Let’s start with a clear statement, which any online specialist will present to you – if you’re not online, you don’t exist. That sounds very crude, but the reality is that if you do not present your company properly online, you are lagging behind your competition. This may be a bitter pill, but nothing has been lost yet. The fact that you are reading this article proves that you are at least thinking about your online strategy. The most important questions are of course “why?”, “How?” and who?”
It always starts with the “why” question
Why should an SME like you make the step to a strong online presentation? Aside from the powerful statement that if you are not online you don’t exist, there are other reasons to identify yourself online. First, it is a matter of visibility. Just ask yourself “if everyone is spending more and more time online, how do I make sure my customers still find me when I’m not online?” The argument of many that “my customers are not online” really does not apply anymore. In a world where even the elderly receive internet lessons, you can be assured that your target audience is also online.
The second reason is simply “growth”. If you run a business that has no interest in growth at all, you don’t have to invest a lot in improving your online presentation. However, you do take the risk that your competition will make that investment and thus overtake you. If you do have the ambition to continue to grow, the step to the internet is “the way to go”. Strong visibility does not only affect your existing customer base. By presenting yourself on different online channels you also reach potential customers, who otherwise you might never have encountered in your store.
The Online Channels
Channels such as Facebook and YouTube are now completely ingrained in the online behavior of internet users. By making effective use of this,you don’t have to look for new customers new customers will find you. Google is by far the largest search engine in the world. There is a lot of googling every day! Potential customers will not find your company if you do not respond to this.
- Let’s face it, the days of endlessly browsing the Yellow Pages in search of a local gardener specializing in exotic plants are over. Brochures are published less and less physically. Telephone numbers have to be looked up online since the beginning of this year, as the Telefoongids has been out of print since January 2018. Google has replaced this. In addition, there is a great practical advantage to an online “presence” – your store is only open for about eight hours a day; the internet is open 24/7. As a result, you reach exponentially more customers per day.
The Right Company
If you want to grow as a company, you cannot avoid growing with the internet generation. People are spending more and more time online, so they must be able to find your company online. There is a very good chance that your competition will be easy to find via Google and will therefore take (potential) customers away from you. You can no longer rely on the success of the “old-fashioned” marketing when your customers have started to buy differently than they used to.
So take that battle and take the step to the internet. With the constant growth of the internet and online community, changes in purchasing behavior and the growing online battle between competitors, you simply cannot ignore it.
