I love shopping online. I’m not talking about eBay or Amazon or that great pair of red stilettos on Overstock.com here. I’m talking about shopping online for solutions.
We all face problems in our work. We all have hurdles that we have to get over and obstacles we have to cross. They wouldn’t call it work if there wasn’t a challenge involved. The fun part is in finding solutions to those problems. This is where the shopping comes in, and who doesn’t love shopping?
Say you want to start integrating your print and web content more. There are many solutions to this – flipbooks, photo galleries, videos, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, the list goes on and on. You need to drill down a little more and figure out what you want to focus on. Then, you can start shopping. Shop around for ideas – look at competitors, read blogs, watch YouTube videos. Start making a list of services that provide the solution you’re looking for.
Once you have a solid list, start comparing. They say that with the age of the Internet, consumers have become comparison shoppers. I don’t know about you, but I fall into that category 100 percent. I compare everything before I decide on a purchase. When I’m at the store, I often pull up my RedLaser or Amazon app on my iPhone to see if there’s a better price out there. When I’m shopping online, I search for coupon codes, or I find another website offering the same product for less. I want the best value for the right price.
An amazing aspect of the digital world we live in is that if you learn how to use the tools available, you can save lots of money. Take social media for example. Want to expand your market reach online? Marketing on Facebook, Twitter and hundreds of other social media sites is FREE. Just keep in mind that the service has to be useful – it has to fulfill a purpose in your organization. Many web services will let you sign up for a free trial so you can test it out before you invest any dollars. But don’t go blazing around the Internet signing up for stuff because it’s free. Evaluate how you can use it, and if it’s not very useful, move onto something else.
In the July issue of BriefCASE, an article pointed to a study saying that advancement professionals feel they lack the financial and staff resources to use technology effectively. It shouldn’t be this way. The resources are right in front of you. You have a computer. You have Internet access. You have goals. The Internet is full of possibilities. Make it a priority to use the resources you have to achieve your goals. You don’t need a gigantic budget to find solutions. You do need time, but if you spend your time wisely, researching solutions that will save you time and money, then that is time well spent.
Ready to get going? Here’s your shopping list:
- Focus on your long-term goals and determine a timeline for each.
- Prioritize your goals and figure out how each one can be achieved with technology.
- Start your research. Use Google (or Bing if you so choose). Try different keywords. Scan the results for relevant information.
- Compare features and prices. Determine what will work with your budget.
- Do a trial run if you can. Get in there and mess around, and find out if it will work for your goals.
- If you need to, get out that shiny credit card and put an investment into your goals.
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