At a time when so many small and medium sized businesses across the country are finding it increasingly challenging to stay afloat, the federal government have extended a life line – but it’s one that few business owners actually have in their sights.
I first heard about the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) as our nation emerged from the depths of COVID into the “new normal,” and I immediately recognized the positive impact it could have on thousands of businesses who (barely) made it through the pandemic or were emerging from it.
A perfect example of this is JJ Bakes Company, a local bakery cafe and catered baked goods supplier in Langley, British Columbia. “I (started) JJ Bakes at the top of the top of the pandemic, we were baking from home… we all had so much time to just hang out and bake all day long. It grew chaotically, until we needed a space to grow into,” explained co-owner Kaitlyn Santa Juana. JJ Bakes Company has since transformed into a physical cafe where the treats, drinks and decor pay homage to the family’s Filipino heritage.
Jeannette, Kaitlyn and the JJ Bakes team learned about CDAP and found my agency, Jelly Marketing, on the list of approved CDAP advisors. Instantly, a kinship was formed as we are also a Langley business, so we have first-hand knowledge of the community they’re selling to.
JJ Bakes already had a professional website, quality images and a social media presence, but they were drawn to CDAP for the opportunity to ensure they weren’t missing any marketing opportunities and take their digital presence up a notch ahead of their cafe’s grand opening.
“The Canada Digital Adoption Program… helped us grow in really great ways,” said Kaitlyn. “We were seeing our social and SEO content grow to about four times greater than what we were seeing prior.”
Kaitlyn has also expressed that CDAP helped her stay organized with marketing the bakeshop, and found it beneficial that the audit and strategy conducted on her behalf was broken down into different, actionable sections for each core area of digital marketing, to ensure nothing was missed. “It was formatted really easily… I learned a lot about marketing and what customers are looking for,” she shared.
Within the digital marketing CDAP, we focus on key areas that help increase brand presence online, namely social media, public relations, search engine optimization, paid digital ads, eNewsletters and photo or video assets. For each section, up to three chosen competitors are analyzed, the client’s current marketing efforts are audited and a clear, actionable strategy is developed to help the business reach its goals. “It really did help streamline everything,” Kaitlyn explained.
Business owners looking to benefit from CDAP like Kaitlyn did need to meet certain criteria. Their company must be Canadian-owned, have 1-499 employees and have earned at least $500,000 revenue in one of the last 3 years. If they qualify, they can apply online in about 20 minutes and will often be approved within 24 hours.90% of the $15,000 grant is reimbursed upon submission of a completed digital adoption plan.
“Having the CDAP program and planning…..in advance really helped us,” said Kaitlyn. Unfortunately, very few business owners are aware of how easy it is to apply for, complete and action a digital adoption strategy in their company. Some are concerned it will require a large time commitment in an era where business owners are spread thin, and others are worried it won’t be as impactful as it sounds or it will create an awkward obligation to retain the services of the CDAP advisor after.
I’ve spoken to hundreds of business people in the last year about CDAP, and those who can see the potential are benefiting from it greatly. Not only do they walk away with inside knowledge and a strategy their team can execute, but participation in CDAP makes them eligible for other business-boosting perks like incredible wage subsidies for younger workers and interest free BDC loans.
To be frank, at a time when businesses are struggling I feel a moral obligation to shout the benefits of CDAP from the rooftops – it feels unethical not to. To learn more, visit Canada.ca and search “CDAP.”
Darian Kovacs is an Indigenous business leader and owner of Jelly Digital Marketing + PR, a Vancouver-based CDAP advisor.
