Occasionally we see information that is just too important not to share with our friends, clients and contacts. As business owners we all have to be careful with how we spend money and often the digital methods are scary because many of us don’t completely understand how they work; so we hesitate or resist investing an appropriate or optimal amount.
The featured infographic (a digital informative poster) details which of these methods work the best to provide what we all want more of – customers!
Another article that came out in the WSJ yesterday (4-16-14) spotlights another challenge with digital marketing. Like many service industries, “big box” companies are created to provide services to the business community. This article highlights the nightmare experiences many small business owners have endured by being sold these services by these types of companies. Essentially these companies raise capital and invest in some creative (and sometimes legitimately useful) software to help them scale the services in order to automate many of the steps required. The problem is their business model focuses largely on sales and very little on customer service. The “churn” factor is what they focus on rather than treating each client individually and consulting with them effectively (or at all). We have several clients that have used these services before – some of them have seen results but overall the experiences were dire.
My hope is that you gleam some useful information from these articles to help you make the best decisions with regards to your internet marketing efforts. 80% of local searches on Google result in an action – phone call, website visit, lead form submission, directions, etc. It all starts here regardless of what kind of product or service you provide.
Find an agency or consultant that makes you feel like your best interests are the focus. Don’t get caught up in the hype and glitter of these large companies and their slick sales pitches. You (we) all deserve to be treated like a valued client, not a number.
