Canadian Adoption Grant

Branding

Ontario’s $2,500 Digital Adoption Grant

by Paul Phillips
March 24th, 2022

Creative Director at Jackson Wynne

The government of Canada has introduced a $2,500 digital adoption grant to help businesses with the cost of making their products and services more digital. It is meant for Canadian for-profit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered for GST/HST, have been in existence since March 2020, and have generated less than $20 million in revenue in 2019. Businesses can apply for the digital conversion grant online.

The government of Canada has defined “digital” as “the application of technology to transform information into useful data.” this program aims to help businesses adapt to change by increasing digital sales and transitioning from traditional commerce to eCommerce. For example, you could use the digital conversion grant to make your business more digital by creating a website or eCommerce store, developing an app, improving your social media presence or building an online advertising campaign.

Businesses that receive the digital conversion grant can also be eligible for other beneficial programs like the Employer Health Tax exemption if they meet specific criteria, so it’s worth exploring these options.


What to do with the $2,500 Digital Adoption grant?

First of all, congratulations! Free money is always nice. It’s not much to write home about, but here are a few recommendations on what to do with the grant money based on where you are in the life of your business, use of online tools, and digital presence. Here are just a few recommendations.

Websites and Content
If you don’t have a website yet, this is the perfect time to set one up! A website will help you build credibility as a business and offer an online space for your customers to learn more about your products and services. Are you worried about maintenance and everything that goes with having a website? Keep it simple and straight to the point with evergreen content that local search engines love. Things like news, timely advice, menus, service updates etc., can continually be updated and promoted through your social media channels at little to no cost.

People make judgements about businesses based on their websites. Suppose yours isn’t promoting visitors to connect or is poorly designed. In that case, it can be challenging to convince them that you’re trustworthy or professional enough for them to do business with you. If you already have a website, but it’s pretty basic, this is an excellent chance to invest in a photoshoot or video and ensure you have the right content and forms to build your sales funnel.

Headless and Social eCommerce
If your website has everything it needs and then some, consider taking your eCommerce strategy even further by getting on social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok and setting up a simple cart to sell services and products directly through these channels. These techniques can be targeted and significantly boost sales over time if they’re done correctly. You’ll never know unless you try.

Payper Click Campaign
Creating a PPC message on Google Ads and focusing your keyword and target area can generate immediate traffic to your site. Especially for websites that don’t rank high, a drip campaign could be sustained over a period of time to make sure your ads are being served up on the first page of Google.

Give Back
Developing a brand is so much more than the bottom line. “Do the right things and the money will come,” “Build it and they will come,” “Pay it forward” While cliche, these expressions have merit (as long as things are planned and executed correctly). Why not take your grant money and get familiar with online crowdfunding for charities you believe in? Create a compelling online pitch with your grant money and connect with like-minded individuals in your community. Do good, feel good isn’t all that bad or self-serving. You have to stand for something, after all.

Making the most of it

Think about your business in the context of long-term goals and set a realistic budget to achieve what you need to drive results. $2,500 is a great start – but it only gets you so far. Knowing where to start is half the battle. We help our clients navigate these decisions daily as trusted advisors.

If you’re considering what your next steps are, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do to help.

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