Digitalizing your Business Part 3
In this series we’ve been discussing digitalizing your business. This is Part 3.
Not only do you want to create a professional presence online, but you may want to also think about converting your fliers, workbooks, books, or other items into a digital form.
While many people think that is simply converting things into a PDF file, there is art to it. While it’s easy to just PDF it and send it out or sell it, there are some things to consider which are design, look and feel, the use of forms, and people will utilize them.
The same is true with marketing or sales automation. If you are to create automation, make sure you understand the different ways people can connect with you.
One of the first things I did to automate was find a program that allowed me to scan a business card with my phone. When I did that, a “nice to meet you, and here is my contact info” email was automatically sent to them. It took care of two things: adding them to my contact list/database, and making that first follow-up effort.
Pay attention to the things you do on a routine basis and ask yourself, Can I automate this?
There will always be exceptions, of course, but we are looking for the things you do daily, week in and week out. Can you digitalize it? Can you automate it? Can you create a process?
There are many tools out there for automation. We recently launched a micro-fund application in which individuals send their application to us to work with our micro-finance partners. In return, we create a folder for that person/business, which has all the documents they were sending in that one application, and therefore it makes it easier for us to share it with our partners.
BEFORE YOU GO
We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.
- What can you automate based on your daily/weekly/monthly routine?
- What else can you be thinking about? If one step can’t be automated, can others?
- What other tools or ways have you thought about for digitalizing your business?
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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.
#digitalizing #entrepreneurship #leadership #farisalami
