The COVID-19 pandemic has incited a huge widespread shift in working practices in the UK as businesses moved to remote working, with their teams now spread across the country. This shift looks set to leave a lasting impression on how companies conduct business from now on, with flexible working practices likely to remain in some shape or form. 

Why? It has shown those who may have been sceptical previously that traditional forms of communication and collaboration can be conducted just as easily - and, in some cases, more efficiently - through technology. This opens up opportunities for businesses across the country to start to collaborate and partner with those who may not be in close proximity to them. 

Travel times and expenses and similar previously popular concerns over long-distance partnerships can now be discarded in favour of adopting video meetings, shared project management systems, collaborative work software and other tech. As a Berkshire-based website design and digital marketing agency, we have always worked with companies both locally and further afield in the UK. Now, we are looking forward to the opportunity to offer our services to an even wider audience. 

One of the key concerns for businesses surrounding long-distance partnerships is communication. How, from a distance, can you ensure you can access the team and communicate effectively and efficiently? 

At Digity, we establish a meeting calendar with our clients either on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, dependent on their requirements, so that communication is planned and opportunities for discussion clear. During lockdown, we have been meeting with clients more frequently over Zoom calls to guide them through this unprecedented time. Every month we will discuss the plan of action for the following month, to maximise your impact where you want us to. 

We also use a cloud-based project management system which we give clients access to, so they can monitor, track and comment on all the work we are completing for them. This way, it is incredibly clear what stage we are at with the work, the order of completion, the percentage completed, and who in the team the task is currently assigned to. 

Additionally, we create a monthly marketing calendar for each client, into which we put all of their requirements for that month and the specific blogs, social media posts, email campaigns, Google Ads, webinars and other services we will be providing for them or collaborating with them on. Each item is placed on the day it will be going out, so the monthly plan is explicit. This can be shared amongst their team members and ensures that their team and ours are on the same page at all times. We work with you to determine what your level of activity should be to have the maximum impact, and then we deliver each month. 

Our work for our clients right now has been more important than ever, with the online space being the primary domain for advertising, sales and communication with customers. We are continuing to offer all our usual services to new and existing clients: website design and development - including SEO, E-Commerce, CMS, Mobile/Tablet Optimization & more, and our marketing services - including Social Media, Blogging, Email Campaigns, Google Ads, Analytics, Advertising, CRM and Website Updates. 

So, that is how we can work with you remotely. How, during this current time, are we as a team working remotely? Digity took quickly to remote working, as our work is almost completely online and therefore all of our systems were already cloud-based, collaborative and accessible by everyone. 

We communicate through weekly whole-team Zoom meetings, as well as more specific project meetings and client meetings. We utilise Slack to keep track of communication concerning each project, and our project management system, Avaza, ensures schedules, timesheets and project status are easily available. 

This has been an exciting time for digital marketing and website development, and we have been exploring features for our clients that previously weren’t considered necessary by many. Zoom call widgets, Calendy video call booking systems, COVID-19 business-as-usual pop-ups, webinars and related booking systems; all have been incredibly successful during this time, and are encouraging our clients to pay even more attention to how they present themselves, market themselves, and are accessible online. 

Find out more about how we can work with you, regardless of your location, and how we can revolutionise your online presence and growth by booking a free initial consultation call with us here.