With nearly 5 billion people active on the internet, digital marketing has moved into center stage in most business sectors. Approximately 80% of buyers do their research about a product online before purchasing it. When looking for a specific brand, buyers will conduct around 12 online searches about it. In today’s world, people want everything now, and with smartphones and smartwatches, all the information anyone could want is right at their fingertips. If you are not making an impact digitally with your customers, you are missing endless possibilities. Digital marketing matters and it is here to stay.
Digital marketing does not replace attending trade shows, building customer relationships, and sharing information face to face; however, it is a vital tool that should be utilized in today’s world to grow a business. Digital marketing is a supplement that uses foundational tools to maximize the impact and delivery methodically through various chosen channels. A key feature of digital marketing, especially for small business on a budget, is that it is very cost effective, providing many opportunities to grow your business for free. Success in digital marketing stems from a strong website. Think of your website as the foundation to your digital marketing strategy. Websites should make the browsing experience effortless for potential customers. It is crucial to have a strong representation of your brand. If not searchable on the web, businesses will have a hard time getting in front of the modern consumer. The process from the business to the consumer should be seamless.
As with anything, knowing your target audience is key. With digital marketing, the opportunity to introduce your brand expands to both national and international audience members. If a customer is not aware of a brand, they are a lot less likely to purchase from it. It is important to be thinking ahead and asking what questions they are searching answers for. Being the solution to their problem and the answer to their question will benefit both the business and consumer. Provide answers that are relatable, understandable, and educational to the customer. When thinking of digital marketing, it is important to remember and include the four buckets, as suggested by John Bernier, Senior Marketing Communications Manager from Lube-Tech.
The four buckets to remember are:
- Establishing and maintaining a digital footprint
- Actively participating in conversations via social media
- Maintaining a well-designed, dynamic, and mobile responsive website
- Taking advantage of third-party marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart to get the company’s assortment online.
A bonus to digital marketing is that it allows business to measure their results. This provided data allows for solutions that are data driven, often leading to more valuable results. Not only is it important to get customers and to build a large customer base, as it was prior to digital marketing, retention of the customers for the long haul is vital to success. With good intentions, intentional time, and honest effort put forth, digital marketing can increase a company’s return on investment. The opportunity to have a greater return on investment is a major reason to employ digital marketing. To live in a world that revolves around the internet, it is only logical that businesses transform their way of thinking and doing to operate successfully in such a society.