Author: Tom Cottrill | Date Posted: Jul 22, 2020
You’ve seen all the articles, blogs, and news stories. You know that COVID-19 has completely shifted the way B2B and B2C companies are doing business. And the value of making faster decisions has been amplified during these unprecedented times.
Home confinement, store closures, and social distancing have all greatly impacted the way companies are handling day-to-day business. What might have worked in the past is no longer practical for sustaining a business amid the many closures happening all over the US. Fear of change is no longer an option.
With major disruptions in the supply chain, there are different areas of the tech industry that have experienced a greater impact from COVID-19. Apple, for example, has suffered at least a 10% decrease in its shares. With the cancellations of technology and marketing conferences across the globe, the industry as a whole has estimated a loss of around $1 billion.
However, due to the shifting reliance on technology as the world copes with COVID-19, the tech industry is expected to experience a boom over the next five years. This comes as very good news for web developers and professionals within the industry.
Quite frankly, the key to dealing with the pandemic’s effect on business is to innovate during these difficult times and develop creative technology improvements that allow your company to adapt its current business model.
With the world slowly shifting more of their lives online, there are still some hurdles companies face as they make the transition. And that is why priorities within your company must change. Adapting technological capabilities is going to be the first line of defense against the impact of COVID-19.
Most companies operate under carefully crafted quarterly and annual game plans that are designed to serve as a roadmap for the upcoming year. And, despite COVID-19, many companies are still clinging to their original plans and banking on things to improve over the second half of the year.
Don’t be one of these companies. Pivot your priorities now to salvage what is left of 2020.
In-person conferences and events are canceled. Networking is challenging. Podcast listening rates are dropping and the industry’s growth as a whole is expected to drop by half. The strategies that were originally chosen to spend your marketing dollars on, don’t make sense anymore. That money could be better spent.
Due to the coronavirus, a company’s website is now the single most important piece of marketing collateral to reach new and existing customers. Any money spent on marketing has to be focused on improving the website.
If 2020 has taught us anything so far it’s to expect the unexpected. With that said, now is the time to update your website to accommodate quick changes. Before COVID, sites didn’t need pop-ups to list their sanitation practices, policies, or business hours. This is not a standard functionality that is built-in to sites.
Take this as an opportunity to evaluate your site now to ensure you have the capability to make quick adjustments as changes arise, including:
Making these web development improvements now will allow you to act faster as things change in the coming months.
This should come as no shock. Right now, no one cares about a cool office or trendy cubicles. Update your site’s artwork to reflect what is important to the end-user. By adjusting the site to reflect current times, it shows customers that your company understands and accepts the changing landscape.
Companies should use websites to place a greater emphasis on individual employees, services relevant in a post-COVID world, and most importantly, quick and easy contact buttons for calls, appointments, and conferences.
If a physical location is open for business, your website should be the main source of information for consumers. A website should clearly denote adjusted business hours, cleaning practices, mask policies, payment options, and more. The goal is to make things as clear to a customer as possible.
If there is anything to take away from all of this, it’s that companies need to learn to adapt to the changing world around them. Embracing flexibility, offering transparency to customers, and shifting focus to the areas of the business that are most important is the best advice we can give in a post-COVID world.
Right now and for the foreseeable future, your greatest asset is your company’s website and so making improvements that build trust among your customers, highlight your commitment to safety, and that showcase your authority within the industry will resonate with consumers.
Since 2013, Ignitro Studios has been working to blend marketing and technology in support of agencies and other marketers. By understanding both sides of web development, we have a unique perspective and advantage within the industry. We provide design, development, project management, QA, and strategy, driving the bus so our clients don’t have to. We will work with our clients to get results while also empowering them to do their job better. Learn more about Ignitro Studios.
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