I could end this article very quickly here by simply saying YES, you need to be digital. But that would be too simplistic and not address the problem or the opportunity. According to KPMG, 75% of small business and family owned businesses agree that there is a need for digitalisation but they may not fully understand the significance or possible benefits given limited understanding of digitalization. 

So we know the challenge of digitization for companies that are naturally analog can be complex, but if broken down there are some simple factors and approaches that can help your business. 

Think about customers first. How do customers find you in the maze of e-commerce options? One key to cutting through is making sure your brand narrative clearly tells your story. Great brands rely on authenticity, which is something SMB’s, family owned businesses have in abundance so make sure you use it. In the digital environment customers are looking for a service or product they can trust. This is a great opportunity use a digital platform to broadcast your brand narrative to the world. Loyal customers with an emotional connection to your brand will become your multipliers, as they retweet, repost and share their personal connection and experience with your business. Buyers naturally gravitate to the brands that carry this level of authenticity so make it visible and discoverable and your customers will become your best marketers.  

Data, Data, Data. The explosion of activity online has allowed companies to discover significantly more about their buyers than ever before. You may have potential customers in regions or sectors of the economy you were unaware of. There are a number of tools that allow you to analyze your digital footprint and customer base, or better yet, bring on a marketing firm to support that process. I guarantee the investment will be worth it. 

Bring the whole company on the journey with you. In a recent study, 66% of family-owned companies do not see the need to engage with staff or business partners in innovation. Bringing digital efficiency to your internal processes will not only improve productivity but allow for more time to consider innovation opportunities within the business. Pre-packaged software solutions are an affordable way to apply automation to various processes. The software can be scaled up or down and can generate significant efficiency and productivity gains without any need for bespoke solutions. 

Of note, the nature of small companies and family owned businesses actually provide some significant benefits when adapting to digital transformations. Play to your strengths, and exploit the fact that you can be much more nimble and agile than your bigger rivals.

There are of course many more elements to the process of bringing digital transformation to your business. At ELITE we bring all these elements to our companies, making sure they are able to leverage all the best solutions to accelerate their growth. If you want to know more please get in touch at ELITEAmericas@elite-network.com 

The digital revolution is not as daunting as you might think, once you start you might find you like it.