What is the digital economy?
‘Digital economy’ refers to economic activity completed online, like internet sales or online advertising. These days almost all economic activity has some digital element to it, so businesses are already participating in the digital economy in some form or another.
However, some companies embrace digital more enthusiastically than others.
Companies that continue to resist digital technology may face declining growth, fall behind the competition and lack resiliency as challenges arise.
If you’ve put off going fully digital, it could be time to rethink your approach. Our guide to surviving and thriving in the digital economy will help you see the importance of completely embracing digital right now.
The digital difference
Going digital helps you in obvious ways, such as tracking hours and stock levels, booking and scheduling, quoting and invoicing, measuring productivity and generating reports. However, it also helps different industries in unique and amazing ways. Driverless vehicles in the mining industry, drones in the farming industry, 3D virtual tours in tourism, 3D printing in manufacturing, and tracking blood pressure and other metrics in healthcare. The applications are almost endless.
Digital technology can also increase employee engagement, boost customer satisfaction, reduce waste and create other positive impacts. In the long-term, these will likely lead to greater profitability for the business.
Fail to adapt and fall behind
If you fail to adopt new technologies, you’re not only missing out on potential benefits, you’re also likely to fall behind competitors who have gone digital.
The builder who offers digital invoicing, online access to plans, and one-click payments has a clear advantage over the builder that still works mostly on paper.
Also, if you choose not to invest in new technologies, it often means more work for your people – particularly tedious manual entries and double-checking. Not only will staff be unhappy, but it increases the potential for mistakes which can lead to unhappy customers as well.
All of this can slow business growth and hit your profits over time.
Survive and thrive in the digital economy with our 6 strategies. Download our guide to find out how.