After the crash of the dot com era in 2001, entrepreneurs were worried about the next big thing that would be basically the breakthrough technology to support business operations and decision making. A successful digital entrepreneur will always have an ace up their sleeve to get them out of recessionary messes. The traditional entrepreneurial theories are now redundant, entrepreneurs need to adapt to more e-commerce techniques, social media and website technologies. Working in conjunction with techniques of the digital age will define the entrepreneurs of the future.
Let’s scroll through some factors that determine successful business digitals:
1. Innovation
The first and most important factor that defines digitals is innovation. No matter what the product or service their brand delivers, there must be constant innovation. IBM was stuck at one time losing shares to other companies like Intel & Dell, they re-engineered their whole company, its system, its offerings and its people in 2003 and 2004. One of their modern views adopted was ‘innovation that matters for us and our global customers.’
2. Make every penny count
Chris Kettle, owner of My247- an online entertainment and tourism guide, pushes the fact to make every penny count and have reserve funds for contingencies. This is a common digitals’ trait. The use of free technologies like Google services and Skype, save a lot of money by allowing free conferences. Presence in virtual markets through websites allows exposure to a great global market, saving both time and money and getting exposure to masses around the world.
3. Think Global
A digital business will always think global, it is important to be aware of the macro environment to keep an eye on different economies and competitors that can emerge from within those markets. Jennifer Zanich, CEO of mobile social media company Xumii, also emphasizes on the same point ‘keep an eye on the macro economic environment you operate in.’
4. Encourage feedback , adapt to change
It is very vital for digitals to encourage customer feedback from many sources and point of views. With the rapidly changing preferences of markets, it is necessary to look for change and adapt as quickly as possible to it. First it was the iPhone, then the iPod touch and finally we have the iPad. The iPad combines a newspaper, music player, video player, data storage and web browser. It did take time but the concept of the touch screen tablet was a major breakthrough combined with research and customer feedback.
5. Keep your team updated & energized
It is essential to keep your team and colleagues updated about current and future trends. Make employees feel valued and strengthen their loyalties. Teamwork and staff motivation might not be something digital but it is a major factor that decides if a brand lives up to expectations or dies. Knowledge management is not a theory anymore, it is a business builder. The importance of human or intellectual capital can revive any type of business. IBM consulted 55,000 employees in 2003 to revise its business strategy and become a solution provider and consultancy moving away from being a computer hardware and software vendor.
6. Being online is not enough
Just being on the web is not enough, tools like search engine optimization are important to increase traffic on the business website. Digitals understand the value of this. It is now necessary to have a SEO strategy, linking to other sites and have partner sites that link to you. Literally any application, blog, music, video and other content can be shared with Facebook and can be bookmarked on millions of sites, potentially anyone can be found in search engines through Facebook pages. Digitals take full advantage of this.
7. Believe in your idea
It is very crucial to believe in your idea. Edison found a hundred ways to make a light bulb until he finally got it right. Entrepreneurs should be immersed in making their idea perfect. It’s a long uncertain journey that must be taken without question and digitals are always ready to dive in head-first. With all kinds of technology and innovation involved, the digitals must not forget where they started and where they are going, they must believe in innovation.
