If your business falls in the S.M.E. (Small Medium Enterprises) category, the information below is a reality check for you to know that Social Media is critical for digital presence . Although the information covers businesses in America, due to the wide usage of the media and the internet, businesses around the world are also experiencing similar effects of the way businesses are going theough today.
Every business owner is eager to increase their business / sales and want to draw more prospects, and to keep existing customers loyal to continually get repeat business. Who doesn’t want regular repeat business, whether it’s big or small enterprise, every company does, and this can be achieved only with loyal patrons.
The recent 2016 Small Business Technology Impact Study, shows that small business owners should have a business website and utilize social media if they want to better reach their goals. The study, which was conducted by Time Warner Cable Business Class, examined the ways in which consumers decide which businesses they’ll choose to buy from. The study is an eye-opener to small business owners who are seriously enough to step up to increase their online presence to increase connections with potential prospects online.
The Study’s findings indicate that small enterprises need to recognise social media is critical and embrace the “culture” to implement the use of it in their business to increase their digital presence (online presence) if they expect to be more successful in their business. 36% of people surveyed indicated that they might not do business with companies that have no website. It’s obvious that in a search when one doesn’t see a good website one would just click to the next on the list.
Although it may apply to most businesses, small companies, particularly so, need to be active on social media. Being active means also to respond to critical reviews from customers as it is crucial in order to keep customers. It was found that, the study showed that close to one in five respondents will avoid small businesses that do not respond to critical comments. Today it is easy for someone to tarnish another’s reputation online and if a business owner doesn’t pay attention to this it will be detrimental to his business.
Based on the Study, and since the “internet” world is dominated with more millennials (Gen Y) and unlike the older generation, they want to know who the owner of a business is. 73% of those in the 18 to 34 years age group want to see a business owner’s photo with the company’s history on its website; and 63% of people 55 years and older feel that it’s important that the owner’s photo and company’s story is included in a website.
In a survey, the 2016 Small Business Marketing Trends Report, (conducted by Infusionsoft and Lead Pages – renown digital marketing companies in their fields). The findings of this survey include:
Around 50% of small business owners are increasing their spending on their websites this year. Around 50% of small business owners are spending more on their online marketing and advertising. Around 25% of small business owners are increasing their spending on direct mail and print advertising; 14% of small business owners are increasing their spending on person-to-person marketing and telemarketing. While almost 60% of small businesses have a social media presence, fewer than 50% are producing other types of content for lead generation.
These type of survey findings can help small business owners to rethink their strategies and start thinking critically about how they invest in social media so they can continue to gain more loyal customers to increase sales.
In another similar marketing research by GetApp, 56 percent of small business owners and managers polled said that social media trumps all other digital methods of brand building online. The second most important tactic for brand building, is having a mobile website, with 28 percent of respondents citing this as having the greatest impact on their company’s digital presence.
Answers to the survey question: “Which of these impact the digital presence of your business the most? “Social media — 56 percent; Mobile website — 28.4 percent; Mobile app — 7.6 percent; Digital signage — 5.8 percent; NFC — 2.2 percent.
All these information only indicate the advantageous of social media for business as it will help any company in the following ways:
Customer Relationship Management, Customer Retention, Expansion of Customer Base, Market Research data to improve marketing, Data feedback for improved Product Marketing, Achievement of Competitive Advantage through data from social media messages, Cost Control Initiatives (for promotions and adverts), Improved Public Relations, and ultimately increase sales.
(Some information taken from article by Brian Hughes CEO, Founder, Digital Marketing Expert at Integrity Marketing & Consulting.)
If your business falls in the S.M.E. category, the information below is a reality check for you to know that Social Media is critical for digital presence . Although the information is covers companies in US, today because of the media and the internet, businesses around the world are also experiencing the effects of the way business is dealt today.
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