Businesses utilize different tech to improve business efficiency and support productivity. We use various tools and equipment to accomplish tasks faster, safer, and more efficient way. Even the way we outsource materials, create products, and render services are now advanced.
When it comes to marketing, we use digital technology to boost our reach and increase brand awareness. Companies, big or small, now use different digital marketing strategies to open new opportunities and grow their brand. For the most part, businesses leverage content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and local SEO services as part of their online marketing.
But while technology can help businesses in many ways, this can’t instantly guarantee brand success. Use tech the wrong way, and your business can also suffer. The following are three examples of how tech can ruin the brand you worked so hard to build.
Reputational Damage via Social Media
Virtually every business these days has its own social media pages. Brands use social media marketing to increase brand recognition, engage with target audiences, boost sales, and achieve a higher conversion rate. But just because you use social media, this will already guarantee that you can build an excellent online reputation.
Too many brands have a bad reputation despite their efforts to improve their online image. Simply marketing your business won’t secure a great rep. More often than not, a company’s attempts will remain futile if you can’t sustain your claims.
For instance, you boast about prioritize your customer’s experience in and outside of your store. But you don’t answer customer inquiries, engage with customers online, and don’t even bother answering direct messages. Word can quickly spread like wildfire, and online consumers will eventually share their poor experiences with your brand.
The same goes if your brand’s personality online is not likable, you don’t keep up with the latest social media marketing trends, and you don’t listen to what your online clients have to say. Social media trolls can also easily ruin your business if you are not careful with every claim you make online. In many ways, social media can help build brand awareness and, at the same time, ruin your reputation with just a few posts.
Cybercriminals Targeting Your Business Data
As modernization influences consumer behavior, businesses have no choice but to adapt to different innovations. As more consumers migrate online, companies follow suit by taking their brands online. This includes storing business data online, accepting digital payments, and using digital communication channels to engage with customers.
Using such technologies to get closer to your consumers and bring in a more customized consumer experience puts your business at risk for cybercrime. It does not even matter if your brand is still a start-up business. Know that cybercriminals are never one to discriminate.
Simply using regular practices to protect your business data won’t guarantee protection against different cyber threats. You can change your passwords each month, implement VPNs, and update your hardware regularly. But when it comes to persistent hackers and brand-new malware, these can easily bypass your simple security practices and cause business interruption when you least expect it.
Remote Work Setup Disrupting Business Culture
Brands that embraced remote work can attest that this supposedly productive setup is not all rainbows and unicorns. A lot comes with setting up a successful remote work setup than simply allowing employees to work from home. It is not enough that you provide them with the right technology to ensure business productivity and efficiency.
For one, remote work can ruin your business culture. This is since remote work restricts one’s ability to build real-life connections with their teammates. When one can’t create real-life engagements with their workmates, it is easy to feel like they are alone and won’t feel like a valuable part of the brand.
Many remote workers feel disengaged because they have no teammates working with them side-by-side. Others feel like their managers don’t care about them. Many even think that their company fails to recognize them for their contributions at work.
Some managers handling remote teams are often guilty of their failure to effectively lead their teams. Some tend to micromanage their remote staff, making remote workers feel inefficient and not good enough for the role. Other managers forget to think about the well-being of their remote employees and will only learn about their issues after their productivity declines.
This goes to show that tech alone can’t guarantee business success. One has to adopt the proper tech habits to optimize their tech usage. If you want your business to get the most out of your tech investments, don’t simply invest in any innovation. Do your best to study its business implications, adopt the best practices, and be ready to change your strategies as needed.