By Annelia Nixon

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian businesses must strengthen their online presence and visibility in order to generate a greater return on investment (ROI) in the 21st century digital economy, technology entrepreneurs are warning. 

Ethan Quant, Lifestyles Digital Media Group’s founder and chief executive, told the National Conclave of Chambers of Commerce that an Internet presence is vital regardless of industry or company size.

“Visibility equals credibility. Credibility is trust. Trust translates into dollars in the bank,” he said, adding that a company’s digital footprint is a first impression for clients and customers as well as potential employees and partners.

Mr Quant said potential customers often research a company before contacting it, and an outdated website or social media presence could deter clients and lead them to believe the business is untrustworthy or no longer operational. He noted that “visibility drives credibility, and credibility drives opportunity”.

“The fact is that 70 percent of your decisions start online,” Mr Quant said. “So before the customer or even potential partners, collaborators, work with you, they're going to research you online. Consistency in posting high quality content is actually going to increase your brand recognition by five times. And if... you're not showing up online, you're invisible. But also, if your information is outdated online, you're also very invisible.”]

Mr Quant said Lifestyles Digital Media Group relies on the 7-11-4 framework, which involves seven hours of engagement, 11 touch points and four platforms. He spoke to the visibility performance framework, noting that businesses must show up on various platforms as well as communicate and engage consistently. 

“This is, like I said, the 7-11-4 framework, but your visibility is your reputation,” Mr Quant said. “Your reputation is your competitive advantage. And you want to start telling your story intentionally.

“The organisations that win are not always the biggest. They're the ones that are seen, that are trusted and that are understood. Visibility builds credibility, and as I said before, credibility is what drives opportunity. So let's turn your digital footprint into ROI (return on investment).”

Mr Quant said visible leadership is also essential because “people trust people, and people do business with people, not logos”.

He added: “Visible leaders actually create confident customers. Like I said, remember we aren't just doing this for customers. We aren't just doing this to attract clients.

“Seeing who the leadership is, or seeing who the leadership persons are, as a potential employee, I can say, 'Wow, you know what? I really like his personality.' Or: 'I actually agree with some of the things that they're saying.' Or: 'This looks like somebody that I would want to work with.' And I can tell you for a fact that we have employed this strategy and this intentionality in our own organisation.

“Visible managers also create aligned teams. And so if your managers, if your leadership, is showing up consistently online, the people within the organisation now have something to gravitate towards as well. They have an example to follow,” Mr Quant said.

“And so we want to make sure that, like I said, our leadership is showing up because this does contribute to accelerated organisational growth. And we also know that visible organisations attract better partnerships.” 

Online visibility can also promote international partnerships, added Mr Quant. “I've had the benefit to participate in two trade missions internationally with The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce,” he added. “We went to India, and then we went to Algeria. And as a part of that process, the organisers within the countries, they Google you. They want to see if you are a real business doing what you say you do.

“And so when people say, 'Oh, well, I don't need to promote, I don’t need to do all these things because my people know me. They know me in my circle.' That's true, but then that's also true. They only know you in your circle. And so investing the time, energy, efforts and resources into really building your digital presence and your visibility online does make you more accessible to those outside of the local market. Visible organisations attract better partnerships.”