Benefits of Digital Marketing

  Starting, Running and Growing a Small Business is Hard! 

  For most new Small Business owners, their focus is how to get their first customers. They might rely on print ads, radio, mailers or even outdoor advertising. The business owner might think if they offer a good product or service, it’s just a matter of time until customers find their way to them.

 That strategy could bring in a customer or two, but there’s a much easier way. Small Businesses Owners need to tap into the global marketplace of prospects online and take advantage of the benefits of Digital Marketing. No Small Business, no matter how new, should overlook digital marketing as a way to generate leads ... and new customers.

Benefits of Online Marketing

  Potential customers you can find online is much larger than you’d ever be able to attract locally. Using Digital Marketing techniques, you can reach a global audience in a way that’s cost-effective, scalable and measurable.

Some of the key benefits of digital marketing include:

·  Interact with your prospects and know exactly what they're looking for

·  Target the right audience at the right time - personalization is simpler with Digital Marketing

·  Communicate with your prospects at every stage of the buying process

·  Save money and reach more customers for less than traditional advertising 

·  Easily track and monitor responses to your marketing instantly 

·  Reach out to anyone, anywhere - there are no geographical boundaries with Digital Marketing, only those you choose

* Lead Generation Outsourcing can be an effective, affordable way to gain quality leads, but you must understand the difference between leads vs. prospects.

More marketing for less money

  Few forms of advertising are as cost-effective as Digital Marketing. Small Businesses and start-ups need to get as much as possible when marketing on a budget. 

  Advertising online can stretch your budget further and allows you to refine your target audience. Social Media is great for because you can set a daily budget for the audience you target with an interest in your products or services. Most importantly, it allows your business to exclude prospects who would never buy from you - saving you time and money!

Getting Started With Digital Marketing

 Many Small Business owners think they don’t have the money to compete online - so they'd rather take things slow and stick with one or two forms of traditional advertising, believing their business will grow as time passes.

 With endless opportunities, Digital Marketing can seem intimidating if you don't know much about it. There are a variety of platforms and terms that can make it seem harder to grasp than it is. 

  The market is competitive, and word-of-mouth and customer recommendations can help drive traffic, customers will struggle to find your business unless you show up where they are - online. Remember, more than 5 billion people use the internet.

 Delaying building a presence online is not an effective approach to survive, compete and grow. The best path to success is to promote your business on a global scale and use targeting to attract customers who are already looking for your product or service. 

Your Customers Are Online

  When your ideal prospect searches for your products or services online, they expect to find a quality Website and Social Media presence. They'll look for reviews about your company to decide if you are legit, and if the should do business with you. For local businesses, 87% of consumers read online reviews.  If they can’t find you online, they'll probably think your business doesn’t appear to be worth visiting, and there’s a good chance they'll quickly head somewhere else.

Find Out What Your Competitors Are Doing Online

  To be successful, you need to pay attention to what your competitors are doing and learn from it. Don’t think of your competitors as someone to beat (even though a great Website Design, Strategic SEO Campaign and Social Media Marketing campaigns can help you dominate your local market), but as people who have something to teach you.

  When you see what your competitors are doing online, you'll have an idea of what is and isn’t working. What content do they use, is there a blog, or videos? How do they communicate and what makes them unique? How well do they engage with the audience? Can you do better? 

  Find out what platforms they use, do they focus on keywords, are there influencers they use to drive traffic? Luckily there are some great online tools that can help you do this.

  There are also some awesome tools for customer insights to feed into your persona development and content marketing. 

Make It Easy For Your Customers To Find You Online

  Your business needs to be where your customers are - online. Whatever product or service a person looks for, they will most likely start their search with Google. If you aren't online, you won’t be found, and you can’t compete. And if you ARE online but don't have a strategic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy, you likely won't easily be found either - because your competition is easier to find because they rank higher in search with a  great Web  Design,  SEO Strategy that helps them outrank competitors by being the first name prospects find on a Google search.

  Keywords are what makes this happen, so make sure you understand the best keywords (long-tail and short-tail) for your business.  You should also include simple questions prospects may want quick answers to - your location, hours, and details of your product or service. When looking at your Website and competitors’ websites side by side, your prospects should be able to compare hours, prices, special offers and more to make the best decision.

Customers Come to You

 Think of Digital marketing as a way to make yourself accessible to the people you’re trying to target - at the exact time they're looking for you ... because online, your business is open for business even when you’re not! You can create an environment where your customers can contact you day or night.

  Customers and prospects can send you emails with questions, make purchases and browse your inventory in a few simple clicks. Also, prospects who have no way of physically coming to you can still do business with you through on your Website or using Social Media. 

Know Your Target Audience

  The beauty of Affordable Digital Marketing is it allows you to engage with prospects. You can get to know them, their pain points and then provide a solution. You can start a conversation or run a survey to gain insights. Make sure to respond to any comments or survey responses.

  By interacting with people online, you'll know what they’re looking for. Use this information to offer solutions. Digital Marketing helps you take the guess work out of who your customers are so you can personalize communications and refine targeting. 

By doing this, you'll build a relationship with your customers, and you become much more than a business, you become a trusted partner. Remember, people are also more likely to buy from businesses they've  already bought from and had a good experience with.

To get the ball rolling, give Ashton James Marketing & Web Development a call at 309.271.2991 and get ready for growth like you've only dreamed about!