Jameson General Store was a historical treasure in the small North Carolina Community˳ Jim Jameson, the owner, had been part of the family legacy over 100 years old˳ The company had seen bad times, including The Great Depression˳ However, their hard work and customer loyalty had sustained the company’s success˳
Even when a neighboring community got its Walmart’s Marketplace Store, their customers remained loyal˳ Jim did not believe in utilizing online advertising and social media platforms˳ He believed that these activities were only a fad˳ Yet, their customers gradually started shopping online because Jameson General Store was limited in its product offerings˳
In fact, most of the business that Jameson Store lost was not to local competitors, but online sellers˳ Jim was adamant about resisting the temptation about shopping online˳ Yet, when he saw his own 10-year-old grandson purchase a difficult item to locate in the area online at significant costs, Jim had to ponder his current marketing strategy with the changing landscape in the nation˳
Today’s customers can purchase a variety of items online with minimum effort˳ Given this scenario, brick and mortar companies are fighting to stay alive with the fierce internet competition˳ According to a 2017 survey conducted by Square and Mercury Analytics looking at 1,164 U˳S˳ business owners, the following observations were made:
- 96% of Americans with internet access have made an online purchase in their life, 80% in the past month alone˳
- 51% of Americans prefer to shop online˳
- 67% of Millennials and 56% of Gen Xers prefer to shop online rather than in-store˳
- Millennials and Gen Xers spend nearly 50% as much time shopping online each week (six hours) than their older counterparts (four hours)˳
- 51% of seniors have shopped on marketplaces, 66% at large retailer sites, 30% on web stores or independent boutiques, and 44% at category-specific online stores˳
Marketing professionals understand the importance of the internet and how to effectively leverage this power˳ According to Socialmedia˳com, 90% of marketers use social media for their businesses˳ Sadly, many small businesses do not recognize this fact˳ Many businesses had opted to bury their heads in the sand in hopes that this ‘internet thing’ will go away˳ It hadn’t!
In fact, e-Commerce is growing more than 23% annually; however, 46% of American small businesses do not have a website according to Square and Mercury Analytics research˳ This article focuses on how small businesses can leverage digital marketing to achieve greater success and enhance their market opportunities˳
Digital marketing should be a tool that every serious small business should utilize˳ Digital marketing goes by many names such as e-commerce marketing, online marketing, and internet marketing˳ Digital marketing can be defined as “the marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers˳” The key objective is to promote brands the usage of the internet˳
Digital marketing extends beyond internet marketing to include channels that do not require the use of the internet˳ Some digital marketing channels include websites, social media platforms, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), blogging, podcasts, and online advertising to name a few˳ Beyond technology gimmicks, businesses should know their customers and their core competencies˳ Digital marketing is not a silver bullet˳ Digital marketing is a tool for the savvy business professional˳
Catherine Juan, Donnie Greiling, and Catherine Buerkle, authors of Internet Marketing: Start to Finish, suggest that effective digital marketing requires plenty of careful planning˳ They add, “The heart of getting real traction out of your internet marketing program is to tie marketing and sales data together, with metrics˳ Track what you’re doing, track the impact, and track the resulting sales˳” Looking at the landscape of technology and internet innovation, small businesses should think strategically about the following five digital marketing trends:
• Artificial Intelligence – Some people develop elaborate doom-day scenarios of machines to control the world˳ However, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a way of life in marketing˳ AI can be defined as ‘the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence˳’ Voice Activation technology like Amazon’s Echo is bringing AI into public attention˳ By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their purchases without interacting with a person˳
• Internet Searching – Buyers are more knowledgeable than ever with access to the internet˳ In fact, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases˳ Thus, exploring how to utilize search engine optimization and getting your business at the top of searches is an invaluable step˳
• Mobile Communications – Most Americans have grown accustomed to instant gratification and easy access to technology˳ Mobile and tablet e-commerce will reach $293B by 2018˳ Smartphone and tablets are part of this wave of innovation˳ Mobile will account for 72% of the U˳S˳ digital ad spend by 2019˳ Marketers recognize that mobile marketing is an untapped business tool˳
• Social Media – Social media platforms, like Facebook, allows buyers to connect with each other virtually˳ 65% of business-to-business companies have acquired customers through LinkedIn ads˳ Marketers realize this value˳
• Web Content – Good content will attract customers˳ In fact, customers are more likely to purchase from sellers with good, relevant videos/photos on their website˳ 52% of marketing professionals globally name the video as the type of content with the best ROI˳
Faced with the tenants of competition, small businesses need to utilize digital marketing˳ Some small businesses may be hesitant to explore digital marketing due to their lack of trust and understanding of the internet˳ Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, authors of Marketing Management, note “Top firms are comfortable using technology to improve the way they do business with their business-to-business customers˳”
This article demonstrated that today’s small businesses can utilize digital marketing to enhance their market opportunities˳ Hopefully, gaining this knowledge will help business owners so that they will not continue to bury their heads in the sand˳ The internet is here to stay˳ Pray that you are listening to this message˳
© 2017 by DD Green
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