As it is called “new year, new life”, a popular saying that still many companies are difficult to apply. And it is that, in full age 2.0, now more than ever, the importance of adapting to new technologies becomes essential, mainly because it has a direct impact on the evolution of our business.
However, despite the fact that 2013 is a year that is more social, digital and online than ever, although it may seem odd, many companies still remain anchored in the past and unrelated to everything that happens in the network.
In this sense, note that 3 out of 10 companies still do not have a website, a figure extracted from the study of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the electronic commerce of companies carried out by INE (National Statistics Institute) . Believe it or not, there are still companies that have not opened a window to the online medium, which do not exist beyond their physical borders. In addition, it is not enough to have a web whose creation is dated at the beginning of the century, but must be configured under current programming standards and optimized for search engines.
José María García, director of products and solutions for Google, already pointed out in a clear and concise way that companies that do not have an optimized website could lose up to 40% of their potential customers. The website of a company is its virtual business card, where it gathers part of its essence, its philosophy and its good work, how is it possible to obviate it?
But it is not the only thing. The revolution of the smartphone influences considerably in these exigencies. To the point that already 20% of searches are done through different smart devices. Companies that are not ready to receive mobile users are missing out on great opportunities, especially in the area of local marketing strategies.
Without doubt 2013 will be a year more social, digital and online than ever. The new trends show that the technologies applied to marketing will play a fundamental and important role, but what is obvious is that the presence and continuous activity of companies on the Internet or social networks is something almost an aspect that can not be ignored.
It is clear that we can not anchor ourselves in the past, and although our business is traditional or craft, the internet can give it a new dimension with great opportunities to proliferate.
In 2013 everything will be 2.0. There has been an integration of all the departments of the company, fruit of a close collaboration of the marketing department with sales or customer service. The Social Media has caused that any action on the part of the company implies communication; Everything reaches a social dimension, so all the actors of the company must intervene with a single voice, the same mods operand, a single global entity.
Marketing is not just about selling.The way to reach the customer does not happen to emit a unidirectional message, based on a commercial intention, but rather it is about communicating, rather than selling; To talk, rather than convince. Companies must know how to approach users, listen to them and know them, so only know what to say, how to get their acceptance.
Social networks are one more channel of communication, which customers have chosen to make themselves heard, and where companies can not turn a deaf ear; Day to day are consolidated and become relevant. 62% of companies believe that in the last six months they have become one of the most important means.
Content Marketing.There is life beyond conventional advertising, and users know it, so they expect the company to contribute something different, to surprise them with information of interest. Inbound marketing is coming to life, this year has experienced a 50% growth, compared to the previous year, according to Hubspot published in its Report on the State of Inbound Marketing.
The corporate blog,As a tool to transmit information by the company. Its boom is increasing, users especially value this type of content offered by the company. This has repercussions on a noticeable increase in web traffic. According to the recent study “Marketing Benchmarks”, companies that update their blog with about 15 articles monthly receive up to 5 times more visits than those that do not publish anything. These results improve even in the case of smaller companies.
How to be prepared?
With training and willingness to adapt to the environment. We are in a totally new and very dynamic environment, progressing day by day. That is why it is necessary to have the proper preparation, to provide the company with a qualified team of professionals, capable of responding to the demanding demands of the market.