Utilising digital technologies for effective marketing

Businesses are now operating in an era where having a strong digital presence is
essential, not only for success, but often simply for survival too. The lack of a strong
digital presence is thought to be a contributing factor in the failure of many SMEs, half of
which are failing in their first five years of existence. With limited marketing budgets,
SMEs need to be wise about how they utilise digital technologies for maximum impact.
They key is to develop a clearly defined digital marketing strategy, including your aims,
your tactics and how you’re going to measure performance. Many companies are
digitally active, but not following a defined strategy. This can lead to resources being
wasted and opportunities being missed.
A good website will, of course, be essential for the vast majority of businesses. This
doesn’t just mean something that looks pretty; an effective website should be user-
friendly, mobile responsive and optimised for search engines. The latter, in particular,
requires ongoing attention.
As well as a good website, channels such as social media marketing, Email marketing
and pay-per-click advertising can be extremely effective. Digital technologies can
accelerate business growth because they allow companies to reach a wider audience
and build lasting relationships with customers to promote brand loyalty.
Utilising mobile technologies
Mobile technologies can bring a multitude of business benefits that all help to bolster
growth.
Both the extension of flexible working rights in the UK and advancements in mobile
technology have contributed to the increasing number of people working outside of the
traditional office environment.
Investment in mobile technologies can help businesses to promote a happy workforce,
with staff enjoying an improved work/life balance. This is generally thought to be
beneficial for companies, as a happy workforce leads to increased productivity and
reduced costs as a result of increased staff retention. Everyone’s a winner.
Mobile technologies can give a significant boost to efficiency and productivity because
they allow users to complete a wide range of tasks from virtually any location. It has
become possible to have full office functionality on-the-go. This simply means that more
gets done, because staff don’t have to wait until they are at their desks to respond to
colleagues and customers or read and edit important documents, for example.
Mobilising the workforce via technology can also help a business to make those all-
important savings that are necessary to maximise profits and encourage growth. With
employees able to work away from the office, savings can be made on physical space
and the running costs associated with maintaining larger office premises.
To utilise mobile technology for optimal results, businesses should not only invest in
mobile devices, but also consider cloud solutions that allow users to access the same
applications and services from multiple devices and locations. These will also enable
effective collaboration, so employees can work well as a team even when they’re not in
the same physical space.
 
If businesses are smart about their investments in technology, adopting the right
solutions for the

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) involves the use of computer hardware,
software and telecommunication devices to store, manipulate, convert, protect, send and receive
data/information (Olifer& Olifer, 2006). ICTis fast developing and is now part of every aspect of
ourlivelihood. Businesses cannot survive in this 21st century without ICT since all activities
undertaken in the business setup is linked to ICT. Consequently, communication flow is very
essential in the growth and development of every business entity. ICT makes it possible to
communicate easily with staff and customers of the company. Businesses of this 21st century are
advancing at a very fast pace. With the world becoming a global village, business transactions
are becoming increasingly dynamic and consequently this has caused an increase in world trade.
Thus the increase in the volume of tradein Ghana and other developed countries require fast
transfers of monies, payment across continents and many other services that promote growth of
business (Al-Mudimigh, 2007).

These transactions cannot be carried out effectively without the use of ICT. With the numerous
positive impact of ICT in businesses, it is hard to imagine a contemporary business functioning
without adoption of ICT. Thus, ICT permeates every aspect of twenty first century businesses
(Ansah, Blankson, and Kontoh, 2012). According to Crede& Mansell (1998), ICTis crucially
important for sustainable development in developing countries. ICT encompasses the use of
Computers, Internet, E-mail, Mobile Phones and Fax machine ( Ansah, Blankson, and Kontoh,
2012) . According to Fapohunda (1999), computers are now commonly used for writing letters,
and reports, printing books, newspapers, and magazines, drawing pictures and diagrams, doing
statistics, mathematics and handling financial records, controlling traffic lights, flying
aeroplanes, making and playing music and video, sending messages anywhere in the world.
Also, Eseyin (1997) describes the Internet as a mixture of many services with the two most
commonly used being electronic mail (e-mail for short) and the World Wide Web (www). It
plays a significant role in education, health, political processes, agriculture, economy, businesses
and newsgroups. Woherem (2000) states that with Internet connectivity, one can do business all
over the world without physical contact with the buyer or the need for a business intermediary.

ICT enables electronic mail (e-mail) which is the exchange of text messages and computer files
transmitted via communications networks such as the Internet (Nwosu, 2004). Email system is
basically the equivalent of post mailing services with the biggest difference however being the
time and cost involved (Fapohunda, 1999). Email also involves not only written data, but all
sorts of information in the form of video, audio, or photographs, can be sent via e-mail. Oketunji
(2000) describes e-mail as an increasing popular method of communication, especially in the
workplace.

