Moving forward, the answer to the question, “Can a business survive without digital marketing?” is, ultimately, no.
You may wish to disagree, and that’s fine, a bold statement but as bluntly as that probably deserves a little bit of questioning, especially If you’re considering making some kind of decision from some random person who possibly disagrees with something that you may believe.
Rhyme and reason
To add a bit of meat to the bone, the online marketplace is moving so rapidly that you would simply get swallowed up, or stay in a state of stagnancy, for as long as your bank balance will allow. If you’ve been in business for a while, operating locally, using the tried and tested ‘traditional’ methods of attracting new business such as word of mouth, leaflet drops, community events, or even a short advert on the radio, then you should already know that the productiveness of each method has its shelf life.
For the most part, people tend to ‘actually’ talk less these days so, word of mouth will slowly fall away, even at its best you will, or would have reached a peak and then noticed a decline in its ability to bring you new customers. Leaflet drops are next to pointless, even when it comes to IT support which is obscure really considering how open people are about their personal lives on things like social media, yet privacy within the home has become more valuable.
In general, people don’t want random flyers through their doors anymore, they go from letter box to bin in less time than it took you to read the last sentence. Finally, on to radio… believe it, or not, a massive proportion of the ‘younger generation’ namely millennials, might not even know what the word radio means, so, sadly, however good radio used to be ‘the futures, future’ are already out of the equation meaning, if you are paying for radio time then as far as the future is concerned you might as well be putting money down the drain.
So, what to do next?
As you may be aware, trust is the bedrock of every two-party transaction, particularly in business. When it comes to marketing, visibility and trust are inextricably linked, which means that the more relevant exposure you have, the better. Finding out which platforms your target audience uses is a great place to start, you never know, it could become a new hobby; from there, you can figure out which platforms are connected and adjust your own presence accordingly.
The idea is that if one of your ‘targets’ is scouring Facebook and notices that you’re also a Facebook member, and as a result, they wind up on your Facebook page, you’ll have a better chance of getting future business from them. If they can’t find the link or can’t find the information, then you can probably be sure that they will buy elsewhere.
Strike whilst the iron is hot
The iron will always be ‘hot,’ and will be getting hotter as time goes on, it’s simply a question of you getting in there at the right moment and not missing out on too much; the rewards will slip through your fingers the longer you postpone or put it off. The facts are there to be seen, since a massive number of prospects will never know who you are yet are waiting to be sold online. The Internet was used by over 4.6 billion people in 2021, so you must agree, the amount of exposure you can receive by going digital is limitless!
Especially when compared to something like a leaflet drop or a few minutes on the radio. Pay-per-click, social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, SMO, and various other methods can all work together in order to help you get the desired results, and fast.
Quantity over quality?
Isn’t it true that the purpose of digital marketing is to reach more people? Wrong! The objective is to find folks who are willing to buy. Because all businesses are unique in terms of their goods and sectors, a single marketing approach will not work for all of them. Some businesses need to reach a large audience, while others need to appeal to a specific demographic – both are doable when you use the right digital marketing funnels and have the right help to back you up.
Profit return, that otherwise, you could never dream of getting
Since your clients are online, you can sell straight to them and expand, without missing out on a perfect business opportunity, sometimes with no charges at all, regardless of the sort of digital marketing strategies you use, paid or free. However, you must first understand your own business. You must also understand your target audience to cut to the chase and sell straight to them rather than being the ‘man in the middle’.
There is no doubt that you will see the best results using a selection of digital marketing avenues, they are, after all, a collective name for various ways of selling online. There are all sorts of options at your disposal so, if you aren’t already well involved, get off your fence and get stuck in, social media is free and highly effective, and SEO is practically free too. With the correct help, all methods should pay for themselves times over.
PPC and some others require you to invest money, but the return on your investment is worth it, to find out some more specifics it would be a smart move to check out your local IT support companies, have a meet and greet and find out exactly how you can work together to help each other reach your goals. One thing is for sure, your projected turnover and profit numbers will be smashed if you put in the effort it deserves and make sure you work with a company that can back up what they say. Words are cheap, the real proof is in the pudding of turnover which in turn generates profit.
Who to choose?
That really is the million-dollar question, although that may largely depend upon your own personal preference and feel for the people you want to help you transform your business into whatever you want it to be. It is imperative to get some referrals from people already using their services though, make sure you get good value for money and the opportunity of a potential lifelong relationship that can be celebrated for years to come. Head over to EngineRoom to find out more about digital marketing services.
