The question isn’t whether it’s easy or not. The point is: why aren’t you online yet?
A few years ago, being online was highly advisable, but not vital. With the SARS Covid-19 pandemic, things have changed a bit: during the lockdown periods, not being online and not doing the delivery service most likely meant closing your doors.
Now that the situation has found a new balance, being found in the world of the web is a categorical imperative.
In fact, the pandemic has changed consumer purchasing habits and having a second digital soul is now taken for granted. However, it’s not enough to snap your fingers to get digitized. But don’t panic, it’s not all that complicated, as evidenced by the large number of companies that have already embarked on the journey towards digitization.
The 3 questions to ask yourself before starting
Once upon a time, being present online was above all an opportunity to increase one’s visibility: the web was a sounding board, an additional showcase for reaching and making oneself known to one’s customers. Now, however, the Pandora’s box of Internet potential has been opened once and for all: why have a showcase site, when you can offer a tool for ordering, booking and always keeping it open?
Each activity, however, must carefully evaluate which digital tool is best suited to its needs. In particular, the questions to ask are:
- What is the main objective? We often start from a generic idea of what we want, falling into the trap of imagining a more complex product than necessary, without an optimal user experience. It is advisable to start from a single objective and gradually, over time (and after analyzing the performance of the tool), add other functions.
- What is the budget to invest? This is probably the first question that comes to mind, the first “hurdle”. In reality, the price of digital products varies greatly depending on the type of tool and the degree of complexity. Therefore, there is no precise answer, other than to contact the supplying agency and ask for a quote.
- How soon should the site or the app be ready? If you need a solution quickly, then it is better to buy an existing product, instead of commissioning a completely new one new. The advice is to always calculate a month for setup: in the case of a white-label product or one that allows customization, it always takes a few weeks to set everything up based on the needs of your business and test before the final launch.</li >
Based on the answers given to these three preliminary questions, we can already begin to identify the best tool to adopt. A showcase site or an e-commerce platform? A management software to organize work in the kitchen or laboratory or a personal space dedicated to customers? Each business has its own digital product.
Reservations on digitization?
The realisation time of the most appropriate tool for your business varies greatly depending on the IT equipment present. Surely you need to have an internet connection and probably a computer. In any case, the advice is to evaluate with the digital service provider what is the best infrastructure to adopt.
Beyond the technical and economic aspects, there are two other factors that are often a source of insecurity when one begins to think about undertaking a digitization project:
- the human factor: dematerialization has the purpose of facilitating work and increasing profits, without affecting the human backbone of the company. It can speed up the customer purchasing process, optimize preparation work and warehouse management, however it cannot replace the human relationship that is established with customers or the common sense of an employee.
- the capacity factor: what is new is always scary, especially if it concerns a technology with which you are not familiar. As with everything, the solution is to practice with the tool.
The advantages of being even a little digital
In this article we have seen that starting a digitization process isn’t that complicated after all: it is a matter of defining well the product you want and interacting with the competent agency to create the desired tool.
The resulting benefits are diverse, especially within an integrated business strategy. Profit and competitive strength increase, visibility improves… above all, offer your customers an additional touchpoint to make your business known and contact you.
What are you waiting for? It’s your time to go digital!
