Why Should I Care About My Online Presence?

Marketing and the Internet 

The creation of the internet means people can share information and communicate from anywhere in the world as long as they have a connection. This has changed the way the world behaves. There are more than 4.5 billion active internet users today. With that many daily users, you can see why digital marketing has become essential to the Small the medium sized business (SMB) owner. The internet has shifted consumer habits when it comes to conducting research, shopping, connecting, and staying informed. To keep up, marketing had to change too. The basic foundation of marketing has always been to connect with your audience in the right place, at the right time; which means you need to meet your audience where they are spending their time. Today, that is online. 

When you think of the internet, what comes to mind? Access to worldwide information? Connection to friends, family, and customers? Streaming, shopping, and other forms of immediate gratification? Those are all valid first thoughts because that's how we use the internet on a daily basis. 

Marketing and the Internet 

The creation of the internet means people can share information and communicate from anywhere in the world as long as they have a connection. This has changed the way the world behaves. There are more than 4.5 billion active internet users today. With that many daily users, you can see why digital marketing has become essential to the Small the medium sized business (SMB) owner. The internet has shifted consumer habits when it comes to conducting research, shopping, connecting, and staying informed. To keep up, marketing had to change too. The basic foundation of marketing has always been to connect with your audience in the right place, at the right time; which means you need to meet your audience where they are spending their time. Today, that is online. 

Digital marketing has become the “norm”. We expect ads in front of YouTube videos or to appear in our Instagram feed, we know they are coming. We live in a society where we don’t necessarily see ads as an advertising measure, but as another form of media we are exposed too. Instead of checking the newspaper for new local restaurants we head to Google to look for breakfast places “near me”. Instead of calling the number we see on a bus stop, we prefer to click a link to a website and use the easily-accessible contact information.  The million dollar question remains; how does a SMB go about leveraging the digital age to grow their business? Let’s start with the customer journey.

The Customer Journey. What Does it Include?

The internet has been around for more than 40 years, but the customer journey has existed since the stone ages, so how has the internet impacted that journey? Let’s say a consumer tells a friend of theirs about your business. Friend 2, trusts Friend 1, and becomes interested in your product, so Friend 2 begins to further explore and educate themselves on what you have to offer. Friend 2 is on the “customer journey”. Here at RLP we want to help you and your business get to know this journey and process. Let's start by breaking it down into 5 stages. 

Interest & Awareness:

You must create awareness about your small business and what you offer.

How do you do this?
- Social/search advertising
- Email/text marketing 
- Loyalty programs
- YouTube / Video ads

Findability:

After becoming aware of your business through your strategic advertising, customers start to discover more with search. 
There are more places than ever where people are searching for businesses. It’s not just Google either.

There are:
- Organic Search
- PayPerClick
- Maps
- Directories and Listings (Google My Business)
- Apps
- “Near me”

Reputation:

Once a consumer finds your business, they will look at your ratings, reviews, and recommendations to help them compare choices. In fact, it’s often the first thing showcased in Google search results.

You can manage your reputation with:
- Blogs & Articles
- Reviews
- Social Media
- Friends and family

Conversion:

The next step in the consumer’s journey is finally connecting with your business. Consumers are looking for quick, easy ways to make a booking, place an order, or an appointment, etc.

You can accomplish this through:
- Website
- App
- Online booking
- Phone Call
- In-store purchase

Advocacy:

It’s important to do everything you can to encourage happy customers to return again, and tell others about you! After all, this is ultimately what brought them to you in the first place. Reaching out to them for a review helps you to stay in touch and engage with your existing customers, while at the same time receiving positive reviews and sharing them to generate new customers.

You can accomplish this by using:
- Social Posting
- Reviews
- Blog
- Word of mouth

It’s important to show up and win your customer over at every stage of the buying journey, otherwise, you could be helping drive consumers directly to your competitors. It is clear and simple when a customer is happy and satisfied they are more likely to return. Make their experience with you and your business a memorable one. When it stands out to them they are more likely to pass on the positive thoughts they have about your services. 

Let’s say the consumer is making their way along the journey. They became interested in a small business after seeing a Facebook ad, then looked up that small business and found them; but, there were multiple negative Google reviews that hadn’t been responded to. Now, they likely won’t trust this small business. What does this consumer do? It’s very likely they’ll go directly to the next stage (the buying stage), but with a competitor who has more favorable reviews, or a better reputation. This is why it’s important to win at every stage of the customer journey.

Did you learn anything? Did you enjoy reading about the customer journey? Make sure to check back in a couple weeks for more guidance on your digital marketing quest. Don't forget to follow us to learn more!