New partnership to help HAI members online

Hardware Association Ireland has partnered with the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) to offer its members an opportunity to develop and improve their online presence through the OPTIMISE Fund. Now in its eighth year, the OPTIMISE fund has worked with over 120 Irish business owners to plan and implement significant web enhancements and e-commerce abilities for their existing websites. To qualify for the fund, you must be a HAI member with a registered .ie domain and website, and be looking to commit to a process that aims to expand your website’s functionality and presence.

The process – which comprises the collaborative work of IEDR and their design and technical support partners and mentors – begins with:

• A one-to-two-hour-long meeting to get a detailed understanding of the participating company’s needs. These initial meetings are due to take place in April.
• A detailed website audit will then be sent to the participating company three to four weeks after kick-off, covering 10 categories, including branding, coding and social media, with recommended next steps.
• Following the audit, there will a step-by-step presentation of the core recommendations and scores in the audit.
• Next up is a dedicated masterclass, to be hosted at HAI to train participants to be more digitally capable.
• A benchmark check will then take place – three months after the audit – to see what improvements have been implemented by the participants.
• This will be followed by a short questionnaire on your feedback from the process to date.
• The process will conclude with an overall PR event towards the end of the year, summarising the success of participants with videos and case studies.

This will be a great chance to talk to journalists and promote your business. Those interested must note that to benefit from this experience, a level of commitment would be required of the participating organisation.

If you are interested in finding out more about this process, and would like to avail of the OPTIMISE Fund, please email aoife@hardwareassociation.ie or call 01 2980969.

This Business Support article featured in the March/April 2018 edition of The Hardware Journal.