Richard Pilton is Managing Director of award-winning digital agency Kayo Digital, a digital partner to companies looking to grow and innovate through technology. The agency has and continues to work with clients spanning the NHS, Kent County Council, Swale Heating and Berry Gardens.
Ahead of the Kent and Medway Business Summit on January 13, 2023, where Richard will appear as a panellist, he reflects on the changes in the digital sphere and how improving skills in the area can boost productivity.
“There is a growing gap between education and what is directly usable in the industry regarding digital skills. As a fast-moving sector that changes every year, it is hard to keep up the pace if you don’t continue to refresh what you know. When we take on staff, we tend to value a personal interest in digital as well as experience, as you can learn so much about technology and web in your own time.
There has been a decade-long perception that a website is your digital shop window – that is dated and not accurate at all. The closest analogy would be that a website is like a really good business development manager, recruiter and operational professional –that doesn’t get sick or go on holiday!
Rather than thinking of the space as an interactive version of a brochure, so to speak, a website should offer a tailored experience to the us. The whole thing needs a proper strategy and even micro businesses are starting to wake up to that. We are seeing people starting to appreciate an entire digital strategy.
Your online presence should support your business goals. Whether your organisation is considering a more personalised offering to your contacts or being able to support fulfilment, these decisions influence the digital platform you need.
Services like digital experience platforms offer personalisation of a website that helps detect and advertise the correct information to an individual.
This means that if a customer logs on to a website and arrives on an article about, say, SEO and then goes to the SEO services page, the website will register that person’s interest in SEO and showcase the material relevant to that topic. The scope for building a customer base this way is huge.
There are many ways that boosting the digital offering within a business can supercharge productivity.
Here are the major areas I would suggest any business should be investing in:
- Iterate continuously, launch is just the beginning! Change and evolve what is on the website. Sometimes first impressions are no longer in person, and people will visit your website! Make sure it reflects you and your brand.
- Have a roadmap to guide you. What do you want to do next? When should you do it by? All things that need to be considered.
- Test. Test and test again. There are plenty of platforms out there that don’t come with a heavy price tag. They can even be free. Write down what you want to improve what needs to be tested and, create a basic hypothesis and go from there.
- Personalisation of content: A website is no longer just a ‘shop window’ but much more than that.”
To learn more about Kayo Digital, please visit their website here.