What is digital consulting?
Digital consulting has gone from ‘zero to hero’ in just a few short years. In order to complete the disruption or transformation of your old business model, or the deployment of a new business model, there is an A to Z of enabling digital technologies to implement - too many to summarise effectively in this opening paragraph, and so many, that most organisations simply don’t have the capability to know them all.
So think digital consulting services when you hear any of these trigger words – disrupt, remodel, transform, deploy – and work your way through the following list.
The A to Z of digital consulting services … with tips
- Advertising online / Search engine marketing (SEM), to deliver promotional marketing messages and generate leads and website traffic … watch out for the rise of programmatic advertising, and retargeting based on a granular understanding of the web behaviours and characteristics of every individual in your online audience.
- Commerce platforms and services, that define B2B trading and B2C shopping environments and the associated services … be prepared to switch as newer platforms knock older platforms out of the park.
- Content development / marketing, to create, publish and share content to drive presence, brand engagement and followers online … content is king, but it must be “fresh”, i.e. topical, relevant and engaging.
- Digital strategy, to specify an organisation's purpose, mission, core values and objectives to exploit the business benefits of digital technology … be prepared to regularly revisit your digital strategy, as technologies come and go.
- E-learning, to utilise electronic media, educational technology and ICT for education and training. With ever-shortening business cycles, and the rapid rise in the volume of required knowledge, training has never been more important - and e-learning is a cost-effective channel to deliver it.
- Innovation, to conceptualise, design and develop innovative uses for digital technology … don’t spend too much time in the kitchen and become the ‘also ran early adopter’ . Implement fast and well.
- Mobile applications and games, to develop applications and games for mobile devices...mobiles now outstrip desktops and the benefits of mobile apps are far-ranging, from increased revenues to reduced marketing costs, speed and broader market coverage.
- Online video, to design and develop videos. Youtube is the second most popular social media site after Facebook, and video is one of the fastest growing advertising and communication channels which organisations cannot ignore, whether for external marketing or internal training purposes.
- SEO, to improve the visibility of websites and web pages in search engine results … keep abreast of how the search engines change their algorithms.
- Social media strategy and services, to specify an organisation's purpose, mission, core values and objectives in a way to exploit the business benefits of social media … do this well and it will pay off many times over
- User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Interaction Design (IxD), to conceptualise, design and develop an effective interface, attractive experience or efficient interaction for users of digital technology … simply cannot be ignored if you want to get your message across
- Website design & development… as mobile devices now outstrip desktops, the merits of a mobile-friendly site versus an app should be carefully considered.
What to look for in a digital consultant
If you don’t have a digital strategy, then you will need a digital strategy consultant. Following on, make sure you pick a ‘fit for purpose’ consultant for each digital strategy you implement.
If you are ready to speak to a digital consultant for your needs, select the "Digital" category in our quick online wizard.