Your business is unique. You have worked very hard to establish your brand, and to find your place in your market. Even so, your business can definitely benefit from digital solutions, whether you operate in a brick and mortar capacity with a set physical location, or you operate completely remotely. Digital solutions is a wide-ranging concept, so to get you starters, we’ve identified 7 digital solutions services that every company needs.
Before we explore the essential digital solutions services, Let’s define digital solutions as a concept.
What are Digital Solutions?
At the most simple, a digital solution is a computerized method of doing something that otherwise would have to be done in another–and often slower and more time-involved–way. To put it another way, we’re talking about using technology ionclub to help streamline processes or to solve problems. As technology has improved, digital solutions have been developed to handle a huge range of tasks and to solve many different kinds of problems. Remember, these aren’t just tools, they are meant to be SOLUTIONS.
Many businesses have moved from in-person operations to fully remote or flexible work environments. With that shift has come the idea of digital transformation, a sweeping paradigm shift for business operations strategy. As Entrepreneur Magazine explains:
When you commit to digital transformation, you’re enabling your company to modernize systems, meet evolving customer demands, and leverage new technologies that are the driving force behind a new technical revolution.
But even if your company isn’t making a full digital transformation, there are lots of ways that you can benefit from digital solutions services.
Online Business Solutions Services
Operating your business online, regardless of the type of business you run, has become vitally important. Even if you offer a service that can only be performed in person (like waste removal, construction, or massage therapy to name a very few), your company needs an online presence to meet customer expectations and to draw the traffic needed to help your business grow. Fortunately, there are digital solutions services for businesses like yours. Here are a few.
Essential Digital Solutions Service 1: Website Design
Every business needs a website. In this increasingly digital world, your website is often the first chance you have to create an impression for a potential customer. Much of the time, potential clients will visit a website before visiting a store-front location. Website design, then, is one the most important digital solutions services in which you can invest.
Your website design can be as unique as your business, ranging from a simple landing page that provides your operating hours and location to a fully interactive e-commerce (we’ll discuss this below) website that replaces a brick-and-mortar location altogether. Unless you are experienced in web design, this is a digital solutions service that you may want to outsource.
Essential Digital Solutions Service 2: Social Media
Much like a website, your company’s social media accounts can be a key point of interaction with your potential customers. This is a space in which you can establish your brand identity, communicate your services, and drive traffic to the rest of your business.
As you likely know, social media can take a lot of time, and doing it well can be complex. Fortunately, this is a digital solutions service that you can hire out to a professional trained to take this off your to-do list!
Essential Digital Solutions Service 3: Content Creation
Your website and social media need content–words, pictures, graphics, videos–in order to effectively tell your story. Blogs, for example, can be a great way to drive traffic to your business (after all, you are reading one now, aren’t you?), but do you have time to write posts? Are you as confident with your words and video editing skills as you are with the rest of your business? If not, then think of content creation as a digital solutions service that can be provided by an expert!
Essential Digital Solutions Service 4: E-Commerce
If you can sell something in person, you can sell it online. From physical goods to services with online delivery, e-commerce digital solutions exist to make your life easier (and your reach wider). Your website can be developed to take payments, handle inventory, automate shipping processes, and more. An experienced web designer, or a provider of a range of digital solutions services, can help you navigate this complex world.
Digital Communications Solutions
If you have a company with more than one employee (even part-time), then you need a way to communicate. Likewise, you need a way to maintain relationships with your customers. In a digital world, these call for digital solutions.
Essential Digital Solutions Service 5: Internal Communication
Before digital transformations, internal communication between employees looked like water-cooler chats, cubicle visits, paper memos, printed reports, and in-person meetings between team members of all sorts. With a move online, the need for internal communication hasn’t gone away–if anything it’s more important than ever! Fortunately, online digital solutions have evolved to meet those needs. Entrepreneur Magazine says:
Collaboration suites are crucial to making this happen, as they allow teams to store, edit, manage, and share documents widely. These products mean employees can access needed information no matter where they are, as long as they are connected to the internet. Microsoft’s Teams product integrates with popular Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Outlook and works on the cloud-based Office 365 and desktop versions. Google’s G Suite similarly integrates Gmail, Sheets, Docs, and Drive products. Slack is another popular collaboration tool with shared workspaces and communications tools. Like other collaboration tools, Slack allows connected team members to initiate conversations, communicate, and collaborate on documents.