3 Ways your Local Business Can Enhance its Online Presence to Gain and Retain Customers
With today’s online users expecting nothing but the best, providing a seamless user experience and maintaining a digital-savvy online presence is crucial. Added bonus: it can complement your digital marketing efforts for optimal results. Keep reading for three ways to improve your business’ online presence and leave a lasting positive impression among consumers.
1.Optimize your Online Presence with Effective Web Design
If you haven’t already developed an online presence for your brand or business, the time is now. With the massive shift to online in recent years, having a high quality website, positive online reviews, and continually optimizing for your potential customers’ convenience is no longer an afterthought - it’s a necessity in order to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive digital world. Nowadays, every business from local mom and pop shops to massive corporations have fully integrated websites. So how can you ensure that your own website is up to par?
Because consumers are now accustomed to quick and convenient online interactions, page load speed plays a major role when it comes to delivering a harmonious user experience. Aside from having the basics like your “about” page, products or services, and action items directing users to forms or phone numbers, it’s also important to make sure that your website is convenient and quick to load. According to Google’s statistics , 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load, and for every one second delay in site load time, conversions fall by 12% - that’s a lot of missed opportunities! Luckily, there are a few common errors to look for that can be fixed to ensure faster load speeds. From images that are too large, CSS coding issues, and having too many redirect links, simple edits to these areas can be the difference between interested potential customers and and users who abandon your site to look elsewhere.
Having a website layout that is clean, easy to navigate, and aesthetically pleasing is great, however, if your website only looks good on desktop devices, you’re not making a great first impression on the majority of your visitors. In 2018, 52.2% of all worldwide online traffic was generated through mobile phones - making it a must to optimize your website for mobile users. This is especially important since mobile searches often take place when users are out and about and looking to take immediate action. Chances are, unless you’ve already optimized your site for mobile, you probably won’t like what you see since not all layouts and functionalities carry over in the same way. Aesthetics aside, pages that are quick to load and optimized across multiple devices will also affect how potential customers view your business, which can play a role in building trust. Put yourself in the consumer’s shoes, would you trust a site that’s slow to load and looks like it hasn’t been updated since the early 2000s, or one that’s quick to load with a clean and modern feel? Paying attention to these details can make all the difference.
2.Boost your Online Offerings with a Strategic Digital Marketing Plan
It’s no secret that ecommerce and digital service offerings have been booming, and they’ve been accelerated even further amid Covid-19 thanks to the convenience and peace of mind that they can provide. Whether you’re an auto dealer looking to offer online car buying options or an attorney wanting to try online consultations, digital services have never been more in demand - even if they were previously few and far between in your field prior to the pandemic. Having an easy to use website with clear and actionable content and design is key in shifting services from in-person to online. Getting it right the first time is essential, considering that 88% of people are less inclined to return to a site after a bad user experience, and 91% of unhappy clients who don’t complain disappear without leaving feedback.
Luckily, web design and digital marketing can complement each other perfectly during this crucial phase of the purchasing process. With both of these components in mind, local businesses can position themselves for success. Once your offerings are advertised on your site following website best practices, advertising your services across the internet on popular digital platforms can ensure traffic to your site from interested prospective customers. Tapping into niche audiences who are more likely to be interested in your products or services means you can rest assured that your marketing dollars are being maximized to make the biggest impact possible.
As a small business, you may be thinking that your target audience is obvious - your local community is who you need to reach. This is true, but only partially. While your local community is your prime audience, not all members will be ideal prospective customers. Specificity is key. For instance, an auto dealership looking to advertise their new SUV model would be better off targeting by household size and age to reach parents in the market for a family car, rather than reaching a younger first time car buyer demographic in the market for a more affordable compact car. You may also want to consider which digital medium might be best for reaching them, seeing that families spend time watching shows and movies together across connected TV devices, while younger consumers tend to spend more time on mobile. The possibilities are endless, which is why we recommend enlisting the help of digital marketing consultants who can walk you through the process to optimize your campaigns according to your needs.
3.Stay Up to Date with Consumer Trends and Behavior
Since digital marketing plans and online user experiences are shaped by the consumers who are exposed to your business, paying close attention to your local audience’s demographics and personal preferences is vital for ensuring that your business is approachable for audiences specific to your community. Since different parts of the country are closing or reopening at their own pace, marketers and businesses will need to continue monitoring region-specific insights to plan ahead, with geo targeting tools becoming especially handy in order to make the most of local marketing capabilities for users in specific geographical areas.
As the U.S. population continues to become more diverse, multicultural marketing has been a growing area of focus as well.
Pew Research
reports that U.S. Hispanics comprise almost one fifth of the population and reported to be the principal driver of U.S. demographic growth, accounting for half of national population growth since 2000. This group also
over indexes on digital use
as digital-first consumers looking to stay informed and connected.That being said, it's imperative to consider language and cultural preferences if you’re looking to grow your local business now and in the future - it’s worth considering creating a Spanish-language version of your website or running Spanish-language ads if you’re located in a Spanish-speaking area to ensure that this demographic also has a user-friendly experience with your business. Given the diversity within the Latino community due to factors such as assimilation, age, country of origin, generational differences, etc., partnering with an experienced Hispanic digital marketing agency that understands these nuances is a great way to get started to effectively reach this audience.
Keeping up to date with the latest consumer behavior and trends is necessary for businesses to reach and engage with consumers by not only meeting their needs, but also fulfilling their new online preferences. This is especially important this year in 2020, since the pandemic has propelled digital use to unparalleled heights. For example, did you know that
women with children are the most powerful consumers in the U.S. economy? They control over $3.8 trillion dollars of spending each year and make 80% of household buying - and they want safe shopping options for themselves and their family. A recent study found that
60%
of moms said they have been using curbside pick-up on a regular basis since March, and many admitted that they no longer visit retail locations thanks to online shopping and home delivery. Since safety and “online” have grown to become synonymous as a result of social distancing practices, businesses across all industries can reap the benefits of maximizing their digital footprint every step of the way.
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As you can see, enhancing your online presence is a multilayered topic that touches upon web design, digital marketing, current events, cultural preferences, and more. While it can be daunting to tackle on your own - especially when you’re already busy running your own business - partnering with a digital marketing agency can provide you with the expert service you’re looking for to make the most of your online presence.
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