It’s important now more than ever to visualize your company as a virtual space rather than just a physical space. The world of online modern marketing may seem daunting to some – especially those who have grown comfortable with the good old-fashioned paper and telephone methods of marketing. Fortunately, we have some tips to help immerse your business in the digital world!
1. Set up a presentable and practical website
A business’s website is like a virtual shop window. When people search for services and products online, much like in person, they search for something that will allow them to have the easiest and most pleasant experience possible. Thus it’s important to have an organized, good-looking website.
It should be easy to navigate and provide potential customers with all the information they need to know. Quickly, a potential customer will move on to another business if they find it too difficult to find the information they are seeking.
Don’t have any idea how to build a website? Do not fret. There are many businesses you can hire to design your website and to customize it to your needs.
2. Sell products and services directly online
While an organized and informative website is key, customers still may be too discouraged to proceed with using your business if they cannot order the products or services they want directly from your website. While you may think that asking a potential customer to view your website and then pick up the phone to call you is not a big deal, it’s actually still more effort than is necessary for your potential customer.
If you have provided enough information for the potential customer to understand your products or services and they have an idea of what they want, why not just eliminate the extra step of using the phone? Ordering online is far more convenient when you know what you want. It also requires less time from the business because they don’t have to spend so much time on the phone with customers!
3. Engage customers via social media
Part of what makes the internet so amazing is that you can connect with so many people in such a revolutionary way. So why not take advantage of this resource of connectivity? Building a network can be a great way to build your customer base.
If you are mostly involved with business-to-business sales, then LinkedIn is the place to be. This is a social network of professionals and allows you to keep in close touch with clients and associates.
If you are doing more B2C, then Facebook is a great starting point. Facebook is helpful for reaching out to potential customers – especially with the use of Facebook Ads.
Engaging people on any social media platform is key to building relationships and creating an image. If someone “Likes” your Facebook page, you can “Like” their page. Showing any sort of presence on social media at all also alerts Google that you are an active business and you will be rewarded in the Google algorithim by appearing closer to the top of relevant searches.
4. Tap into mobile efficiency and loyalty
With more than two-thirds of all Americans owning a smart phone, it’s a good idea to get on board with the mobile trend. Many businesses are now creating their own apps in order to build a customer base. Not only do these apps make it easier for customers to order products and services, but it also creates brand loyalty. If your customers have put in the effort to download your app—that is a notable level of loyalty! This also creates value for your business because you can more easily track these customers who have downloaded your app.
5. Create more valuable customer data
In this new age, tracking consumer behavior has never been so easy. When you have an online presence with a website with orderable products and services, active social media pages, and mobile accessibility – you are able to access a wealth of data on marketing and sales. This information is crucial to growing your sales. With an online presence you can determine who is buying your products, where these customers are located, how they found you, what time they ordered your product, what platform they ordered your product on, and so many other interesting and helpful information. How convenient that websites and social media have their own built in trackers for you to collect this data?! And you can always further make use of this tool by submitting customer surveys.
Growing your knowledge of the online world is important to understanding how to improve your marketing. We hope these tips were helpful!
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