This pandemic has hit us like anything. We all are suffering from such a phase that no one ever expected. Small businesses got the hardest hit. Pandemic affected them so hard that their scope of growth and take the business on higher levels is in doubt.
All the strategies that small business owners have planned for the future are going in vain and have brought their businesses at the initial level. But there is still a ray of hope, as technology is increasing and people are moving towards digital platforms.
When a business comes into life, its main focus is to get the first set of customers. For achieving that they do marketing in a traditional way such as print ads and coupon mailers or even big signs on the side of the road. This costs them a lot of money and results are not even equal to spends.
Businesses are not aware of what digital marketing can do to their business with very less amounts of spending. They should consider the huge marketplace of prospects online. No small business, no matter how new, should overlook this vast marketplace.
You will find a larger set of potential customers online than you are likely to attract locally. Using digital marketing, you can reach an enormous audience in a way that is both cost-effective and measurable.
Other benefits of online marketing include:
- The ability to interact with your prospects and learn exactly what they are looking for
- The ability to reach a global marketplace
- You can save money and reach more customers for less money than traditional marketing methods
- Get to know your audience and allow them to know you personally which can help to create brand loyalty
- You can track responses to your marketing efforts immediately
- Take Advantage of a Higher ROI
While there are small businesses that are active in digital marketing, there are also small businesses that are still postponing it due to a variety of reasons like lack of time, lack of knowledge, or limiting themselves to one particular kind of marketing. Some also believe that as they are a small business, they need a small manageable number of customers. This approach is not appropriate and may become a hindrance to their growth.
Some ways digital marketing improves the “traditional” methods of keeping loyal customers are:
- Using digital testimonials from happy customers instead of the old “word of mouth”. These testimonials should be posted on your website and used in social media campaigns as well.
- Automated but personalized thank you and follow up email campaigns instead of the physical letters or pamphlets. You can reach larger audiences for a lot less money, and send an email in the right moment to the right people.
- Engaging customers on social media once they leave your store or buy your product online, to keep your product on their minds and have them come back next time.
- Re-marketing and re-targeting to have them try out “this other product” that compliments what they already bought.
Digital marketing is creative and helps you to keep up with the trends!
