Running a business isn’t for the faint of heart. There are so many things that go into making it successful. Reaching more consumers and convincing them you are the right choice for their needs is key. To do this you need to utilize the best marketing tactics available and digital marketing tops that list. Below, we’ve compiled 5 basic reasons why your business should start digital marketing.
Your Customers Are Online
There is a high probability that your potential and existing customers are spending time online every single day. In the US alone there are 313 million active internet users. That’s over 85% of Americans. A recent eMarketer report showed that the amount of time the average US consumer spends with digital media per day increased by almost 1 hour from 2019 to 2020, to over 7.5 hours.
The main goal of any marketing strategy is to get the right message to the right person at the right time in order to guide them through whatever stage of the buyer’s journey they are in. With so much of their day spent with digital media, chances are the right time is going to happen while your customer is online.
You Want the Most Cost-effective Options
Digital marketing can be done with any size budget as there are many low-cost and even free ways to advertise your business online through directories, social media, and content creation. Compared to traditional marketing tactics like TV and radio, digital marketing is considerably cheaper. Not only is digital ad space less expensive, many platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and YouTube, only have advertisers pay if users interact with their ads. Production costs are also a factor to consider when comparing digital and traditional marketing. It costs considerably more to produce a TV commercial than to build a simple digital ad.
You Are Able to Build Relationships
In research done by McKinsey & Company, it was discovered that consumers’ loyalty is up for grabs – 75% of consumers reported trying different stores, websites, or brands since Covid-19. Now is the time to grab the attention of your potential customers and win them over. Don’t forget about your existing customers though, those relationships need nurturing too.
Digital marketing allows advertisers a high level of personalization. You can tailor the message to fit the particular stage of the buyer’s journey your customer is currently in through things like emails, retargeting ads, and text message marketing.
Marketing becomes a two-way communication when advertisers use social media marketing. Brands can connect and engage audiences in a more conversational way. Consumers want to feel valued, seen, and heard by the brands they patronize. With social media, feedback can be quickly received and responded to on each channel, improving the customer experience. Brands can showcase the human side of their business by sharing content about their teams or demonstrating how the brand lives its mission.
Your Competitors Are Doing It
There are many ways advertisers can use digital marketing to set themselves apart in their industry. Standing out is key, as the average person is exposed to between 6,000 – 10,000 ads each day. If you were to go to Google right now and do a search on a topic related to your business, there is a strong possibility a competitor’s name will come up in the paid ad section at the top of the search results. With 93% of online experiences beginning with a search engine, if you’re not showing up at the top of the results page you could be losing a major opportunity for revenue growth.
The pandemic accelerated the shift to a digital world years ahead of schedule and now customers not only want to be able to access businesses digitally, they expect it. In their “State of the Connected Customer” report, Salesforce found that 88% of consumers expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives. Many businesses have already started the shift to digital to stay relevant, which includes their marketing efforts. If you aren’t showing up in your potential and existing customers’ digital world, a competitor will.
Your Bottom Line Could Increase
At the end of the day, your biggest concern is your bottom line. Digital marketing, done right, has an excellent return on investment (ROI). One reason for this is the ability to easily customize and target digital marketing to consumers likely to be interested in your products or services. With traditional marketing tactics like TV or radio, the message is broadcasted to anyone and everyone. This means some recipients of your message might not be interested to begin with. Digital marketing uses data based on consumers’ online and offline behaviors to ensure they are interested in what you have to offer, thus generating better-qualified leads.
Another reason digital marketing can increase revenue is the ability to easily track and analyze campaigns, allowing for quick adjustments. Many digital marketing platforms offer dashboards showing data on the performance of a campaign. You can easily see which ads users find engaging and which they don’t and make changes accordingly.
Any business looking for success in the coming years would be wise to invest in digital marketing. With all the different tactics and channels it can be difficult to navigate which is right for your business. It can also be time-consuming and overwhelming. Let Amplified Ag take over for you so you can focus on what you do best, running your business. We’d love to talk to you about how we can make digital marketing easy for you – reach out today!