ICT also enables the use of mobile phones in businesses. Bittner (1989) defines mobile phones as
a telephone system that can move or be moved easily and quickly from place to place. Mobile
phones are now the ICT that is reshaping and revolutionizing the communications globally. Its
 impact on the economic activities of nations, businesses, and small entrepreneurs is phenomenal.
According to Tiemo (2006) the importance of information cannot be overemphasized. Oji-Okoro
(2006) supported this view by stating that mobile telephony usage by individuals enables them to
communicate with loved ones, clients and business associates. For large businesses, it is a means
of providing a service that leads to an increase in profits.

Although ICT comes with numerous benefits, there are however some constraints to their
implementation. According to Gichoya (2005), researchers assert that infrastructure, finance,
poor data system and lack of compatibility skilled personnel, leadership styles, culture, and
bureaucracy and attitudes can be considered as barriers to ICT investment. Also,Sherwood
(1997), states that ICT investment may be constrained by a broad range of laws and policies
which may influence the overall package of incentives associated with the used IC  Manage
Projects More Easily, Effectively, and Efficiently
Technology has enabled business owners and leaders to stay on top of their projects by tracking
time and progress. With web-based project management tools like Basecamp, Manymoon,
and Podio, you can efficiently collaborate with your teams and share access on documents.
Apps like Roambi can read your business data, analyze it and turn it into reports through graphs
on your iPad. In Apple is an App called Keynote, which is more relative to PowerPoint regarding
the presentation.
What is more comfortable than just sitting next to your prospect and confidently making a
presentation from your PC? Or using a projector to make a presentation to a crowd?
In case you happen to be in remodeling, repair or construction business or related fields,
displaying pictures of “before and after” offers a compelling proof of the value your service or
product can add. The effect of conveying actual benefits of your product or services will
definitely turn your prospects into serious buyers.

2. Make Use of Productivity Apps

A worker is known by their tools, and so is a businessperson. 
The good news for owners and managers is that they can make use of productivity applications
availed by technology: tools that can increase business productivity at a lesser cost. All you need
a mobile device and can install apps such as:

 Slack
 Trello
 Podio
 Basecamp
 Asana
 (Among others!)

Many of these apps are offered free entirely or provided free for a particular level of service,
which can be synced with their desktop versions. These productivity apps will get the right
things done, without much strain, and with relatively little time invested. 
3. Benefit from Web-Based Payments
Web-based payment systems help businesses thrive through sending and receiving payments
online. Due to many payments options and their flexibility aspect, web-based payment has
enabled many businesses to fetch new customer segments. This is because by having different
web-based payment options, you will have many more customers who like using that particular
payment option.

4. Make Use of Backup Software

Reports of malicious software and hackers are wrecking businesses world over. Most of the
businesses that have become victims of a data breach suffer losses in customer trust and brand
reputation. The results of a data breach can be costly for organizations of any size. 
As an executive or owner, stay vigilant and grab an enterprise backup software as well
as recovery and continuity tools. These are tools that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to flag
suspicious files and software.

5. Measure User Engagement 

Especially for small or medium sized organizations, Google analytics is a hot tool for measuring
user engagement and loyalty. It gives you some stats that indicate how engaged and loyal your
active user readership is, which you can then interpret to improve your conversion rate.
You can use it more specifically in targeting a specific audience from your competitors' fan base.
Stealing your competitors’ customers would mean accelerating your business growth.

6. Make Use of Twitter to Gain New Customers

Twitter is undeniably one of the most powerful tools for promoting your products and services if
used rightly.

7. Better Marketing Campaigns

Digital marketing tends to yield better by far results than traditional advertising methods. They
have the potential of undertaking marketing campaigns that target specific audience hence
increasing conversion rate.

8. Improved Customer Service

Excellent customer service is key to your business success. Other than selling your product or
service, you should think of the cumulative experience your customers get when they visit your
store or website.

Technology will allow you to set up an online help desk to handle customer issues, schedule
appointments or conduct surveys and questionnaires to get customer feedback.

9. Use Video Content to Engage More

Video content can be a great way to interact with potential clients. For instance, Facebook video
feature comes in handy for small businesses owners who want to take their business a notch
higher. Videos will increase your brand's awareness and hence increased conversions.
10. Make Use of Virtual Assistants 
Hiring a virtual assistant can give your business smart tech solutions with a human touch. Virtual
assistants are readily available on freelance sites, and they are affordable even for small
businesses. They can take up heavy tasks, saving your time while growing your organization.

T. Some of these laws or policies include;