How Small Businesses Afford Digital Marketing?
- Are you among those small business owners who prefer to stick to conventional forms of marketing?
- Do you believe that the best marketing strategy is to wait for customers to show up?
- Or are you among those who think that being a small business, you only need a few customers?
- Businesses of all types require new customers and retain the existing ones.
- Digital marketing is what allows you to attract customers online much more than you can by traditional methods.
- Many businesses still think that digital marketing is expensive, not affordable, and a technical subject which requires technical expertise.
- But it is not so. And, for all the right reasons, you should not avoid or procrastinate setting up your online presence.
- It is an affordable and measurable way to reach a larger audience online, accepted as the norm for any business in these competitive times.
- With digital marketing, you can interact with your prospective customers and understand their needs.
- It will help you monitor the responses to your marketing strategies and make changes if necessary.
- Digital marketing is much more economical compared to traditional forms and enables you to reach a global audience.
- It will help to know your audience personally and also build brand loyalty.
Leverage New Technology to Simplify Financial Transactions
As a business owner, dealing with financial aspects can seem complicated and time-consuming. New technologies and tools are available today that help streamline your financial dealings. Here are some details on them:
- There are many tools which help small businesses with a smooth and efficient option for payment collection from customers.
- These tools make it possible for startups or small businesses to accept payments from customers within their website by only adding a single line of code.
- It is a payment solution that simplifies the online payment experience for customers.
- It gives you access to any payment mode of your choice like a credit card, debit card, UPI, and wallets like Jio Money, Airtel Money, or Ola Money.
- From this platform, you can collect recurring payments, send invoices to customers, or get working capital loans.
- They make business transactions smooth without the need for any technical know-how.
- It makes sales cycles and financial transactions very easy for small businesses.
- With Instamojo, you can create payment links, add a payment gateway, or embed pay buttons on your blog or website to collect payments.
- You can make quick links and share with customers even if you do not have a website.
- By utilising such new platforms and tools that make financial transactions more comfortable, you can improve customer experience.
- You will manage your operations more effectively, reach out to customers worldwide, get more sales, and grow your business.
How Digital Marketing Is The First Choice For Most Brands?
Even though traditional marketing methods are still in use, with the growth of technology, it has become necessary to develop a robust online presence. If your customers cannot find you online, they will assume your business does not seem legitimate or you do not take your business seriously. If they find your competitors have websites, your prospective customers will prefer to buy from them. You do not want to be laid back while the entire world is moving their business online, right?
Here is how digital marketing can help you:
- Digital marketing makes you more accessible to people whom you are trying to target. It helps you attract a larger audience for your products and services.
- By developing your online presence, your business is open for customers to visit at any time of the day or night, even when you are closed.
- If you think it is not your cup of tea, then don’t worry, it is!
- With effective DIY’s, you can establish your digital presence without spending a lot of money.
- With digital marketing, you can engage with your targeted audience and start a conversation with them on social media.
- By running surveys and studying their responses, you can learn what they are looking for in their products and services.
- It can help you in improving the overall brand strategy, finding gaps, and fulfilling customer requirements.
- You can build customer relationships and brand loyalty using social media and blogs to communicate and provide information.
- All this would not be possible in traditional marketing, or if it is, then the methods are tedious, expensive, and ineffective.
- Digital marketing ensures that your business will survive and grow even during difficult periods such as the current pandemic.
How To Start Digital Marketing For Your Business?
Small businesses can develop a strong web presence and compete against big companies by utilising cost-effective digital marketing tools.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Increase your activity on social media
You need to build up your customer base by opening social media accounts on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Promote your post with essential creatives, which can be done through Canva. Ask your friends and family to like your page and endorse it to others.
2. Open a Google My Business Account
By preparing a free business profile and showcasing your business’s unique features, on Google, you can attract customers and connect with them. It helps in getting found for all local searches. Ask your old customers to drop a review so that people trust your service and hire you.
3. Creating a website on Wix
Develop a high-quality website promoting your products and services in the way you want. It is just a simple plug and play that you can do yourself without asking for any technical help.
4. Get involved in forums
You can spread the word about your business by participating in discussions on online platforms like Tumblr.
5. Upload videos on YouTube
You can unleash the potential of video marketing by hosting video content related to your business on YouTube. Create a youtube account with your Gmail Id, and you are good to go by uploading videos from your mobile or laptop.
Digital marketing helps you remain competitive and increases your returns on investment. It is essential to change your business model to an online one or supplement your current marketing plan with digital marketing strategies to take advantage of the lucrative, expanding online marketplace. Our expert team at OK Credit has helped several entrepreneurs adopt digital marketing strategies for their business and have steered them towards more profits and exponential growth. We will help you build a solid online presence and enable you to race ahead of your competitors.
As you can see, digital marketing helps you remain competitive and increases your returns on investment. It is essential to change your business model to an online one or supplement your current marketing plan with digital marketing strategies to take advantage of the lucrative, expanding online marketplace.
Also read:
1) Digitalisation - The next step in the evolution of Digital India
2) Digitalisation in Business – How it Changed the Buyer-Seller Equation?
3) Which affordable digital marketing course is best for a startup and small business owners?
4) How Influencer Marketing Can Help Small Businesses?
FAQs
Q. Can I make a website on my own?
Ans. Yes, you can make websites from WordPress and Wix on your own. It is as simple as designing a PowerPoint where you need to drag and drop the elements that entice you the most.
Q. How can I design posters/creatives online?
Ans. You can create a custom poster or design creatives online using Canva or Crello through their website or launching their mobile app. By using its drag and drop feature and selecting one from among millions of templates, you will get the exact look you want in no time.
Q. How much budget should I have daily for FB ads?
Ans. You should be prepared to spend Rs. 300-500 for your FB Ads daily for your digital marketing drive to be effective in attracting more traffic.
Q. Are paid ads important?
Ans. Whoever your audience is, by using paid ads can reach 90% of internet users and will contribute towards growing your returns on investment.
Q. How are online businesses contributing to our economy?
Ans. The E-commerce business has grown exponentially in India in recent years and is expected to grow even further in the coming years. Studies reveal that the E-commerce industry, which is a major contributor to the nation’s GDP, is poised to reach nearly $100 billion in size by 2024. Online businesses will benefit greatly from government initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, and Skill India. The growth rate is expected to surpass even that of developed countries like the UK, the US, Europe, and China. India’s E-commerce industry is predicted to become the world’s second-largest E-commerce market, even overtaking the US in the coming years.