Whether we like it or not, the digital age is here. It will stay and it will grow. Those who try to ignore it will get left behind and become marginalised. Those nearing retirement may, at a push, have an excuse of sorts to ignore this inevitable global movement. They have survived up to now, and no doubt feel that they will get to the point where they can retire without needing to change their ways. This, however, is not the case with the rest of the business community who are looking to grow their businesses into the future. A lack of digital presence, whether in the form of a web site, a blog, a YouTube channel, a Twitter Feed or other form of social media, will mean that your business may effectively disappear from the view of prospective new customers. As such, you will have to rely upon the traditional means of marketing such as newspaper ads which are being used increasingly less by potential customers. If you are not visible on the internet you risk losing business to someone else who can be found more easily.

It used to be the case that this only affected the younger generation, who may not necessarily have been your target market. However, the first young generation to use computers extensively are now well into their thirties and forties with children of their own. Thus, a more substantial sector of the market is now computer-savvy and internet-ready. Even reliance on the older generations being conventionally accessible would appear to be a risky strategy. Businesses lacking an online presence will see even this source of business shrink significantly over time, as more and more of the older generations discover the significant benefits of the internet.

Those business owners who bury their heads in the sand are in for a shock. They are already being marginalised as more of their potential customers drift away from sharing their outdated view of the world. Those who are not familiar with the internet, smart phones and social media are now very much part of a shrinking minority and are in grave danger of going the same way as the dinosaurs. You only have to look at the lessons provided by Kodak and Encyclopaedia Britannica, companies which were the leading players in their respective fields until their reluctance to embrace digital media lead to their inevitable and spectacular demise.

The greatest thing about many Social Media resources that should not be over-looked, is that, in many cases they are free. They are thus not as expensive as other conventional forms of marketing. Furthermore, they create a level playing field that enables smaller businesses to compete with those that have far greater resources. Not taking advantage of such powerful resources should therefore be seriously reconsidered. Even if you do not know anything much about websites and social media, it is not too expensive to get someone to get you started with a simple website, and anyone is capable of learning about social media provided that they invest a little of their time.

It is for this reason that we at DEB Chartered Accountants encourage all our clients to get on board the technological bandwagon. We feel certain that this advice has been heeded by many, as nearly 95{af331c3cb52abe27a47f1f5b71fb5068c938efb8d5a4e6cddc7f2780f48bb99c} of our clients are now benefitting from our award-winning communication system DEB-Connect which reduces their costs, speeds up their access to valuable resources and information, and generally makes communication with us so much easier for them. Even some of our more computer-phobic clients have take the leap and are now enjoying the benefits.

Please do not ignore what is happening out there. We urge all our clients to embrace the changes rather than resist them. If you are not a client but would like to discuss this issue or any other that affects your business, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01226 245824. We would be delighted to hear from you.