Why di­git­al­isa­tion is so important for local busi­nesses

Di­git­al­isa­tion has had a profound effect on the com­mer­cial landscape of the UK. While online retailers were initially dismissed as a niche option for computer nerds, e-commerce sales continue to rise dra­mat­ic­ally. In the fashion (clothing and shoes), elec­tron­ics and tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions in­dus­tries, this growth is even higher.

As a local retailer, however, you should not bury your head in the sand and worry that you can’t keep up. Instead, you should see digital change as an op­por­tun­ity to grow your own business. Below are the five biggest benefits your local business will gain from a solid web presence, and how you can best put this strength to use.

The coronavir­us pandemic has made shopping local even more com­plic­ated. In principle, day-to-day shopping is allowed in many sectors even when virus cases are surging – but the reg­u­la­tions ensure that the traffic is kept to a minimum. Fur­ther­more, in­di­vidu­al sectors such as the res­taur­ant industry are par­tic­u­larly affected by having to close com­pletely. Other than the re­stric­tions, people are less willing to go to crowded areas and therefore more likely to shop online.

A digital presence in the form of online ad­vert­ising or social media activ­it­ies or your own website is therefore more important than ever before. So that you don’t lose your customer base during these chal­len­ging times, being digital is essential. It is not a matter of replacing your physical business with an online shop or to go from being a res­taur­ant to a delivery service – it’s about making use of various marketing channels to inform your customers about the current business situation and to pass on the following in­form­a­tion, for example:

• Current situation in terms of on-site visiting
• Changing opening hours
• Services in times of corona (e.g. a delivery service or click-and-collect, which is becoming ever more popular)
• Other ways to support your local business, i.e. through vouchers

To kickstart the di­git­al­isa­tion of your local business, you can start with the full range of social media channels, search engine ad­vert­ising, and your own website or online shop. Al­tern­at­ively, you can focus on one or more specific marketing options. In either case, entering the digital world will help you to direct more attention towards your business. Below, we’ve have sum­mar­ised five ad­vant­ages of active marketing on the web for you.

One of the most important goals of di­git­al­isa­tion is to create con­veni­ent struc­tures to collect and share data and in­form­a­tion. This is not only about elec­tron­ic­ally storing customer data and handling com­mu­nic­a­tion with customers as ef­fi­ciently as possible, but also about op­tim­ising internal com­mu­nic­a­tion processes. How can a local company di­git­al­ise ef­fect­ively?

Customer data ac­quis­i­tion and customer man­age­ment

When it comes to gaining and storing customer data, as well as managing customer relations, there is probably a consensus among en­tre­pren­eurs that digital is the way to go. CRM Tools have es­tab­lished them­selves as suitable software in large cor­por­a­tions, but also for SMEs. Whether support for news­let­ters, social media, or websites, these tools provide the perfect basis for col­lect­ing customer data securely and digitally. At the same time, CRM systems provide the right platform for de­vel­op­ing cross-company strategies for com­mu­nic­at­ing with customers.

Own website and social media channels

When it comes to di­git­al­isa­tion, local companies auto­mat­ic­ally come up against the question of whether it makes sense and is necessary to have their own website. The simple answer is: ab­so­lutely! In modern business life, there is hardly a more practical solution for present­ing your products or services, getting in touch with customers, and sharing news. Your website does not ne­ces­sar­ily have to cost an arm and a leg, as our article on how much does a website cost? will show you. Even cheaper, but just as promising, are customer contact op­por­tun­it­ies and company marketing on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Project man­age­ment and com­mu­nic­a­tion tools

White­boards and flipcharts may still be useful in modern business – but they are not the only ones that can help. Tools for managing projects, tasks, and ap­point­ments simplify the or­gan­isa­tion and com­mu­nic­a­tion within your business con­sid­er­ably. Other programs that help in a similar way are tools for managing your digital com­mu­nic­a­tion via email (es­pe­cially with customers), as well as com­mu­nic­a­tion tools like Microsoft Teams or Skype for Business (internal exchange), and finally cloud storage like Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive.

Special offers and pro­mo­tions have always been among the most important marketing tools. The past few years have shown that they can be seam­lessly in­teg­rated into everyday digital business life. To get started, ask yourself two questions: Which pro­mo­tions or special offers suit your company? And to what extent should these pro­mo­tion­al activ­it­ies be in­teg­rated into your business’ activ­it­ies?

However, it’s not possible to give a one-size-fits-all answer to either question, as it is necessary to find a company-specific approach. For example, if you run your own online shop and sell your products online, you have to approach special offers in a com­pletely different way to a local shop, as you can make price ad­just­ments online at any time of day.

When it comes to promo campaigns, cre­ativ­ity is in vogue. In­form­at­ive content such as tutorials, blogs, etc. as well as ‘join-in’ campaigns in social networks (e.g. sharing a success story or a personal picture with the product) show that a lot is possible here.

The di­git­al­isa­tion of your local business and es­pe­cially the step into the world wide web presents an ad­di­tion­al op­por­tun­ity to get publicity for your local physical shop. Ad­vert­ising your location(s) via social media, as a Google company profile (our article on local SEO tips goes into more detail here), or on your own homepage will all help you get attention in your community. By using a mix of platforms, you’ll have the best chances of success. It is important that you answer all important questions of your potential customers:

• What are the different local locations?
• What is the address?
• What are the opening hours?
• At which locations can click-and-collect orders be picked up?

Achieving greater reach and boosting business – these are the ultimate goals that summarise the tips mentioned above. On the web in par­tic­u­lar, you can also use tools that spe­cific­ally motivate in­ter­ested users to buy.

• Chatbots: Chatbots are already used in a lot of sales contexts. As the first point of contact for customers, the practical bots answer many important questions to help reassure customers before they commit to buy.
• VR planner: Virtual tours, fitting rooms, or interior design planners can also – at least for the time being – replace on-site visits and encourage people to engage with your services.
• Social media: Social networks have an enormous appeal. By engaging well-known in­flu­en­cers as ad­vert­ising partners you can present your products or services in an ex­traordin­ary way and expand your customer base.