We tell our customers that networking, a business card, and internet marketing should be their top priorities to grow their businesses and that all other forms of marketing are luxuries. Luxuries that can produce results, but luxuries none the less. After you meet a prospect at a networking event, the first thing they are going to do is check you out on LinkedIn and then check out your company’s website.
You need to develop online offers – Something of value. Not a free consultation. We are trying to get as many people in the sales funnel as possible. We want a soft yes. A free consultation (A.K.A. sales call) is a hard yes. What can you offer that will educate your target market as to why they should be buying from you instead of your competition.
If your company is like most companies, the answer is a resounding NO! or the truth is that you could do a better job. Explaining what it is that you do is the essence of what marketing is and should be. The best marketing is about great teaching and communication.
Videos cut through the digital noise of the internet by requiring a viewer’s full attention. In a minute, sometimes less, a video can convey a message that will take paragraphs and paragraphs to explain. Content marketing began with text blog posts but will now morph into text blog posts with video and maybe even an infographic. The content simply has to be better since there is more competition on the internet. Those who know how to use text, video, and images together and separately are going to be those who
As social media because more noisy, frustrating, and expensive, businesses will start concentrating on their owned digital assets more. Businesses don’t own their space on social media channels and some have found this out the hard way as organic access to the feeds slowing disappears. The website and the blog become the library for a company’s owned content and distribution of that content will more and more be driven by email and niche social media channels and groups/communities inside the larger social media channels.
Word of mouth marketing is still a small business’ number 1 way to generate more business. Referrals from current customers and warm leads from your strategic partners will still be the way most relationships start. Now put yourself in your prospects shoes for a minute. Someone just told you about a company and how they can help you. What will you do? You will check them out online if you’re like 9 out of 10 people! Probably 10 of out 10 in 5 more years.
Most small businesses we talk to just don’t have websites that convert. Some of them are pretty but pretty doesn’t pay the bills. Website leads all start with traffic because you have to have the traffic to convert the prospects into leads.
Brick and Mortar locations who have frequent repeat customers (ie. restaurants, bars, retail stores, salons, fitness centers, hotels, etc.) can use local online marketing and mobile smartphones to their advantage in ways that other companies can’t. New technology helps Brick & Mortar companies collect their customer contact information and communicate with them using software and […]
Mobile apps were once a platform that only large corporations could afford but now they are affordable to all small businesses who want to provide better experiences and service to their current customers. Mobile apps tend to help small businesses with their current customers more while their websites handle the bulk of their lead generation. […]
Content – Content is King. Nothing works online without it. Websites, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, and Email marketing will have no effect without it. Prospects and customers are scouring the internet looking for ways to improve their businesses and content is the way to get them interested in your products and services. Once you prove that you are a thought leader, those decision makers will keep coming back, sooner or later they will do business with you.