A couple of weeks ago, Katie shared all of the changes we have been going through as a company (new clients, new employees, new office, etc.). This started me thinking about all the changes that happen almost daily in the media world and how Sumo Optimize leads our clients through the all of these changes.
OK, (everybody together) CHANGE IS GOOD! By changing up the way you look at something, you can usually come up with a better or more unique way of solving a problem. In this day and age, being unique is the way to stand out and be seen. For example in the media world, if you have used only one type of media, try changing it up a bit.
You do not have to totally abandon the media you are currently running with, but look at and consider other media options as well. AND, most importantly, think about how your target customers use that medium. A plus to this strategy is that you will probably pick up a few more customers by expanding into another medium.
Who is Your Target Audience?
Chances are your target audience is also shopping differently for your product or service today than they did 5 years ago. (Don’t you?)
Because of such easy access to online information (websites, mobile, apps, search engines), consumers are now researching products online prior to researching in store and even researching them online while they are in your store. This saves them time when looking for information such as reviews and pricing of products and services.
Is Your Product Online?
If customers are shopping and researching products online, is your product online? At minimum, you should have an online presence (ie website). Because customers may be looking at your online store instead of your “bricks and mortar” store, you need to be sure your website is taken care of as you do your actual location.
Excellent design, good copy, and reliable hosting goes a long way. We love GreenGeeks. HostingManual’s GreenGeeks review confirms what we have been saying for a very long time.
Make regular updates to your website, write blogs, update product information, customer testimonials and include relevant information that your customers need to make a purchasing decision.
How do You Get Visitors?
Again, thinking of how customers are shopping, how do you get people into your online store? You run ads when they are searching for your products (such as AdWords) and on websites that have relevant information (called online display advertising—these are essentially banner ads).
Promote your online store as you would your bricks and mortar store. Also, you don’t have to sell product online (it does help). Just have some really good information that customers can interact with.
A huge benefit to running ads online is targeting. You can target an area (called geographical targeting). You can target a type of person, like a pet owner or a person that has a certain “state of mind” like an environmentalist (called psychographics). And, you can also target your customer with a different message depending on where they live or their “state of mind”.
Don’t Forget Tracking
There are also many statistics to look at on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and quite a bit of daily “tweaking” to make sure the online is working hard for you and meeting your goals. It is quite a bit more interactive than any other medium out there, so you are able to exactly how many people are clicking on your ad and even converting to a sale or lead. Which is always a good thing!
Sounds a bit overwhelming, right? Well, it isn’t quite a complex as it sounds. However, as a business owner, you may not have the time it takes to manage an entire online campaign and make it run efficiently.
If you would like some help on navigating the world of online and digital or would like us to take a look at your current website, give us a call. We would be happy to talk to you about the best options for your business.