What works in digital for small businesses?
In this blog I will attempt to answer the question small business want to know and that is what works in digital for small businesses.
Now I have met enough small business owners to know that we all of course want the silver bullet. The ultimate list of tactics and services to use that without a doubt 100% deliver you hot leads and sales. I am sorry to say it does not exist.
What works for your business is not the same as what will work for others. Sure some tactics seem to work for most but maybe only for a period of time.
My advice is that you need to always be testing, checking, tweaking what works and be open minded to the best strategy for your company.
For example if your a local window cleaner who operates in a small town only and really only needs around 25 clients to make a good living and be happy with that living, you do not really need to be worrying too much about SEO and Pay per Click advertising. You may be much better off printing some leaflets and far more likely to get a return.
In a recent podcast I recorded with Dave McRobbie from IADigital we discussed starting with what you are already good at in your business before attempting anything digital.
This is sound advice from Dave and ensures that you don't go into anything for the sake of it.
There are many tools and services from social media, email marketing, smart websites, SEO, PPC, Advertising, blogging, podcasting and many many more. Understanding which of these works for you is tricky but achievable process.
Starting with your business objectives is the first place to start and then working on the goals you need to achieve to meet those objectives. Now looking at the goals you will need to understand what skills and resources you have available either in-house or via existing relationships. Can you achieve those goals with what you have and what tools and services will aid that process.
If brand awareness is an objective then SEO might not be the right tactic for that situation but very likely for others, But measuring awareness by the spend on SEO will not help you understand its effectiveness.
The problem with so many tools and tactics it can be very easy to spend time on money just because its new and shiny.
I am as guilty as anyone t be drawn to the new software and systems and latest tactics and I have to remind myself of my goals and objectives.
Starting with what you are already doing well and what your overall business objectives are is the way to work out where to go next. But don't do social or Facebook advertising just because you feel you should.
So what works in small business is the same as it always has been, providing a great product and or service to your clients and meeting their expectations both online and offline.
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Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.