If you are a small business, then you may be wondering if the return-on-investment in digital advertising is worth the effort. In almost every case, the resounding answer is a strong yes. Still, you must create marketing that will resonate with your local audience because those with deeper advertising budgets can quickly outbid you. Therefore, you must think about how you are going to lead your friends and neighbors in the community where you live through the sales funnel.
Regardless of the type of digital marketing you choose, you must show the customer that you understand their pain point. Then, educate them on why your solution is the right answer. Finally, end with a strong call-to-action letting them know how they can get your product.
Awareness
As already discussed, your customer must be aware that they have a problem before they are interested in your solution. Often, social media, including Facebook and Twitter, are a great way to build awareness of a problem and connect with those experiencing it. As a small business, guest blogging is also a viable means to reach potential customers. You may also want to reach out to the local media whenever a national news story is about the problem because they are always looking to create a local angle.
The second part of creating awareness is to let your trading area know that your company exists. Often, helping to sponsor a local event where you will get credit on their website has a significant effect. Claim your review sites, such as Google my Business, and interact with customers there. Figure out when your customers are most likely to be using social media and schedule posts to show during that time. Connecting your social media to a blog can be an excellent way to keep potential customers informed.
Interest
During this phase, buyers are beginning to become aware that there are answers to their pain points, and they are starting to explore possible solutions. As a small business owner, during this phase, you need to concentrate on educating customers about possible decision criteria. You may find that running a Google Ad to gather leads and running an email series behind it is a cost-effective way to build interest in your solution. Always create a customized landing page and do A/B testing with Google Ads. Depending on your market, creating videos can also be very useful. You may want to create a YouTube channel, and also use the video on social media and your company’s website. You may also want to give customers a gift, like a download or an e-book, for sharing their contact information.
Consideration
During this stage, buyers are actively deciding between different options. You should find ways to help customers see that you have the best product to solve their pain point. Again, blogging can be an effective way to help customers compare products. Showing data to customers in easy-to-compare tables can be highly effective. Recent studies show that putting the most expensive products in the first column leads to increased up-sells. Label criteria in ways that customers can understand why that criteria is essential to them. Use clear product imagery, but condense your image files so that your website will load quickly. Customers are very likely to do comparison shopping while they are in a store, so be sure that your site is mobile friendly.
Another essential part of the consideration process is deciding where they are going to make the purchase. Even if you are counting on foot traffic or phone calls for sales, make sure that customers can find out about prominent details, such as your return process and payment methods, by going to your website. Think about your potential customer and put essential data so that it requires two or fewer clicks to get it. Again, make sure that your website displays correctly across multiple devices.
Purchase
Your potential customer has now decided that they will buy one of your products, and they want to make the purchase as easy as possible. Your goal is to get their money as quickly as possible. Create multiple ways for customers to contact your company. You may want to encourage customers to email you, call you, or come to your physical address. You need to prominently display a call-to-action above the fold on every webpage on your site. Use language that your target audience would use. Avoid cute call-to-action logos, but stick to the traditional look found on major e-commerce sites. Collect only the data that you need to complete the transaction. You do not want to be responsible for guarding data that you do not need to collect, and making the buying process too complicated can turn customers away.
Post-purchase
The customer wants to know that they made a great purchase. Send them an email asking them to review your product on a specific site, such as Google Reviews, when they are likely to be most happy. Include details on how to contact you if they have any problems. Using video can be a great way to show customers how to solve common issues that they may encounter when using your product. Additionally, you should find ways to stay in contact with them with the intent of selling them other products in your product list.Interacting with your customers on social media can also be a great way to learn about unique ways to use your product, helping you garner new marketing ideas. Social media can also be a great place to determine which features customers which your product had, which can give you unique design ideas.
There are many benefits of using digital internet marketing to nurture prospects through the sales funnel. It allows you to locate the people that have a real need for your product, helping to make your sales efforts much more effective. It also allows you to educate potential customers on your way of thinking. Making contact after a sale gives you the advantage of retaining that customer and up-selling them because it is far easier and cheaper to keep a current customer than to find a new one. Satisfied customers will also become advocates for your company.
You are an expert in your market. You need to work with an expert in digital marketing Contact Defined Digital today at 425-954-5563 or schedule a free consultation to see how we can help.
