If there are two elements, which every business owner should have and every industry should possess, few are more essential than design and data. Or: If a company is to succeed online – if it seeks to make an impression with style and substance, through a combination of intelligence and analysis – then it must have a distinctive website, which gathers and mines data about current and prospective clients.
To ignore or dismiss the importance of the former is to squander the benefits of the latter; it is to divorce style from substance, when, in fact, the two are inseparable. That is, a company cannot have a generic website (and by “generic,” I believe most people know it when they see it, with the unmistakable tabs, quartet of colors, boring text, and graphs and pie charts) because the lack of an online identity – the absence of personality – will fail to attract new visitors, and quickly try the patience of existing consumers.
So, yes, style is substance. But it is also the catalyst for generating traffic, increasing the amount of time people spend reading content or using certain features, which yields the one commodity every executive covets and every business wants to acquire: Data.
Analyzing that data by parsing it with a judicious eye and dissecting the numbers with the exactitude of a marketer-cum-mathematician reveals almost everything; its conversion into intelligible, easy-to-follow reports can transform the way a business communicates with consumers and expand a company's influence into areas once overlooked or purposefully neglected.
Offering these services (and more) at an affordable price – democratizing design and data by leveling the playing field between businesses large and small – is the next great milestone in the history of the Web.
I write these words without an ounce of hyperbole because, in my role as Founder of Ocoos, I give executives the freedom to build their own websites, manage real-time traffic and better appreciate the analytics of the Internet in general.
I present my case as a prime example of the positive power of technology, where information is global, talent is transcendent and automation is universal.
The practical benefits of this phenomenon prove, on the one hand, that style is its own reward, while, on the other, that visuals hone a company’s vision. Meaning: Where excellent design creates attention – where the visual layout of a site matches a brand’s philosophy and goals – that recognition results in a more direct vision about what a business should do and where it should go.
Informed Leadership and Inspired Consumers: The Dividends of Technology
The lesson for all business owners is a simple reminder about embracing smart technology.
It is also a call to action, where executives can enhance efficiency and lower administrative tasks by using a superior solution, or choose an “online concierge” to handle these responsibilities.
Either way, the rewards are measurable and undeniable: Improved operations, streamlined billing and accounting, heightened responsiveness and strengthened consumer relations.
By championing design and data, a sort of catchall for the many services that are part of the everyday affairs of running a business, there can be a new era of informed leadership…for the good of a new generation of inspired consumers.
The subsequent success for companies, furthered by the renewed loyalty of their respective customers, is the ultimate validation of technology.
The particular version of technology I refer to, with its suite of resources, can inaugurate an exciting moment in the history of the Web and online commerce.
With identity and resolution, each company can seize this occasion.
Every business can prosper.
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Dr. Rahul Razdan has over 20 of years executive management experience in a variety of roles in sales, R&D, and marketing. He has authored numerous technical papers and is named on 24 issued patents. Dr. Razdan holds a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard University. For more information, please visit Ocoos.