate of technology solutions within the small/medium-sized business (SME’s) community.

Large, corporate entities have traditionally always had an advantage over smaller competitors. Their sheer size and resources mean that they have the ability to develop and deploy solutions across their business. This is in stark contrast to SME’s who generally don’t have the budget, resources or experience to roll out new technology solutions.

One phrase we like to use when referencing small business owners and technology, is accidental business owners. Most small business owners are experts in their core activity and as we all know, the small business community contributes massively to the GDP (gross domestic product) of most countries.

When we use the term accidental business owners, we simply mean that business owners have built a highly skilled enterprise around their experiences/knowledge. For example, if you take a restaurant owner, he/she was most likely a great chef and then decided to build a business around this skill. Another example is an accountant who qualified with a firm before setting up his or her own practice.

But having a core skill is no longer enough to build a long term and scalable business. As we have seen in some of our previous blogs, customers now respond to multiple touchpoints and therefore it’s important that businesses engage their audience on their website, social media, search engines, review sites etc.

All of these areas are time-consuming and difficult to master for a business owner who is juggling the operational side of running their business. Therefore, many businesses are turning to digital agencies and online specialists to help them implement technology solutions that will improve their overall online presence.

Validating our core platforms
As you are maybe aware, we made a strategy decision a few years ago to develop our own technology platforms as we identified a commercial need for local businesses to have user-friendly platforms that were affordable, easy to use and added tangible value to their bottom line.

The decision to create and develop our own solutions also places us in a unique situation whereby we are not relying on a third party company to evolve/modify the software with little input from us, our partners and their clients. As a result, we have been able to integrate lots of features that are appreciated by business owners and their customers.

Each one of our platforms has been created with a distinct commercial need. For example, taking our Food Ordering platform as an example, companies like Just Eat and Uber Eats have shown there is a desire for people to order food/drink online. These companies typically charge up to 20% commission per order and crucially they never release the customer data back to the restaurant. Our platform solves these problems by having a fully deployed solution that gives the business owner control.

Next up, we have our Reputation Management platform that helps businesses capture positive and negative reviews online. The popularity of review sites like Trustpilot and Tripadvisor show that as customers, we are looking for social proof and validation before we visit/spend money with a business. Our platform helps business safeguard their brand.

We are all familiar with social media sites and a recent study found that over half of the world's global population (circa 3.5 billion people), are on social media sites. This presents a big opportunity for businesses to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Our Social Posting platform allows businesses to simultaneously post content to all the major social networks at the same time, therefore saving time when connecting with new/existing customers.

Finally, we have our Online Booking platform that allows any business to accept appointments online. With social distancing guidelines a reality for the next few months, many businesses are encouraging customers to book and pay in advance. Our platform allows businesses to offer a frictionless way for customers to interact and transact online.

All of these solutions are fully responsive and can be deployed onto any website in a matter of seconds to enhance their existing solutions/digital presence a business already has.

Extra solutions to solidify the relationship
Now, we don’t claim that businesses only need the 4 platforms mentioned above to have a great online presence. The modern day customer expects to interact with brands on a variety of mediums. This is why it’s important to have additional ways to help local business.

Having the ability to upgrade to a new website or revamp an existing website is also crucial as a website is a business’s digital store and something they have lots of control over. Being found on search engines such as Google is also vitally important, so having the ability to offer search engine optimisation (SEO) is an attractive proposition for businesses.

These extra services, known as Add-on services, substantially boost the capability of working with and adding value to, hundreds of different industry sectors. While projects like web development and SEO are more technical than say configuring one of our core platforms, we have a fulfilment team available to complete these projects on a case by case basis for our partner network.

Summary
As we have seen throughout this week's blog, the new commercial realities mean that all businesses need to invest in technology solutions. With more and more time being spent online, businesses that fail to develop a clear and joined up digital marketing strategy, will ultimately become less and less relevant.

With the technology and marketing landscape moving forward at such pace, there has never been a better time to connect with business owners and really help them capitalise on digital transformation.

To find out how you can set up and grow your own Digital Agency, without any technical skills or experience, please contact a member of our team.

Until next time, take care.