Twenty- twenty (and pretty much twenty- twenty one too) has been one hell of a ride, and one so rocky that its peaks and troughs have affected us all somewhat, to whatever degree. Albeit said the one reigning champion that's come out on top of this dreaded year has been that of the digital space. There should be some sort of “oi oi” feeling to this, especially for my Manchester design agency but really in retrospect it’s a proper mix bag of emotions.
Digital has never been more present and with increased ad spend across all mediums it's pretty much here to stay. To some this may be the worst idea of marketing(shoutout all you OG’s out there), but to most...this is reality, and the reality which isn’t going anywhere whether you be a large or small business.
Website longevity
Roll up, roll up and enter the chat….website design and its intertwined digital marketing. With the ever changing marketplace and the shift in business web priority, whatever you harnessed throughout the pandemic, well... you need to be doing post pandemic too. The age of the brick and mortar, standalone store reliance is now utterly of the past - why put all your eggs in a basket which in reality it just ain’t strong enough to carry. Expanding your audience and business through the pandemic and onwards means adaptability throughout the remainder of the year.
Engage, engage, engage
Although the pandemic has played a huge role in shaping the change of the e-commerce landscape, with website and key UX design (check out my blog on this here), you can still continue on with the BAU as the ‘norm’ too. Continuing that development with the consumers you’ve harnessed is a priority as no-one likes to feel dropped or lost, and this accounts for brands too. Website creation and strengthened design, UX, brand TOV and more allows those relationships to strengthen even further (sometimes beyond your wildest expectations).
FYI: Effectives websites are where it's at
Websites should be created with a great design and one that's easily amendable. Take a quick look at the below on some tips to achieving positive outcomes for your business through some extra improvements.
Self-service bookings: Pretty self explanatory but something layered in that’ll help 100%. Creating an easier workflow and less time consuming process, it allows direct bookings on your site without having to lift a finger.
Pre-payment bookings: Hate chasing those payments down? Wonder why it feels like every 30 day payment term is missed? Yeah, proper annoying isn’t it. So, along with the self service bookings, layer in pre payments to those to ensure not only are you able to fulfil the clients requests but ensure you’re gettin’ some of that payment good stuff, upfront.
Quick time messaging: Don’t get me wrong a lot of business/brands have these and they aren’t the best - either they’ve been set up inadequately or they’re just not monitored. However, having this on definitely gives direct communication, ease of discussion and easier outreach for potential leads. As I’d noted before, we all want ease of use and rapid delivery, having this switched on not only does that but can definitely give a more positive experience of your business too.
Plus...anything to make life easier, yeah?
Long story short, digital is here to stay. Optimised websites are where it’s at and the pandemic needs to do one.