Is there a skills gap in the board room?
Having done lots of  public speaking over the last year and chatting to small business owners at various events it seems that there is still a long way to go for digital marketing.
I think it’s one of those similar situations to cloud computing, people say they understand what it is but do they?
There is still a real challenge in convincing business owners the value in investing in digital.
Here is how I see the current landscape, most small to medium business owners are coming towards the end of there career and right now as we reach the half way point of 2015 we are right in the middle of a digital revolution.
Previously for these business owners we had call calling teams and trade shows and the company brochure. It was all about the numbers game, get your company in front of as many people as possible so they knew who you were and what product or service you provided.
That is how it worked for years and it did work, hard work but it worked. Then came along the internet and it changed everything.
Today we can find out about any product, company, person in a few clicks of the keyboard on our smartphone and we can have all the information we need.
This has changed business for at least the last 5 years if not more and yet the conversation regarding digital is still not high priority in the average boardroom.
Why not?
Its a whole new way of doing business and most of these business owners done all the old school training in selling and networking and now it should be there time to enjoy the business more and not having to learn a whole new set of skills that are semi technical and involves cost and worse it changes almost every single day.
Many have started using social media but as a broadcast tool not as an engagement tool and may have attended the odd course via a local social media guru but it probably has not changed sales.
It may seem a little unfair on these guys they probably just want to ride out this digital stuff until they retire and let the next person worry about having to re-invent the way the company presents itself.
The challenge is will a company not embracing digital and the new ways of buying be around in 7-10 years time maybe even less?
I believe this is the challenge to get the decision makers to want to take on the challenge of embracing digital and not just from a marketing perspective but as a business objective.
This is our challenge that we have to be the ones to help business leaders and owners to understand the changes in technology and directly attribute all of this to business objectives and goals.
This is not nice to haves, content creation is not self indulgent this is educating the new breed of customers that expect information and answers in an instant. Nobody has any time to wait for a response any longer and life and business is moving faster than ever and is not going to slow down any time soon.
You clients may not think they are on social media but they are, they customers and prospects will talk and reviews will be placed. Digital is not a choice but a fundamental set of business skills and as digital evangelists its our job to make all of this understandable and directly relate it to sales and profit the two things that make any business tick.
What do you think is there a skills gap or just turning a blind eye?
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.