A digital partner is an organisation focused on helping other businesses take control of the ever changing digital landscape. Technology advancements are so frequent nowadays that it has become a full time job to keep up with the latest news, learn new pieces of software and understand how to build a digital architecture. Large enterprises can afford to employ multiple people as digital architects – you do not have that luxury.
For you as a small business owner this must appear extremely daunting and with your focus being required on the day to day running of your operations, it’s no surprise that you brush technology and your digital presence under the carpet. This is where a digital partner comes in.
Strategy
It’s the job of a digital partner to provide technological strategy to aid an organisation’s growth. If you do not yet have a digital partner, ask yourself why not? Do you have an accountant? Do you have a solicitor? These are vitally important specialist skills required to run a business successfully – no different to a digital partner. If you aren’t harnessing the minds and skills of experts in that field, your business won’t thrive in the way that it could. Worse still, you may be hurtling down a worrying path that your bottom line doesn’t reflect yet. You see, with the rapid advancement in technology, if you fail to keep on top of your own strategy and architecture, you’re doomed to eventually become redundant. Those competitors around you will optimise their digital landscape and move closer to becoming digitally mature.
Functional Skills
Not only will a digital partner lead you with technological strategy suggestions, they will also have a number of functional skills that you can utilise. For example, you have a discussion with your digital partner and they suggest that your website is outdated and plain. If you were to revamp it you could see a huge influx of organic traffic – meaning more opportunities to sell your product/service. You of course think this is a great idea. The digital partner (who already knows your business inside out) will then carry out that creation of a new website with their web design skills.
As you can see, a huge benefit of a digital partner is that they understand your business and they can apply that knowledge whilst optimising your digital landscape. By ensuring that you choose a digital partner with good functional skills, you’re setting your business up to have a successful and futureproof online presence.
Growth & Exposure
As you begin to grow as a business so too will your digital partner. See them as a partner organisation for the long term and you are both working to achieve the same goal. They have a vested interest in your success and will therefore do everything in their power to help you grow.
The digital partner you choose will have a portfolio of clients – all also looking to grow. This therefore creates a network of similarly sized businesses who all share the same common goal – growth. This network is a perfect opportunity for exposure for you and all the partners clients. You will be in a position where you can share best practice among one another, ask for guidance/support from others and even potentially share customers if you are in different verticals. The result of all of this? Growth for the entire network but more importantly, for you.
Summary
It is therefore clear that as a small business looking to grow and even survive, it is absolutely paramount that you invest in a partner who will help you to digitally transform. Make sure that you’re investing in a partner who will understand your business, provide you with strategy guidance and also has all the functional skills that you require. It may seem like a large investment that you don’t want to make right now but every single day that you don’t, you’re falling behind the curve and your competitors are not.
If this blog has resonated with you and you would like to discuss a partnership with Atlantis Digital then please get in touch. We can provide you with all of the above and begin your journey towards digital maturity today.