Digital Marketing for Todays Small Business
Digital marketing has become a necessity in the world of small business. A total of three out of four small business owners surveyed confirmed that their internet marketing strategies have helped them to acquire new leads. The great majority of them also wants to invest more in inbound marketing solutions, especially SEO, PPC and Email marketing, because of the great ROI that these channels are delivering.
No matter the industry, email marketing dominates as the most conversion friendly form of online marketing. The best part about it is that the cost of this form of marketing is minimal, and while it does require time and a lot of practice – you are still left with a very reliable channel that you can utilize and bring to perfection with no financial investment whatsoever.
If you are running a small business – you are definitely interested in marketing trends. In the following list you will find not only the most popular trends for the year 2016, but also a few actionable tips that will help you expand, stay cyber-safe and innovative. Let’s begin.
Modernizing the Market
With baby boomers slowly reaching the age of retirement, we can expect a slight drop in supply throughout various industries. While this is a great opportunity to invest and make a profit on a business that is already fully developed, new owners will definitely look into modernizing businesses and expanding its reach. At this modern day and age, customers are accustomed to professional service from both large companies and SMBs, and let’s not mention how much fast delivery has become crucial for a successful business in expansion.
Implementing modern solutions to old and well established businesses will definitely provide owners with a variety of unique sale propositions. So instead of starting something new, think about brushing the dust off of something old and rebrand an already developed commerce.
Cybersecurity for SMBs
While most small business owners believe that they are not interesting to hackers, this assumption is far from the truth. Believe it or not, 71% of the total number of cyber security breaches happens within companies with 100 employees or less. Your in-house employees are getting more and more informed about the current trends in cyber security, but your outsourced workforce presents a liability that cannot be predicted. And it is not entirely their fault. Today, a simple visit to a certain type of a website is quite enough for hackers to collect your data, social media profiles etc.
Apart from necessary insurance, a security and a BYOD policy, Small business owners can also make sure that all software that they are using is up to date and regularly monitored. Unfortunately, the problem of cyber security awareness is still present, so investing in proper education and sending your employees to attend courses on this topic is something that you should consider as well.
Staying Innovative
More than 60% of small business owners believe that mobile devices will revolutionize their industry. This opinion is correct, and whether you’re working within B2C or B2B commerce, you should be advised that since summer 2015, the number of mobile searches surpassed desktop searches. Which means that market is slowly but surely shifting to mobile devices, and most of your clients and prospects will definitely search for your service via their smartphone. The good news is – you can use this to your advantage. Today, everyone can build an app and make their product available via Google Play or App Store.
Even more than that, cloud platforms have taken over accounting, marketing and, of course, all CRM that your company needs. So don’t be afraid to run your office from your smartphone, since we are all there. Customers and workers.
The above stated are three vital marketing trends that you should pay attention on in 2016. In order to stay competitive, it seems that you will have to move your business online completely, but hey – we are all online already.
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