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More than 99% of the Top 1000 Romanian companies, according to their 2020 revenue, are present in some form in the online environment, according to a study carried out by Klain – Digital Marketing Agency. This impressive statistic signals the growing importance of maintaining a digital presence in recent years, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it affirms both the importance of maintaining an activity outside the offline area and the existence of growth opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses in this environment.
Valentin Bolboacă, the Klain agency manager, explains the objectives of the study and the observations that can be drawn from it: “I can honestly say that the data extracted from the analysis was surprising. Initially, we started from the premise that the Top 1000 businesses do not put much emphasis on the online environment, considering that many of them aim to develop business relationships and close transactions offline. When we concluded that almost all of these companies are present in the digital medium, we got a real picture of the acceleration of the transition to the digital area and the importance of communication in this space, not only for large companies, but also for small and medium-sized businesses. To stand a chance of surviving in a market dominated by multinational brands, the latter must invest smartly in the digital environment.”
The online presence of the largest companies in Romania is not conditioned by the segment they target, namely B2B or B2C. Thus, the study reveals that these businesses are not necessarily influenced by direct sales made in the digital area, but rather by the current necessity to be present in this medium.
Klain, a digital marketing agency with over 15 years of experience in this field, collected the data regarding the online presence and activity of the Top 1000 companies, with the objective of conducting an investigation on digitalization trends, communication channels, as well as the opportunities of SMBs in this environment.
Thus, out of the total of 1000 analyzed businesses, 992 are present in one form or another in the online environment. The prevalent form of activity is digital PR campaigns, with 91.7% of companies carrying out such actions in the digital space. Of course, the PR segment is based on a complex strategy, which includes and is even based on multiple online communication channels. It is indispensable for large companies, but it can also bring significant advantages to SMBs. Among these benefits we find: increasing brand trust, bridging the gap between businesses and potential customers, overall reputation growth, promoting the human element and, of course, amplifying the online presence.
The second form of digitalization implemented by the most important companies in Romania relates to a website, 91.6% of them employing this communication channel. The website represents the “online business card”, being the most effective way of establishing a presence in this environment. Moreover, in many cases, this is the place where a consumer has a direct interaction with a digital business, similar to a first impression from the everyday life.
Currently, there are many ways to develop a website, but implementing one is not always a positive aspect. Simply having a website is not enough. The site has to meet certain conditions and best practices of design, structure, content, SEO, loading speed and many more. For example, even if 91.6% of the top 1000 companies have a website, only 82.2% of them have a mobile friendly website. Considering the preference of users as well as mobile search engines, the percentage reveals the discrepancy between the existence of a website and its effective use.
However, as long as the good practices are followed, a site can be a beneficial tool not only for large companies, but especially for SMBs. Regardless of the industry in which they operate and their target audience, businesses can transform a consumer into a client solely with the help of a website.
Another online platform used by the Top 1000 companies is Social Media. Thus, 87.9% of them have a Facebook page. The importance of this communication channel has grown significantly in recent years, and the pandemic has only accelerated this growth. Given that Facebook was used for a significant number of years by B2C companies as a tool for interaction with consumers, more and more companies in the B2B sector are choosing now to develop a communication on this platform. However, there is a difference between having a page and maintaining constant communication, only 70.5% of the analyzed businesses being currently active on their Facebook account.
In general, Social Media can be an effective tool for entering the online environment, regardless of the size of the company. Given that the direct interaction with consumers becomes a condition for forming and maintaining productive business relationships, platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram represent accessible, easy-to-use and effective alternatives for its fulfillment.
The study carried out by Klain reveals a strong acceleration in the digital transition of the Top 1000 Romanian companies. These businesses are now choosing to take the steps towards digitalization, even if their sales are not strictly related to this process. In this context, the online presence becomes a necessity for SMBs and their opportunity to stand out in this space remains a real opportunity. Even if these large companies are present in the digital medium, not all of them sustain an active communication based on an intelligent strategy. This dichotomy between presence and activity can be the key to success of a developing business.