Guest post by David Soffer
Even before the pandemic, the business world was making strong moves into the online world and online markets. Although some, such as e-commerce and insurance had been doing so for many years, every industry across the world has had to make positive and stronger steps than ever to get their businesses online.
This has meant that priorities have shifted and requirements have changed. However, the process of getting businesses of all types online, from small and medium-sized enterprises has been hastened.
For the likes of recruiters, financial advisers. mortgage brokers and builders, the move has not always been easy and natural. But in recent times they have had to expedite this not just because of the pandemic but the changes in customer and user behaviour.
Moving Recruitment Online
In past times, recruiters across all industries have needed to meet candidates as well as clients to properly do their jobs. Some of the more corporate industries such as private banking and commodity trading, have needed more than others to meet candidates, such is the specific nature of their industries and the expertise required.
For more generic recruiters and those working across a broader spectrum of industries such as marketing, finance, accountancy and other mainstream areas, the move has been far easier and seamless.
Having a website with the necessary client and candidate sections and login areas has been key to the success of online recruiters. Additionally, being able to market themselves through other means such as paid media and search engine optimisation (SEO) has meant that recruiters who have moved online no longer need to spend much, if anything on older-fashioned forms of advertising like billboards.
Mortgages and Financial Services
Mortgage and financial advisers used to be entirely reliant on human interaction and required face-to-face meetings, paper submissions of documents and much longer due diligence processes.
However, in recent times, UK financial technology (fintech) as well as the desire and need to move online have meant that financial products such as mortgages of all types, pensions can all be applied for online.
Moreover, when it comes to the actual process, including the necessary due diligence, again, this can all be completed by the applicant and the service provider online, making for a more efficient and quicker process.
Some financial products like payday and short term loans have been online for quite some time. However, for the likes of the higher-end products, costing tens and even hundreds of thousands of pounds, the move online is a lot more recent.
Construction
The construction industry has adapted greatly to accommodate online leads predominantly. Many companies who used to advertise in traditional outlets such as magazines, and on TV now do so online. Furthermore, their brand and company presence has been moving online so that they can target prospective customers more effectively via online marketing channels.
Moving online has also made it easier for various industries and the service providers in those industries to combine. For example, whereas in previous times a development finance lender or broker would need to physically meet the construction service providers, now things are very different.
Thus, meetings can be undertaken remotely but also to run due diligence between companies is also made a lot simpler with the move online.
Advertising and Promoting Businesses
With more businesses than ever moving and growing online, older forms of advertising have declined in value and prominence, including TV, radio, billboard and magazine advertising predominantly.
This has been to the advantage of online and digital advertising methods such as paid media, search engine optimisation and social media campaigns. The worry for traditional advertisers as their distribution and consumption decreases further, is whether people will come back to them at all or not.
