Scottish businesses are being asked to use the power of digital marketing to weather the challenge of inflation or face the possibility of failure as economists warn of an impending economic downturn. increase.

With the UK government announcing new business support measures under the Help To Grow Digital scheme and an expansion of the Vodafone business.connected initiative to offer businesses a host of free online trainings, one technology provider said nothing could be more important. I claim no.Time for his 360,000+ SMEs in Scotland¹ Strengthen your digital marketing and rapidly improve your skills in this area to survive.

Scottish businesses without digital marketing and sales skills are more likely to be exposed to economic distress, according to Zym CEO and founder Michael Carlin, but they can strengthen their defenses and drive growth To do so, support programs from the public and private sectors have never been stronger.

he said: But supporting digital skills is essential if they are to survive, remain resilient, and drive growth.

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“With one-fifth of companies failing in the first year, startups in particular need a deep understanding of digital skills, such as social media, digital marketing, and cybersecurity, to overcome the sink-and-swim hurdles. need to do it. “

A recent survey by Enterprise Nation and Vodafone found that businesses believe digital savvy is vital to survival. Four-tenths of SMBs are investing in expanding their digital capabilities to ease the rising costs of doing business, and 45% of SMBs reported improving their digital capabilities last year. 68% say they have plans for the future. You should do so for the next 12 months.

Survey findings show that digital investment decisions were primarily to drive growth (47%), others said it was a result of the pandemic (29%), and 16% attributed to the cost of living crisis. It says it will.

Through Help To Grow Digital, businesses have access to Zym’s automated digital marketing software. This aims to accelerate your sales growth from just £24.50 per month (including a 50% government-funded subsidy).

Zym has also been confirmed as a new delivery partner for Vodafone’s newly expanded initiative of business.connected.

Over 100,000 small businesses operating with partners Enterprise Nation, Samsung, Zym and Cisco benefit from the program’s suite of subsidized digital products and services to help grow their businesses. The scheme is expected to boost the digital capabilities of an additional 800,000 SMEs over the next three years.

Zym program manager Daniel Cairo said: Aside from the rising prices facing businesses, small businesses can also be paralyzed by choice as they need to navigate this minefield of digital tools.

“Once you have chosen a solution and signed up, comprehensive support on how to integrate the software is essential for small businesses to get the most out of their tools. , proven methodologies and, importantly, education, will provide SMEs with comprehensive support to help them get the most out of their tools.”

Business.connected courses have been particularly popular with SoHo (small office, home office) businesses (defined as organizations with 10 or fewer employees), accounting for 9 out of 10 signups for the program.

Carlin continues:

“We believe small businesses are the backbone of our economy and will be crucial in the looming recession and the battle many describe for Britain.

“We are a small, growing company and created Zym for people like us – true business owners who want to save time, save money and grow. We therefore hope that these new initiatives across the private and public sector will be a real game changer for small business owners across the UK.”

Zym is an automated digital marketing solution that integrates the power of nine different platforms into an easy-to-use cloud-based ecosystem, providing marketing automation and lead generation marketing/CRM tools for SMEs. . For more information about Zym, please visit http://www.zym.ai.

View all free digital business courses available at business.connected.