Why Digital Marketing is Important for Small Business

All small businesses are up against larger and more experienced competitors regardless of the niche. That means going up against well-financed companies that hire experts with a proven track record in marketing. These guys and gals know all the tricks of the trade to the two most important facets of all integrated marketing plans:

The two most impo

• Attracting Customers

• Retaining Customers (Repeat Business)

Digital marketing is the most powerful tool to achieve both of these goals. While larger companies also have a budget for offline marketing as part of their integrated marketing plan, most small businesses will need to rely on digital marketing.

It is the easiest and most cost-effective way to attract the customers you need to help grow your business. You can use precise marketing techniques, give customers a way to interact with you via a website and social media profiles, and create optimised strategies that put your brand in the face of your target audience.

The Power of Having a Digital Presence

Technology has changed significantly concerning how we do many things nowadays. Before the internet became a thing, businesses used television, radio, newspaper, and other forms of advertising to get their brand recognised. However, while these are still used today, businesses know that having a digital presence is far more effective.

A digital presence gives you a platform for customers to find you, whether through a business website, social media profiles, business directories, or something else. This digital footprint makes it easier for customers to find and interact with you and your business.

How Digital Marketing Levels the Playing Field for Small Businesses

Digital marketing carries significant benefits for businesses of all shapes and sizes, but for small businesses, in particular, it is hugely beneficial. No longer do you need to have a massive marketing budget to compete with the major competitors in your industry. Previously, the major players could dominate their industries due to having the largest budgets and thus could get their brand spread far and wide using traditional marketing methods.

However, digital marketing has levelled the playing field. It is far cheaper and as most businesses use the same platforms, you can get your brand in front of the same customers as long as you use an effective digital marketing strategy.

Precise Marketing and the Benefits it Brings

One of the biggest benefits of modern-day digital marketing is the ability to target specific audiences. You can ensure that your product or service is viewed by the people that might want or need it. You can target by gender, age, location, interests, and more. For instance, if you wanted to sell skateboards, you can use precise marketing to ensure that your brand is put in front of boys/men aged between 12 and 25. Precise marketing gives you a much higher chance of conversion.

Real-Time Analytics in Digital Marketing  

Another huge feather in the cap for digital marketing is that it gives you the ability to monitor how effective each marketing campaign is. Any insights you learn can be applied to any future strategies. This allows you to run highly optimised marketing strategies born out of the performances of previous efforts. You can track many different metrics whether you want to keep an eye on the number of visitors to your website, the bounce rate of those visitors, and the conversion rate. If you have social media profiles (as you should as a business), you also have the ability to track views, interactions, shares, and all the rest.

The Power of Customer Engagement

Arguably, engaging and interacting with your customers is the ultimate way to earn trust and loyalty. If asked, practically everyone will say they’d prefer to do business with a person or brand they like. Well, seeing as you can take advantage of customer engagement via various digital marketing strategies, you can show customers the type of company and person you are.

A good way to do this is by using social media marketing as a tool to interact with the customers you’re hoping to attract, keep, or both. If you reply to comments on social media posts or blog posts, you could build strong relationships with your target audience.

Gain Authority via Content Marketing

Industry authority is a big deal, as it shows that your business knows what it is talking about. Customers will always choose a company that has shown it has the expertise and knowledge of the industry it operates within. Why would they spend their money on a company that is not an expert in its field?

The best way to demonstrate the above is through the regular creation of valuable and relevant content related to your industry. It will showcase the knowledge that you and your company possess and will (if of high quality) will give you an authoritative voice in your industry. Simple mathematics should tell you that the more authority you have, the more leads and conversions will come the way of your business!

The Takeaway - Utilise the Power of Digital Marketing

We think it is best to keep it blunt when we say, without effective digital marketing, your small business is likely to fail. That is not being a doom merchant, just stating a statistical fact. You will not compete with other businesses in your niche. This is because digital marketing brings so much extra to the table. It gives you a strategic approach to customer interaction. You can take full advantage of real-time analytics to create a sound marketing plan. From this comes precise marketing tactics and content marketing.