With everything that’s involved with marketing your local business online, it’s easy to get something wrong. Those mistakes can cost you customers.
The good thing is that there is a really easy way to fix some of the biggest issues with your campaign.
First, let’s take a look at those problems.
Issue One: You don’t actually have an online campaign
I’ve got to be honest with you, if you don’t have any online marketing for your local business, I’m not sure how you’ve made it into 2015.
This study says that 89% of people use the internet to influence their purchases. And that study is from 2012.
If your business isn’t where your potential customers are, then their purchasing power is going to go to someone else. An Internet marketing campaign can be a HUMONGOUS undertaking, so I can understand if you’re intimidated. I’m not suggesting you build a 20-page website from scratch and please, please don’t start buying banner ad space. But you do have to start somewhere. If you want customers to come calling, it would help if they knew your phone number and they aren’t going to be looking in the phone book.
Which leads me to issue number two.
Issue Two: Google Plus? Google My Business? Google Plus Business Equals Money?
After several name changes, the name for having a local business listing through Google is now Google My Business. A business page by any other name would sound just as sweet and will help your customers find important information like your address, phone number, and hours of operation.
You have updated that information, right?
Fun story time: My best friend in the entire world was getting married and I was driving her to the florist so she could pick out her bouquet. (By the way, she chose this florist because of the portfolio they had on their website). What we didn’t know is that the florist’s office had recently moved. We looked them up on Google Maps and drove out there…only to find a supremely empty building. Luckily, their phone number was the same and we were able to call and get the correct address. We got there just before they closed.
Are you losing customers because your Google My Business page is feeding them an old address or phone number? Yikes.
And don’t think you’re off the hook because you’ve literally never moved your business. Is your Google My Business fully optimized? Potential customers want to know if you’re still open or at least when you are open. Pictures bring credibility to your listing. The bottom line is that it should be fully optimized. The more hurdles you make potential clients jump over, the less likely they will be willing to do business with you.
A great listing on Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, etc. helps give your customer what they need in order to do business with you. It also gives them a way to engage with your business by leaving reviews, which brings me to issue number three.
Issue Three: Reputation Management
Oh boy, do people love to share their opinions. Well, usually they only want to share the bad ones. Whether or not a customer is justified in their anger, their review is going to make you look bad. Unfortunately, there are also unethical competitors who will try to taint your reputation.
Check out these examples:
Ouch. We live in an age where we can and often do research everything before we buy it. Which products work best? Which companies rip you off? Where can we find the best deal? We want to know.
You’re making some big mistakes if you:
• Aren’t looking at your online reputation.
• Aren’t doing anything about poor reviews.
What can you do about a bad reputation? Well, you can go listen to some Joan Jett or you can keep reading to find the solution after issue four.
Issue Four: SELL SELL SELL
We get it. Your company is awesome. Your [insert product or service here] is literally the best thing ever and we should all totally just throw our money at you.
Do you enjoy going to the mall and having 8 different people peddle their wares in your face? Probably not.
If you’ve got a blog or a social media profile and everything you post looks like “CLICK HERE TO BUY MY STUFF” no one will ever pay attention to you. Sure, you might get leads from some people passing by, but you are literally wasting the benefit of a blog or social media profile, which is a list of subscribers and followers that know and trust your business.
Unless your product or service is some insanely cool work of art, no one is going to want to see it over and over again. Your website and social media profiles should not look and feel like cold calls. Balance your content, offer value to your readers and then impress them with your offer.
Being a sales machine just isn’t going to help you online and that leads us to the one really obvious way that you can solve all four of these internet marketing blunders.
The Solution? Be Kind.
Weird, right? Not unlike the climax to a really heartfelt film, the answer has been inside of you the whole time.
The number one way you are going to get better at marketing your business online is by being human and treating your customers with friendly respect.
Confused? Check it out:
Issue One:
You are basically ignoring your potential customer pool. You are expecting them to work really hard to find your business and are unwilling to meet them where they are. You don’t throw a party and not send out an invitation. Start by asking yourself, “Where is my customer and how can I make myself more accessible to them?”
Issue Two:
You aren’t making things easier for your customers by making them solve puzzles to find you. When you get a new number for your cell phone or if you move into a new house, you share that information with your friends. Do the same with your business. Be kind to your customers and invite them to do business with you by making it easy for them to know when and where to find you.
Issue Three:
If you had a friend who approached you and said “I don’t really like it when you______”, would you ignore them? If you find bad reviews for your business, you have two ways of fixing that. The first step is to respond to the poor reviews if the site offers that function. Apologize and try to mend the situation. Then, build a rapport with your other customers and, if they are happy, politely ask them to put up a review for your business. While some businesses offer an incentive, like a discount off their next product or service, that is generally frowned upon by the review sites and against their terms of service, so use your best judgment.
Issue Four:
Be kind and use your blog and social media profiles to offer your clients something of value. Write a post on how to use your product, wish them a great day, teach and share things that have to do with your area of expertise. You can even just share some smiling pictures of your employees or silly pictures of animals. Make your subscribers and fan base happy to be connected with you and then remind them that you have a product or service to sell. When they are ready to buy or when they know someone who is ready to buy, they will already know, like, and trust your business.
Approach your internet marketing campaign with kindness and you’ll fix a lot of the mistakes you’ve been making. If you’re worried that you are still making mistakes or don’t know where to start, that’s what we’re here for!
