If we look back 10 years, few would ever have believed how the Internet would take over our every day lives, influencing how we talk to people, how we find services and products and even how we eat, but in 2018, life can often seem uncontrollable without the help of the World Wide Web.
For the new generation that have grown up with the Internet, the change in how we now rely on this information source won’t be as so apparent, but for most of us that run small businesses, we will have quickly seen that more and more of our customers now find us online, now contact us through our website and will use the Internet as an all-encompassing source of information to find what they need in a few steps.
And therefore, it is so important that as a business, you are visible online, as if you do not appear when someone searches for you, your products, your services or even your brand name, then you can lose business, and hand it right over to your competitor that does appear online. If you do not appear when potential customers search for something you do, or a product you offer, they will simply click onto the website of your nearest competitor that does appear and they will get the business. Loyalty is not as prominent, especially online, as it once was many years ago.
Online marketing is basically the process of getting your business seen online, when a potential customer searches for something that you offer, be that a product or a service. With more and more people now finding what they need online, the need has never been so important to make sure that you do appear in Google, on social media, and the various other methods that people use to find what they want.
Visibility is the key when it comes to getting new customers, and many years ago that might have been your consistent advert in the local press or newspaper, or a flyer shot to local businesses near to you, and whilst these of course still have a place in marketing, as more and more people now search online for what they need, this is where the emphasis really needs to be. If you remember how big the Yellow Pages used to be, to the size that it is now, this reflects the change in how consumer behaviour has moved, as the need for these offline publications has dwindled dramatically, quite simply as fewer and fewer people use them.
As generations grow up with the Internet, the power it provides and the information it has to offer, making sure that your business is always visible online, is always in the mind of the consumer, does offer many ways for customer to find you is so, so important. Having a strong Google presence, making sure your Facebook page is easy to find and has content and looking at an email marketing campaign is crucial, as without these aspects, you are almost hidden online, and this is never a good thing.
As consumer behaviour changes, as the way we look for things changes, as how we find and buy products changes, so must our marketing approach, and this is why it is so important when it comes to online marketing and making sure that your business not only appears, but stands out, so that your competitors do not take away your customers.
