Why do you, as a local small business owner need help with your local marketing? Because you want some cars to pull up in front of your business. That’s why.
Because as of last April, 63% of all American consumers across all demographics, looked on-line before making a brick and mortar buying decision. (via USA Today/Neilson poll, April 2009). The same data showed that while America was shopping or making decisions WHERE to shop online, less than 80% of American small business owners were spending less than 10% of their marketing budgets online.
Here we are 18 months later, and Citibank has released data. The statistics show there’s still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to local business marketing:
- 40% of small businesses don’t have a web site
- 81% of entrepreneurs still don’t take advantage of social media
- 47% don’t think that Facebook, Twitter or even LinkedIn are beneficial to their business
- 84% don’t provide for e-commerce
- 62% don’t use email marketing
Local customers are online doing research and making buying decisions. If you aren’t there – or aren’t there to your full potential – you are leaving money on the table. Period.
For those of you that are defying the odds and actually spending on-line, how do you know that you’re doing it best? Or even good enough? I wonder how you can be an expert at all things about your business, your inventory, your payroll, your employee policies, your customer care, your brick and mortar store maintenance, insurance, and payments while making sure you comply with IRS policies and paying your other bills and making sure your windows and every other aspect of your brick and mortar customer experience is great……… all while being a marketing expert in a world where marketing has changed so fast that even the heads of the brightest experts are spinning and it takes the lion’s share of an expert’s professional life just to read and experiment enough to keep up with the pace so when we recommend something – it works and it works well? Can you know confidently that what you know about the world of web-based marketing is even “good enough” to not be leaving the money on the table that would send your child to college or pay off your mortgage five years early? What is “good enough” for you?
As for me, I don’t try to do everything in my business – I pay the bookkeeper and CPA to do their thing that they do well and a WordPress expert to do her thing and a graphic artist to do her thing. I can’t do it all in my business – and if I tried, my business would be mediocre at best – close at worst. But I do know social media and on-line marketing. And I know that your customers are there, and they’re asking for your stuff – where are you? Maybe we can help each other out.
Is this an eye opener for you? What’s your next move?
Photo Credit: dave_mcmt
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