We do not live in an era of changes, but a change of era. And as such, everyone – including companies – must transform to adapt to the new digital scenario.
Some companies such as Disney or Ford have already implemented these changes. The first has always had an innovative character and has put the client at the center of his strategy because he understands that it is he, in the last instance, who imposes the times of transformation and the logical thing is to change at his own pace. The second, after suffering a severe setback in 2006, was reborn from its ashes and discovered in the digitalization of its oxygen pump.
Digitizing a company is not a matter of a day, nor is it a matter of creating a web page or e-commerce. It goes beyond. “It’s a culture change,” says Mireia Ranera, vice president and digital director HR ÍNCIPY, who defines digitalization as “a challenge that involves adapting to the new scenarios in which customers are digital, and applying technology to the challenges of a deal”. In short, is to accommodate the new paradigm.
This new context obliges companies to “create a new philosophy and develop capabilities that allow them to adopt, use and exploit information technologies and digital platforms to improve the experience of their customers, their relationships with their suppliers, their employees and third parties; improve decision-making, operational and business models “, explains Oswaldo Lorenzo, professor at Deusto Business School of Assignment Box. In short, in terms of digitization it is necessary to address a disruptive strategy that allows innovation “and put the customer in the center”, adds Ranera.
The steps to follow
To achieve this ambitious goal, it is necessary for the company to define “what digital strategy approach it wants to build”, explains Lorenzo. “Some organizations adopt a digital approach that supports the corporate strategy and accepts technologies aimed at that end. An example is used that some companies could be making of Big Data to improve the customer experience in order to understand consumption patterns that allow the development of more personalized products or solutions. Other companies, on the other hand, opt for a disruptive strategy, in which technologies are identified that allow changing the way they do business. An example would be the driverless car that is posing a new scenario in the transport sector, “adds the Deusto Business School professor.
Having a clear strategy is the first step. But it is not enough to implement a transformation of such caliber. Digitization requires companies to conduct a diagnostic exercise in which “what is impacting the sector is measured; how the target audience has changed, that is, making a customer journey to be clear about the demands of the clients; what competitors are doing, also start-ups; draw a roadmap and identify the processes that help change “, lists Ranera. Following these guidelines and measuring their return is essential to make appropriate strategic decisions, although it is not the only previous study that has to be undertaken.
In order to implement a real digitalization, it is fundamental to analyze also the entrails of the company and to evaluate the talent and competencies of the professionals and departments of the organization. “Make an exercise of Employer Branding”, points out the vice-president and digital director HR ÍNCIPY, who finds his turning point in “a change of culture captained from the highest spheres of the company”, warns Franc Carreras, a professor specializing in digitalization at ESADE. Something that is not always easy, because in many occasions there is a palpable resistance to change, “and it is the newly incorporated professionals who push to facilitate that digitization”, reflects Carreras. To reverse this situation – more usual than we would like – it is necessary to “know how to communicate changes, offer training,
Leaving the comfort zone is never easy, but the alternative is not better. To swim against the current in a world dominated by new technologies is to sign the corporate death sentence. Digitization is the natural step for all organizations that want to remain competitive in the current market.
How to work social networks?
• Select the social network that best suits the business, each one is focused on a specific audience.
• Cultivate social networks: interact with your followers, know them, publish interesting information for them, it is the best channel of attention you can have.
• Make advertising campaigns in the channels you want to promote: if the goal is to increase the activity in a certain network, make a raffle or a campaign only in it.
• Use SEO techniques or natural positioning: use keywords to write the contents. This allows users to find information more easily.
• Study the campaigns that social networks offer (SEM or payment positioning): this type of advertising attracts users and involves a lower cost than an individualized marketing campaign.
Best Online marketing strategies
On the internet there is a maxim, to attract customers to the web to convert them into potential buyers. Thus, the concept of web positioning arises, closely linked to online visibility. The more people visit your page, the better-positioned search engines like Google, making your brand appear in the first results of a related search just like essay help.
And in this, social networks have much to do, as a prelude to the corporate website. Through the publication of offers and new products; advertising campaigns, raffles, surveys …, get users to go to the page of the brand and, therefore, the search engine advertise it to the detriment of other pages without activity. A circular business.
“One-third of the users declare having visited the page of a brand from a social network
The creation of content is a basic pillar in any online marketing strategy. Not only increases visits, but improves the online reputation of the company. However, it is not advisable to fall into the generalized error of spreading messages related only to the activities of the business. Let us treat varied information, sometimes with an entertaining or playful end. Users will appreciate it, do not forget that originally the social platforms are of an idle nature.
And, above all, do not leave the care of your networks to any worker. Hire a community manager, a professional who knows how to work on these platforms, design a strategic mass media plan, establish effective bidirectional communication with the client and thus achieve the maximum benefit.