Are you digital enough? (Article 5)
Having made up your mind about your target audience, you start developing ways and means of communicating to them. We saw some guidelines of good communication in the earlier article. Now let us think of the communication channels that are available for you.
Channels of communication
There are plenty channels available in today’s world. There are traditional channels like newspapers, magazines, trade directories, television, exhibitions, hoardings, physical mailing etc. Many of these channels are still relevant for many businesses.
However, the e-channels such as social media, website, emailing, webinars etc. are the new ways of communication (not so new though!). These channels offer new opportunities for small and medium size businesses (MSMEs)** and posing new challenges to bigger businesses. To an extent, these channels are also creating a level playing field for small and medium size businesses the world over. In short, there are plenty of opportunities that can be cashed on. So, it makes perfect sense for MSMEs to go digital.
Going Digital — Where to begin
It is extremely important to build a great website for your business first. You can easily have a comparison between your website and website of the most successful business in your domain. Some of the things you need to check include:
1) How fast the website opens. How fast different pages of the website open.
2) What kind of images have been used all over and quality of all these images
3) Amount of knowledge content available on the website
4) Kind of videos & their duration on the website
5) Customer care section — what all they do for customers
6) Ease of navigation
7) How many types of downloads are available
8) How responsive* is the website
9) How does it work on a mobile — remember more and more customers are going to see most of the things on mobile now
10) Application notes, Case studies, White papers, Testimonials, Approvals and Certifications, User Interviews, ‘How to’ type of videos
11) How are their employees represented on their website?
12) Corporate governance details
13) Health-Safety-Environment policies
14) E-commerce (on line ordering / chatting / complaints resolution facilities)
15) FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section
There are many such things that you can check and compare with your own site. One of the good indicators of a top ranked company is quality of their website
Benefits of a good website
Once you compare the website of the top ranked company with your website, you will realize the difference. What matters indeed is the collective effect of all the points mentioned above and not just one.
When anyone landing on a website gets what he/she is looking for, in totality, the chances of that person / organization doing business with you increase dramatically. It is the user experience that matters the most these days.
With a good website, you can:
1) Establish your brand faster
2) Reach customers in terrains you never dreamed of
3) Improve Google ranking*** of your website
4) Highly increase probability of getting the business enquiry
5) Understand your customer needs faster
6) Run successful campaigns
7) Introduce new products more easily
8) Provide fast and effective service
9) Reduce selling costs
10) Do profitable business
For developing a good website and keeping it always updated, it is important that you have dedicated staff working on it.
In the next article, we will talk about digital tools that can enhance your business… Stay connected.
© Nitin Kirloskar
Notes:
* In case of a responsive site, all pages and images re-adjust themselves according to the size of the screen. So it is possible to see the contents on any device like mobile, laptop, desktop or a tab.
** MSME — Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
*** Ranking for a website is decided by Google based on several factors. One of the important factors is the neutrality and trustworthiness of the content, as well as the knowledge available on the website for the visitor.
