The digital realm is rife with business opportunity, connectivity, collaboration, and some mightily large pitfalls that can swallow up your hard work if you are not careful enough.
Even the most tech-savvy business owners sometimes fall foul of the dark digital side, sometimes because of a complete accident or lack self-awareness.
A digital presence needs to be nurtured to grow in a positive direction, but it is worth noting that there are many hurdles to jump over in the process.
The start of a new year is ripe with promise, and if you want to start it in the best possible way, it is probably best to sail your business into a digital maelstrom.
Here are some top tips to help you streamline your digital activities and keep your customers and your brand safe online.
Digital Inaccessibility
Not everyone has the easiest time navigating the virtual world, but thanks to some compliance laws, rules, and regulations, websites are now required to make sure that they are entirely accessible.
Digital inaccessibility can greatly harm your reputation, exclude a vast portion of the world’s population from your company website, and it may even incur huge fines and legal woes.
Avoiding this rather megalithic pitfall is likely in your very best interests, so why not check out the ADA compliance regulations and assess whether or not your website is accessible enough for your customers?
Phishing
Phishing is still a massive problem in today’s climate, and not only are phishing attempts still as annoying as ever, but they are getting much more complex and dastardlier too.
Many people can spot a phishing email from a thousand yards, but other, less digitally savvy individuals might not have such an easy time negotiating this pitfall.
What does this mean for your business? It means that there might be an opportunity for malicious actors to infiltrate your company if you are not careful!
A huge number of cyberattacks materialize as a result of human error, and in many cases, that starts with a phishing email hooking someone’s attention and fooling them into allowing criminals access to the business network.
One of the best ways to protect your company network in this regard is to make sure that all of your staff are trained in the basics of cyber hygiene and that you have put sufficient cybersecurity software in place to preempt any dangers.
Useless Tech
While technology can be immensely useful in today’s world, there are countless options and offers waiting around every corner, many of which promise to boost your business efforts and help you drive sales figures by a million percent.
This might be a slight exaggeration, but it is worth bearing in mind because choosing tech for the sake of choosing it is likely not going to yield the best results.
Does your company truly need it? If you get hold of some SaaS that you struggle to utilize practically, or you implement some software that ends up making your processes even more complicated than usual, you are likely making life harder for yourself.
Therefore, the pitfall to avoid is buying useless tech that makes your business irrevocably harder to navigate.
Not Utilizing the Right Tech
On the other hand, if you need some new tech, there is no need to be put off from giving it a try.
Technology can be the way in which you modernize your company, future-proof it, and sharpen its competitive edge.
If you need some help from great software, then you should always reach out. It is worth noting that many companies offering SaaS solutions will be more than willing to give you a free demo, or a trial run, or general advice and direction regarding your personal situation.
Not getting hold of the tech you need to thrive in a digital world can give your competitors the advantage, so do not hold back on searching the internet for a solution or two that suits your needs.
Failing to Scale
Ambitious digital-centric companies are often made and broken on their ability to scale sufficiently.
Even if you are not necessarily digitally focused, the aspects of your business that rely heavily on the online realm need to scale backwards and forwards as your company grows and evolves.
Failing to scale is a pitfall that can damage your business bank account to no end, particularly if you suddenly find yourself overstretched and unable to keep up with increasing demand.
IT systems need to be maintained and updated if they are to stay effective, and this tends to mean they need to scale and remain flexible, otherwise, they might break.
Employee Neglect
Unless your business consists solely of yourself and you operate exclusively online, you may come across a pitfall that involves the neglect of your employees’ needs.
Failing to account for the real-world needs of your employees is a slippery slope, one that you can quite easily find yourself on if you are not careful about checking in on them.
This could be particularly true of remote workers who may be feeling the pressure of digital isolation and loneliness.
Breaking down the barriers built by remote work should be among your top priorities as a business owner, as this can help drive productivity and increase employee happiness on a company-wide basis.
A Digital Skills Gap
A digital skills gap is a difficult issue to approach in business, especially if you are unsure as to what level your workforce is working at on an individual level.
Closing this gap has many inherent benefits, such as greater cybersecurity levels, increased employee confidence, and enhanced productivity.
Training is one of your best bets, but you could also think about introducing training opportunities via a cloud-based solution, as this can save you both time and money in the long run.
Avoiding pitfalls is simply a part of the vigilant and ambitious business owner’s daily routine, but it is hard to do without first knowing what the pitfalls are, which is why looking to the future and keeping up with current trends can help you out greatly.
