The Digital Carrot and Stick
One of the comforting things about making the leap to the online space is how closely online behaviour resembles that in the ‘real world’. Once a business realises that the same message is being communicated regardless of the medium, and that online channels are just a new way of getting to the market, the move is relatively painless. We’re creatures of habit, and dislike disruption, so ‘digital by stealth’ is the kindest way to engage and empower a large part of the population. But once that move is made, there are opportunities that you may not even have considered!
Digital by Stealth
At the recent National Digital Conference, Tim Lloyd, head of Digital Communication at BIS (department of Business, Innovation and Skills) talked about the challenge of coaxing people in government into the digital space. As the government grows its strategy ‘Digital by Default’, it’s important that policy makers themselves are digitally skilled so that the feedback loop from constituents and systems is complete. The attraction of better data and engagement (and coffee shop vouchers!),and the threat that people may be left behind if they are not included in the digital world, is part of the carrot-and-stick approach that he calls ‘Digital by Stealth’.
For a business, the carrot is good feedback (reviews, website analytics) and a wider market. The stick is the fear of being left behind by competitors. Can you help another business, or senior people in your own business, become digital by stealth?
Stretching for opportunity
Once a business has made the move online, and there’s confidence throughout the team, then it’s time to see what new opportunities lie out there. We aren’t moving everyone to the digital space on a whim – there are real benefits, and it’s probable we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.
A great example of a real spring clean is the digitising of The Gazette, the UK’s official public record since 1665. The Gazette was fully functional in print – it wasn’t in need of fixing – but in moving online it enabled the curators of 350 years of history to completely change the information architecture and make this vast historical resource available to millions of people for the first time.
Organisations are also seeing a new way of communicating which hasn’t previously been possible. With the rise of private intranets and forums, members of a secure network with an open discussion feature can confidently ask more informal questions and get a range of answers from other members which can speed up problem solving or encourage innovation in the workplace. In the past, you had to know who to ask (by email, phone or face to face) before posing the question; with intranets, you just have to know the question. The creators of the Ambix intranet delve deeper into the phenomenon that online communities are greater than the sum of their parts.
Get ready to rise to new challenges
The kindest way to go digital is by stealth- but once you’re comfortable, it’s time to spread your wings and discover new opportunities you never imagined! Start looking at the things that you can only achieve online. It’s a whole new world.