We are in the midst of the new era. The new era of technology. Whether we like it or not it is the new reality. If you do not take advantage of online marketing, you are missing out on the majority of shoppers. Before we get into that, though, you must understand what is meant by digital marketing. In easy terms, digital marketing is online marketing, meaning that any type of marketing that you do on websites, social media platforms, emailing, or anything else that is done by using the internet.
It is that simple. If you have stayed current with the trends you have already been advertising your business, and your brand, online. Let’s dig a little deeper into why digital marketing is important for small business maintenance, and growth.
- Customers-Customer retention is one of the biggest aspects of business. So is customer growth. Without the two your business will be dead in the water. Digital marketing is the biggest way to accomplish both. As we continue to move forward into the future, technology and the internet will increase to the point where business is conducted mostly online, in one way or another. A recent study has shown that 87% of shoppers start their searches online. This give you an idea of how much business you could be missing out on.
- Consumer Needs-Online marketing is also the absolute best way to learn what your customers want. What they need, and what the demand from the companies that they choose to do business with. Reviews, emails, and customer satisfaction surveys are all great ways to get feedback from true consumers, not made-up ones that you can find on review boards across the internet.
- Conversions-Digital marketing creates more conversions from scratch. You can use targeted ads that are not totally wasted because it will be directed at people that have already shown interest in your market. Once you have their interest then your automated emails and correspondence (which is why it is important to have one of the top line nbn plans) can convert them into actual customers, or they will delete your contact info and move on. Either way, there will be much less wasted hours when taking advantage of all the online avenues that are available to you.
- Size is Irrelevant-When competing with big corporations you are on an even playing field with online marketing. The customer does not care how many people work for you, how big your location is, or how much money your business income is. What matters online is how available you are. How well you conduct business is what is key. The big corporations may have their names, and they may have their brick-and-mortar locations, but they do not have the desire to actually get to know their customers.
- Return on Investment-Compared to traditional ways of marketing digital marketing is more focused. As mentioned above, your marketing efforts will be targeted to people that have already shown interest in your industry. Better yet, they are people that have contacted you through online platforms.
- Tracking-The old school way of tracking customer trends used to be through targeted selling strategies tracked on paper. Once the internet came into play online ledgers and data helped businesses track their sales and cash flow. Now, marketing software and platforms include detailed tracking data. What does this mean for you? It means that you can see how trends shift before they hit their highs, making it possible for you to get a piece of the pie.
Digital marketing is the key way for small businesses to reach consumers, and perspective customers. Online advertising and communications are the way that people are choosing to conduct business, so it levels the playing field when it comes to large business and the small ones, like yours.
