If you are a small business owner reading this, let us start out by saying thank you. Not many understand how incredibly difficult and stressful it is to run a business, and the courage that it takes to be responsible for an entire company. Your employees and their families depend on you. Maybe you’ve risked your own financial safety to pursue a dream. Somehow, in your mind, it’s better to work for yourself 90 hours a week than to work for someone else for 40 hours.
Not many understand the perils of entrepreneurship, and neither do they understand the rewards. We understand, though. Because we are a small business too and have dealt with the turbulence, challenges, and surprises that come with the territory of small business ownership. We understand the hustle, the risk, and the drive to be a little bit better each day.
For these and many other reasons, we are passionate about helping other small businesses survive the digital landscape and leverage it for growth. With that said, here are three reasons why you need a digital marketing partner to survive the hyper-competition.
#1 Your Customers Are Going Digital
Digital media and technology are changing the way we do business. By 2021, digital will represent nearly 50 percent of total media ad spending, according to an eMarketer report—up from 39 percent in 2017.
Growing a successful brand means building awareness, fostering relationships, and establishing brand loyalty. That’s where a comprehensive digital strategy is necessary to rise through the noise of competitors and get in front of your audience. Your customers are spending more and more time online—especially while on the go. Mobile-based commerce in the U.S. expanded by a shocking 37 percent in 2018 alone. Smartphones are becoming the go-to device for researching and making purchasing decisions. Small business owners should take advantage of these opportunities to touch their customers at every point possible.
#2 Your Competitors Are One Step Ahead
Most small business owners are in thick competition. Marketplaces are crowded, and the digital revolution has allowed even the smallest of businesses to compete with much more established ones. Standing out from the pack is vital to survival, but this is a difficult task without a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. Optimizing your business’s online presence helps keep you top of mind with customers, especially when you think locally. Some businesses reap the benefits of harnessing ultra-local campaigns that cost-effectively target their ideal customers.
#3 It’s Another Way to Tell Your Brand’s Story
Marketing goes hand in hand with storytelling. As human beings, we’re hardwired to connect with each other, and sharing stories is one of the oldest ways of doing just that. In fact, Harvard researchers say that building an emotional connection with customers is the strongest way to enhance customer value and to build a lasting relationship with your brand.
Digital marketing was made for online storytelling. Social media platforms are the new digital stages of storytelling. The same goes for content marketing. Your business’s blog is a special platform for reaching customers and building authentic connections by way of storytelling. What do your customers care about? What are they researching? What unique problems can you uniquely solve for them? A data-driven content marketing plan bolsters the art of storytelling and lets you measure its effectiveness in real time.
Digital marketing covers a lot of ground, from a valuable website that drives conversion to measurable social media strategies that support your business’s revenue goals. BrandMinded® can help your small business get there, shaping an individualized digital marketing plan that fits your unique needs. From one small business to another, we’re ready to get to work with you and together build a lasting brand legacy.
Contact us today to get started.
