girlmagnifierlogo300x199We found that most business owners aren’t marketing online because of:

NO TIME – They invest 60+ hours/wk in their core business. Finding another 20+ hours to learn how to market online and implement and manage online marketing is just not an option

NO ENERGY – They focus their energy on their core business. There’s no energy left for marketing.

NO TRUST – They tried it themselves and couldn’t make it work. They hired someone to do online marketing & the firm over promised and under delivered.

FEAR – Fear of making a mistake. Fear of investing in marketing and not getting a return. Fear of not being able to cover costs.

CONFUSION – With all the options and hype surrounding online marketing, it can be overwhelming deciding on what to do. Does it work for your type of business? Will it work for you? And a confused mind usually does nothing.
The most important hurdle to be addressed is Confusion. Answering these next questions will go a long way in creating clarity

Where are your customers located?

– Do your clients and customers live within short distance of your business?
– Are you marketing your products or services nationally?

What do you want your online marketing to do?

– Compel new leads to call you?
– Prospects send you their contact information?
– eCommerce website visitors to buy directly online?
– Encourage people to visit to your local store in person?

What online marketing strategies provide the greatest profit potential?

– Are people using Google to research your products, services or company?
– Does your competition show up Google Maps? Do You?
– Does your target market use smart phones and mobile devices?
– Is your business listed when they do a web search for you on their cell phones?
– Is your target market active on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter?
– What is your online reputation?
– What are people saying about you online? Bad things? Nothing?

How will you implement your online marketing?

– Do you plan to personally learn and implement your online marketing?
– Will you hire an expert online marketer to handle all the marketing for you?
– Do you plan to hire an in-house employee or outsource your online marketing to an internet marketing firm?

If you consider nothing else, please consider these points:

1) Doing nothing is not an option. Your competitors are promoting themselves online and if you’re not, you won’t get that business.

2) The PhoneBook is Dead. Online Marketing is the New YellowPages!
Imagine, in years gone by, what a terrible decision it would have been for a business not to advertise in the yellowpages when all of their competitors were doing so?

In this online world, businesses choosing not to market online are choosing to be invisible to all the new clients and customers who are researching their products, services and even checking out their specific company, on the internet

3) People are checking you out online before they decide to do business with you. I cannot stress this point enough, the importance of managing your online reputation. This one thing impacts everything you do with marketing, online and offline. Even the companies that rely on word-of-mouth advertising and referrals are be affected by online reputation.
A recent Nielsen Ratings Survey shows that “Consumer Opinion Posted Online” are trusted as much as “Personal Recommendations”. Even if you are recommended personally, they may not call you, if they checked you out online and didn’t find any reviews or worse, they found negative reviews.