Introduction
A small business does not always have all the resources to expand as other businesses. However, Digital marketing is the new marketing for all businesses and especially for small businesses. A few decades ago, media such as TV, radio, and newspapers were quite popular and… frankly inaccessible to small businesses.
Today, more options are available for marketing even though it is getting more competitive as more and more companies dive into it. At the same time, not doing it at all lead to the disappearance of small companies.
If you are the owner or work for a small company, there are a few tips for you to start using digital marketing in a profitable, cost-efficient way.
Have an online presence
The first step is to have an online presence. Everybody is nowadays searching for everything on a browser like Google. Even the Yellow Pages are online today!
For example, a prospect is looking for a dentist 10 km around where he lives. The first step will be to search on google: dentist + city or suburb
If your company name doesn’t appear, you have already lost this prospect.
How to be on Google?
An easy way to be on google is to register your company on Google my Business and put as much information as possible: phone number, trading hours, what you do, your address and ideally, your website.
You can also register your company on some phone books such as the Yellow Pages online.
Having at least one social media platform will also help prospects to reach you. Facebook is a great one if you are not familiar with them. When you create your Facebook account, make sure to add as many details as possible. Logo, address, phone number, trading hours, what you do and some pictures (the premises, the office, a map)
Consequently, the more you register online, the more likely your small business details will be shown to your prospects
Differentiate your small business from others
The next step online would be to be unique. How can you differentiate yourself? By creating your website and clearly define your services. Unfortunately, some small companies have their website, but nothing is clear.
Example: a hairdresser website that doesn’t indicate the services and prices related. A prospect will indeed give up and not reach out by phone. He will choose the competitor website where all the prices are displayed.
To be known by customers, followers and leads
By regularly writing information about your business and your industry, giving free advice on your website and social media channels, prospects get to know you. You can also regularly send them emails to keep in touch with them.
Your small business audience help to focus on your audience needs
Step by step, your small business will build an audience. By communicating with your audience, you get to know them, their needs, what they like. You can, for example, organise surveys, giveaways, games and obtain a lot of information from them. You can also ask for their help when choosing a new logo layout, for example.
Participate in brand’s building
By having followers and people that love what you do, you are building and consolidating your brand. People can identify more and more with a brand responding to their expectations. At that stage, you scale your business. Your company can be small (less than ten staff) but very successful in branding and getting a lot of customers.
Small Business development and innovation
This step is for scaling. More advanced tools are available there. You can start with Google analytics to check visitors on your channels. You can also use paid advertising, influencers, hire a digital marketer and more. Those can be used earlier in the process as well.
Conclusion
Small businesses often neglect Digital Marketing because of a lack of time, money and resources. However, you must start having an online presence as soon as possible, even though it is a tiny presence at first. Scaling step by step is vital as prospects and leads are online.
For more details about how digital marketing can work for you, visit: International Institute of Digital Marketing™
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