Post COVID19 pandemic, we’re seeing some interesting changes in how buyers ‘buy’. Research by McKinsey Institute reports that 2/3 of the customer journey is now conducted online. This is partly due to the distance created between buyers and sellers in lockdown, but more so, this was an inevitable progression due to the wide range of information available online now. Buyers are able to make judgements over a firm’s professionalism, their social and environmental credentials as well as their products and services.

The trouble is, many SMEs particularly continue to regard their website as an out of date brochure, some, not updating them since first commissioning them. The reality is, they give off a perception that they are either out of business, or certainly out of date. More concerning however, is jobseekers are starting to behave this way as well, making it more important than ever to consider your image, your brand and your values which are projected to the outside world.

We came across a stat last week which needs verifying that 65% of Gen-Y job seekers value a firm’s values and mission more than a few more £ a month in their paycheque. If true, businesses are missing a trick on a few simple changes to how they promote themselves and what is found about them online rather than to increasing their wage bill un-necessarily.