The Role Of Digitization In Brands' Business Strategy

In the age of digitization and new technologies, every brand has the opportunity to improve its performance and sales through a set of actions to be carried out almost exclusively online, through the immense power of the web, then reaping the rewards in terms of image, products sold and reputation. The arrows in a brand's bow, so to speak, have multiplied: until two or three decades ago, apart from product quality and price, companies had very few other tools at their disposal to try to prevail in the market, to challenge the competition and grab a certain slice of the public. All they could count on, at best, was word of mouth, i.e. the fruit of a high-quality product, sold at the right price and appreciated by the right consumers, who would then become involuntary brand ambassadors by talking about it to all their acquaintances.

A clean break from the past

In this case, the word-of-mouth variable is extremely unpredictable, because it is in no way programmable: who knows whether a certain segment of the public will appreciate the product and whether they will decide to share their joy with friends and acquaintances? Everything was left to chance, or almost. The large advertising campaigns of the past, executed through traditional media, were certainly an excellent tool to increase one's notoriety and reach one's target audience, but even in this case, the attempt was characterised by a certain amount of coarseness and uncertainty, since targeting a certain type of audience, at the right time, was extremely complicated, if not completely impossible.

To be on the safe side, big companies had to shell out huge amounts of money to show their advertising messages at large mass events, thus cashing in on the certainty that the message would certainly be seen by a certain number of individuals. Any failure, in this case, would have been attributable to the content of the message itself, perhaps even to some feature of the product, but certainly not to the platform selected for its dissemination. Nowadays, the mechanism governing the communication of messages is much richer, much more articulated and complex, but on the other hand, it is accessible to almost every brand, even small ones, and with relatively low costs when set against the breadth of the catchment area in which to fish for potential customers.

The latest resistance

With this in mind, it is truly inconceivable that even today, in the era of computerisation and digitalisation of processes, there are still companies and brands that stubbornly try to oppose the advance of technology, continuing to insist on their old business models - almost all of which are antiquated and even detrimental to brand productivity - and on operating methods that have nothing of the speed and sense of dynamism of modern rhythms. All these brands have not yet understood the fundamental role of digitisation and technology: innovative tools are not a modernity devil, but a fundamental multiplier of business performance, both in terms of sales - online interactions can turbocharge e-commerce performance - and in terms of reputation, through decisive and clear stances on certain ethical issues, or through social media management that betrays an agile, modern and dynamic spirit, in line with the expectations of the modern public.

Technology, from this point of view, is also an exceptional facilitator with regard to the interaction between the public and the brand, and consequently also between the public and the product, inevitably leading to significant increases in sales and overall performance. Just think of all those systems that allow people to view products remotely and buy them in the space of a click, easily and safely, without any complications.

Gambling portals, for example, have learned to familiarise themselves with technology: the top sites to bet on, for example, offer everyone the possibility of placing their bets from anywhere on the globe, at any time, and on any device, making the overall gaming experience even more pleasant and satisfying. The fact that each site is carefully selected by the experts at the portal also makes this kind of experience perfectly safe and satisfying, from every point of view. Through the reviews of the different sites, the user will have no choice but to choose the portal in which to add up and indulge in his or her enjoyment.

Technology is not an enemy to be fought, quite the contrary. It is one of the most valuable allies in making our lives easier and more comfortable but above all more fun.