The world today is fast-paced, and largely driven by innovative technologies, which means businesses are under immense pressure to keep up. Companies need to follow the latest digital trends to stay competitive, as failure to do so can potentially lead to a decrease in profits, in part due to the likelihood of losing clients, an inability to streamline business processes, or incapacity to take advantage of revenue increasing measures. Here are five ways that a company can maximize its digital potential.
Outsource to Skilled Workers
Outsourcing helps a company reduce and control operating costs, mainly because high-quality services can be acquired at a lower cost. In the article ‘4 Ways Outsourcing Can Save a Failing Business’, business leader Richard Walton explains how outsourcing allows companies to “access to talented professionals from across the globe.” He details how digital networking has made it possible to hire someone with the specific skills you need for a part time or hourly period, which is cheaper than employing someone full-time. Walton says that the biggest advantage is “[that] this kind of special assistance can help small businesses to keep up with the professionalism of firms who have much larger in-house teams.”
Automate Workflows
Automation can help enhance productivity, and, in some cases, even aid HR in hiring the best people. For instance, credit firm oMelhorTrato uses TensorFlow to automate part of their hiring process. This decision to automate, according to company co-founder Cristian Rennella, has allowed the company’s HR to spend more time interviewing the best available candidates since the automated process eliminates the need to manually pore through CVs. The aforementioned manual process can be very time-consuming and laborious. Instead, TensorFlow makes use of certain algorithms to distinguish between good and bad candidates who send in their CVs through the company website and third parties.
Engage Customers on Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool that companies can use to connect with and engage their intended market, to generate more profits, as found by the owners of the Neon Retro Arcade. Mia Mazadiego and her husband, Mark Guenther, began using Facebook to boost sales largely by enticing people online to come visit their store in Pasadena, California. Facebook is just a part of Neon Retro Arcade’s expansive online presence, as it has its own website, an Instagram account, a Yelp page, and a YouTube channel, too.
The use of social media is just one aspect of digital marketing, which encompasses the vast scope of digital technologies. Unsurprisingly, many companies big (KFC, Microsoft, etc.) and small (Neon Retro Arcade) are now using digital marketing to their advantage, which in turn is leading to an increased demand for digital marketing professionals. That demand is set to increase even more in the coming years, with Maryville University pointing out that digital marketing spending will rise to $335 billion by 2020. In line with said forecast, it comes as no surprise then that companies are making a conscious effort to elevate their brand presence in the digital world. In fact, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters senior marketing manager Tom Funk notes that 80% of Fortune 100 companies are active on social media. With more people using social media platforms, companies must take advantage of this huge digital costumer base.
Big Data
Big data helps companies accurately predict the market’s future behavior through an analysis of existing trends and statistics. This ability, in turn, allows businesses to adjust accordingly, keeping the predicted behavior in mind at every step. Athleisure manufacturers, for instance, can make use of big data to gauge the styles that may corner a particular market and then focus their efforts in that direction. By doing this, companies can proceed with a clear goal in mind, and this means that time, resources, and effort will not be wasted performing tasks unrelated to the achievement of said goal.
Guest post: About the Author
Jay Dixon is a computer science graduate who now specializes in writing about the latest trends in the tech industry. He hopes that his insight and knowledge will help readers get a better understanding how technology is successfully changing the home and workplace. When he is not in front of a computer he can be found at the latest tech conventions.