How Small Businesses can Move with the Times without Losing their Identities

Many small businesses continue to wrangle with a tricky question. How do they keep up with the times by going digital while continuing to provide personal service with a smile? For business owners who take pride in serving their neighbourhoods, putting time into their online “face” can seem like a dilution of who they are.

Reaching out to customers online is certainly different to providing an in-store consumer experience. However, people have become accustomed to interacting with businesses online. There are ways to go digital while continuing to provide friendly face-to-face service.

Use live streaming to reach out to customers

The casino industry is a prime example of a traditional business that has maintained its character while going digital. Games such as roulette, blackjack and bingo are centuries old. Now the industry has moved into the digital world and those games are played over the internet. Customers can play live casino online and experience a variety of classic games in traditional ways. This is all thanks to live streaming technology that displays the games in real-time.

Online casinos show that online gaming can be a face-to-face experience. Games are live-streamed and hosted by real casino workers who interact with the customers. In some games, there are also opportunities for customers to talk to each other. This digital yet personable experience could provide ideas to any local business people wondering how to go online without losing touch with their customers.

This face-to-face model is also being used in the online shopping industry. It all began in China, a country known for its business innovation. In “live shopping” people demonstrate, discuss, and then sell products via a live stream. This model has taken over eCommerce in China and is gradually sweeping across western retail markets, with brands like Amazon and Walmart already successfully piloting live events.

Successful live stream events are far from being just for big businesses. Smaller businesses also benefit from using live streams to reach out to their customers. These streams connect consumers to the business. They allow viewers to ask real questions and get answers to generate a rapport. In this way, small businesses can easily uphold their identity.

Make the most of social media to showcase your work

Social media isn’t just a place where far-flung relatives show you photographs of what they had for breakfast. Businesses of all sizes are using it as a very cost-effective way to establish a presence and connect to customers. Having a social media presence can generate brand awareness, increase website traffic, and sell products and services. It helps that the major social media platforms are now well established and people are used to making purchases on them.

Small businesses often find that they suit some social media platforms more than others. Frequently, the nature of the product or service on offer will determine which platform is better for the business to use. Many people immediately turn to Facebook as it has over two billion users worldwide, allows for a large amount of profile and page customisation, has an accessible ads plan and also comes with Facebook Live. With chat and shopping features used every day by millions of people, it’s a good place to start as you can uphold your identity on the platform.

Social media and live streaming are already being used by businesses to reach out to customers in a way that retains the identity of the businesses. There are many inspiring examples out there for any small business that is looking for ideas.