Digital Futures Forum – 3rd May – Antrim Chamber of Commerce

Friday 3rd May 2024

9am – 11am

The Old Courthouse

Market Square, Antrim

46 Attendees

33 Businesses

On Friday 3rd May, we were delighted to welcome an incredible and engaging panel of speakers to our Digital Futures Forum discussing digital transformation’s impact on their industries and how we could embrace it in our own businesses.

Steven Norris kicked off with insights into the barriers businesses face with digital transformation and support available from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council including business advice and digital grant funding. We will be sharing more details on how you can access this next week.

Our incredible panel hosted by Andrew Kelly gave us great insights and here are our top 5 takeaways:

𝟭) 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆

Riki Neill from RNN Communications emphasised the complexity of the digital landscape and the speed in which it’s moving. She advised local businesses to utilise the Digital Grant Fund from ANBC to bring in experts for guidance on business needs.

𝟮) 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆

Damian Kelly, shared Ulster Rugby’s transformative journey with CRM and data analytics, highlighting how understanding their customers better led to improved content personalisation, increased retention and higher sales. His message: “If you didn’t start yesterday, start today!”

𝟯) 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜

The potential of AI and tools like ChatGPT to boost efficiency was a hot topic. The consensus was clear: these technologies can be powerful, but only if you have enough of an understanding of your area and business to effectively critique and leverage their outputs.

𝟰) 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆

Nuala McClinton, HoneyComb Jobs reminded us that the goal of digital transformation should be clearly defined—whether it’s streamlining internal processes or enhancing customer experience.

𝟱) 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵

The panel also touched on the unprecedented opportunities available today for storytelling through digital channels. It’s crucial to focus on storytelling over selling, and not to shy away from engaging with your audience.

Thanks to all our speakers and attendees for a great morning of learning and networking. And a special thanks to EightFive90 for covering the event.