The Urgency of Digital Marketing Strategy For Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
[OptimAds Digital] In 2019, it is accounted that 36% of SMEs worldwide were operating without a website and led them to be perceived as not legitimate or may not take the customers seriously. The result was that the customers will choose a competitor instead. We understand how SMEs have suffered up until this point. Likewise, we believe that every business requires a strategy to ensure success that varies from marketing, production, supply chain, and financial. In regard to digital marketing strategy, our approaches will present SMBs the digital marketing strategy that eases the problems are as follows:
- Determine the proper channels that suit your business, target market, and customers
If you want customers to easily find your business online or reach potential customers who need your products and services, determine the appropriate channels included in your to-do list. Each channel has a different target audience, it depends on the type and the goals of your business. However, an interaction that is built with customers will determine the level of brand awareness, sales, and customer retention.
For the e-commerce business, online stores help build SEO, social media offers the opportunity to connect with potential customers while developing brands. You can use a blog to build customer confidence in your business expertise. A blog posted on the same website as your online store will help increase search rankings so that people can easily find your business (Forbes, 2020).
Furthermore, if your business needs to be connected more intensely to each customer, email marketing may be the right option. You may also control the time and format of the message you want to convey. According to McKinsey research (2013), this channel is considered 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined.
- Enhance your online presence
Using the right channels is significant to improve your social media presence. Ensuring the message delivered matches the audience on the platform you choose. For example, businesses in the franchise sector will be more likely to use LinkedIn than Instagram due to differences in audience interest in social media.
- Responding to the feedback with a proper style
Reviews and testimonials from customers on the products and services you offer will help your business grow organically. Response immediately to positive reviews given by the customer. Your immediate response shows your appreciation for ensuring the quality of customer satisfaction with the products and services you provide. If you get negative reviews, you can respond soon, but not so quickly. Make sure to compose your message well so that it will not lead to a presumption that you are ignoring the customer experience. The reasonable time to respond to negative reviews is around 24-48 hours (Forbes, 2020).
With both your customers and your competitors online, investing in digital marketing is crucial for your SMB; if existing or potential customers can’t find you easily online, they are likely to go with another business. This is the nature of business today. If someone wants to learn more about your brand, they will probably research you online; perhaps they’re looking for reviews to see whether or not your company is a good fit for them. With more consumers searching and buying online than ever before, digital marketing has become crucial. In essence, it allows SMEs to effectively put their brand in front of their target market at the right time and in the right place, cost-effectively and measurably.