While many small to medium-sized businesses are currently using print-advertising to attract customers, few have added Digital Marketing to their business marketing arsenal. Though many have taken the step of setting up a website, most do not go beyond this.
Recently, Local View conducted a study of companies doing business marketing in the southern California area (all of which are currently spending a considerable amount on print-advertising). In the area of Digital Marketing, most did not have passing grades. Here were the problems:
- Website not mobile-friendly.
- Website not search optimized, down, working improperly or outdated.
- Business not found on Google Maps.
- Business Listings incorrect.
- Reviews neither monitored nor managed.
- Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) not being used or used infrequently.
What most businesses don’t realize is that for the cost of a few print ads, all of the above can be easily corrected. Why is this important?
- 85% of shoppers find small businesses online (Yelp Survey).
- 72% of shoppers want mobile-friendly sites (Google Research).
- 61% of shoppers likely to leave site that’s not mobile-friendly (Google Research).
- 50% will stay away from businesses with badly designed websites (NFIB).
- 70% read reviews before shopping (Nielson Survey)
- 80% will avoid businesses with bad reviews (Cone Communications Study)
- 33% of all shoppers (47% of millennials) influenced in their purchases by Social Media (Deloitte Digital Report)
In light of the above, it makes perfect sense to add Digital Marketing to your business strategy. For a small investment in money and in time, you can optimize your business for the digital age and grow your bottom line.