Imagine what your business could look like a year from now
By Justin Bowen, Furniture Technology Source
Digital transformation is ultimately about enabling greater understanding in order to make wise, strategic and tactical decisions that can positively impact your business.
This is particularly relevant as we start the new year. We still might be thinking about what hindered us from achieving our goals in 2024, but let’s not forget to also review the things we did right, that helped us achieve what we did — a process aided by how digital we are.
As we look back, we can see a sort of journey that we take toward improvement. Oftentimes these steps happen accidentally or unexpectedly. But when we choose to make these things happen, powerful results will be more likely to follow.
Digital transformation is not a phase, it’s a continual progression. No matter what steps you may have taken in the past, we travel a road under constant construction, requiring continuous shifts and adjustments.
Thinking on those positive outcomes from 2024, how many of them required an intentional decision or investment on you or your company’s part? Thinking about 2025 and where you want to be this time next year, how can you turn some of last year’s unfulfilled wishes into reality? What are some of the ways you can enable your business to achieve greater results in 2025?
Website Status
Is your website actionable? Meaning, does it answer enough questions for the consumer to make a purchasing decision? Are they able to consistently find the right product, price and in-stock status on your site? If not, click here to set up a consultation with our website operations team today.
Sales Tools
How good are your salespeople at tracking down a product’s price and availability? Are they able to answer these questions quickly and without leaving the customer? Do they have a prospecting list they are reaching out to, or at least an easy way to follow up with opportunities that also gives you visibility into their efforts?
A CRM (customer relationship management) system can solve all these challenges by giving your sales team a live, in-hand reference to inventory, pricing, customer contact info and history.
The great news is that AVB offers a free CRM — called HUB — to its members. Don’t let the absence of a fee fool you; for what other solutions charge thousands a month for, HUB can do for you at no cost. Sign up today for a HUB demo here.
From Retail to E-tail
Despite the advent of e-commerce, people still love shopping in-store, and in all likelihood most will continue to do so for years to come. But there remains a segment of customers you could be selling that rarely or never visit stores. This can be due to physical limitations or long travel times, or simply because they’re not big on in-person shopping.
By not catering to these shoppers, you could be missing out on a point or two of sales at least. Focus on them and they can become a growing part of your business.
Perhaps you have a website now but it is not transactional. Talk to our e-commerce specialists to learn how to make the jump to selling online this year.
Focus on Success in 2025
All these initiatives require investments, but they are investments that will generate outsized returns and enable understanding — understanding that will lead you to even greater outcomes.
Just one of these digital enhancements can have a significant impact on your business this year and beyond. When you look back a year from now, after having taken the next step, consider how much further these tools will take you on this journey of digital transformation.
Justin Bowen is vendor relations manager at AVB Marketing, the advertising, e-commerce and digital marketing arm of YSN publisher AVB BrandSource. Contact Justin at Justin.Bowen@avb.net.
