We spoke to Laura Maeso from the marketing agency OOMKT. The company is a member of the Barcelona Digital Chamber and works for the digital transformation of businesses in the industrial and B2B sector in the Bages county and the province of Barcelona, helping companies to generate business through their digital channels.
A few months back the government announced the launch of the Kit Digital subsidies, offered by the EU as part of the Next Generation EU funds. The subsidies are designed to help with the digital transformation process for SMEs and the self-employed in our country, and to speed up this process.
As an agency promoting digitalisation, OOMKT opted for the domain agentkitdigital.barcelona to promote its services as an agency working with these subsidies.
Laura, tells us about the Kit Digital for those who are not familiar with it
The Kit Digital is a subsidy plan promoted by the Spanish government as part of the EU’s Next Generation funding. The main goal is to improve the digital maturity of SMEs and the self-employed in our country. More than 2.5 million companies are expected to benefit from this initiative. Subsides range from 2,000 to 12,000 euros and come in the form of a digital payment, which all companies with up to fifty workers will receive if they request it. The money can be used to implement a list of tech solutions, ranging from the creation of a website or e-commerce page to the implementation of software to optimise the management of all the company’s processes and clients, plus other solutions.
Which companies can benefit from it?
The government has separated companies into three large groups: those with 1 or 2 workers, which can apply for up to €2,000; those with 3 to 9 workers, which can apply for €6,000, and those with more than 10 workers, which can apply for up to €12,000.
Companies obtaining the subsidies must contract the solution they require from any of the 8,700 plus digitalisation agencies operating around the country.
Companies in Barcelona interested in further information can check out this link about the Kit Digital, where they will find detailed information.
How do you think the Kit Digital will help small businesses?
Without the slightest doubt, these subsidies will provide a big impetus for a large part of the business network in our country when it comes to digitalising their communication and sales channels.
I also think it will help them to improve their internal management processes, a factor which will boost things such as efficiency and production capacity. With society and the world where it is now, after more than two years of the pandemic, I think that companies need to clearly back the digital world in all senses, regardless of the sector we might be looking at. These subsidies are simply a helping hand to try and speed this process up, as there’s nothing that will stop it.
You mentioned that one of the tech solutions covered by the Kit Digital subsidies is the creation of a website or e-commerce platform. What other solutions are there for small businesses? What have they asked for the most so far?
There’s quite a variety of tech solutions on offer. From the creation of a new website to SEO of all content on an existing website, which is what we specialise in.
For instance, companies can also request a strategy for social media to enhance their online reputation, boost their community and increase their sales.
Another solution which our agency believes will be very successful is the installation of management software for internal processes, which will improve the efficiency and control of all business processes relating to production or operational matters.
Similarly, the optimisation of client management and invoicing is another key factor for any company’s operations, and the Kit Digital includes the installation of a CRM, none other than a programme designed to digitalise and automate this process.
Another type of technology which is playing an important role is business intelligence, as it helps to improve decision-making and reduces errors through the use of artificial intelligence to analyse data. The Kit Digital also offers companies the possibility of implementing software of this nature. These are the most commonly requested solutions among our clients.
Where a company wishes to create a website, what do you think they should bear in mind when choosing their domain?
It depends what they want to achieve with their site. In our sector, a domain can be chosen by brand, by company name, or by a product or service, if the idea is to use SEO to position the domain and the company’s products and services on Google.
In your case, you opted for a website with a .barcelona domain. Why did you choose .barcelona?We did it for local SEO. We were looking for companies in Barcelona interested in requesting these subsidies, and the domain agentkitdigital.barcelona was available. We found it a very interesting option for achieving our goals, and that’s why we chose it.
