Tag Archive for: marketing for small business

Why Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) Need Digital Marketing

Understanding online consumer behavior is pivotal for small and medium-sized businesses. Grasping the power of digital marketing allows them to target their potential clientele precisely. Let’s explore how digital strategies can be a game-changer for SMBs in the vast online marketplace.

Often, budding businesses concentrate on traditional ways of luring customers – print media, word of mouth, or simple local reputation. The notion that “if you build it, they will come” is prevalent. However, depending on solely old-school methods can slow down your growth potential. The online market is teeming with potential customers, providing a larger audience base than local strategies alone.

Harnessing the Power of Digital Marketing

Entering the digital marketing realm might seem daunting, with a myriad of platforms and jargon. Small and midsize businesses sometimes feel that they might not have the resources to make a mark online. Yet, sticking to conventional methods and neglecting the online world can be a mistake.

Why? Because consumers are online! And to ensure your business flourishes, you need to be where they are. With a strategic online presence, you’re not only showcasing your services but also ensuring that you’re visible to those who are actively searching for what you offer.

Digital Marketing: The Key Advantages

  • Precision Targeting: In the crowded online space, messages can easily be overlooked. However, precision targeting allows businesses to focus on those truly interested in their services. Using digital marketing tools, businesses can hone in on specific demographics and behaviors, optimizing resource use. As data from these targeted efforts is gathered, refining strategies becomes simpler, leading to improved engagement and a greater return on investment.
  • Engage & Retain: Engaging with your audience goes beyond mere communication; it’s about forging a bond that encourages brand loyalty. By understanding their needs and preferences, businesses can offer personalized experiences. In a competitive market, innovative strategies, like customer loyalty programs offering exclusive deals and rewards, are vital. Such approaches not only strengthen customer relationships but also ensure businesses stay relevant in a digital-driven world.
  • Effortless Tracking: Businesses can instantly monitor marketing campaigns, particularly on cost-free platforms like social media. These platforms provide detailed analytics on user engagement, reach, and conversions. This immediate feedback enables swift adaptations and refinements to strategies, ensuring businesses stay aligned with changing customer behaviors in a dynamic online environment.
  • Boundless Reach: Geography is no barrier in the digital world. Whether customers are nearby or continents away, they’re a click away. The internet connects local businesses to a global audience. With the right digital strategies, even SMBs can achieve global brand status, tapping into diverse markets and ensuring resilience against local market shifts.

Building Relationships in the Digital Age

The beauty of digital marketing lies in its interactive nature. Platforms like social media and blogs facilitate conversations with potential and existing customers. It’s more than just selling; it’s about understanding, engaging, and building trust. When customers feel a connection, they are more likely to return.

In today’s digital-dominated world, a potential customer’s first instinct is to search for your business online. Having a strong online presence, backed by positive reviews, strengthens their trust in your brand. With data suggesting that 87% of consumers turn to online reviews, it’s evident that an invisible online presence might make you invisible to potential customers.

Achieving More on a Shoestring Budget

For emerging businesses, budget constraints are a reality. Yet, online advertising provides more bang for your buck, allowing precision targeting. Platforms like social media are particularly effective, enabling businesses to reach specific demographics while excluding non-potential customers. But, the trick lies in choosing the right platform. Research, experiment, and then decide which platform resonates with your business objectives.

Working with Onimod Global

As a seasoned digital marketing agency, Onimod Global offers tailored strategies that cater specifically to the unique needs of SMBs. We harness the power of online platforms to enhance brand visibility, drive traffic, and foster customer engagement. With a deep understanding of market trends and consumer behavior, our agency crafts campaigns that resonate with the target audience. Whether it’s SEO, social media marketing, or pay-per-click advertising, Onimod Global is committed to propelling SMBs into the digital forefront, ensuring they not only compete but thrive in today’s digital-centric market.

Final Thoughts

The trajectory of your business is in your hands. Whether you’re envisioning a lead-generating website or a result-oriented social media campaign, understanding the nuances of digital marketing is the first step.

At Onimod Global, we are your go-to digital marketing partner based in Chicago, with clients across the globe. Our craft spans from social media, and SEO, to paid searches, and content creation, ensuring you’re always at the forefront of the digital curve.

Embarking on your digital journey? Reach out to us today!

New Facebook Report: COVID-19 Impact On Small Businesses

This pandemic has not only been a world health crisis, it also serves to be an economic crisis. While the world as we know it has been impacted significantly as a whole, among the hardest hit sectors looks to be small businesses. Mom and pop shops are the heart of all of our communities, and they are facing the ultimate challenge. Small to medium businesses generally operate at very tight margins as it is, and they don’t have the same safety nets that larger corporations are able to fall back on. While forecasts for the future are grim, it’s important to capture what’s happening in the moment. How are small businesses dealing with the impact of COVID-19 and how do they feel about their situations moving forward?

The State of Small Business Report, by Facebook and Small Business Roundtable, based on a survey of 86,000 owners, managers and workers in companies across the US with fewer than 500 employees, is a somber image of the struggle they are facing as they fight for their business to survive.  The data also includes 9,000 operators of “personal” businesses (i.e. people who reported that they were “self-employed providing goods or services”). You can read Facebook’s full report here, but below are some of the key points.

Insights of impact

Facebook’s report provides insight as to how many businesses have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns, with a look at the percentage of SMBs in each sector that are currently cannot operate.

small business facebook report 1

As per Facebook:

“According to the survey, 31% of small and medium-sized businesses have shut down [entirely] in the last three months. The situation is worse for personal business (52% of which report shutting down), hotels, cafes and restaurants (43%) and services like wellness, grooming, fitness or other professional services (41%).”

These trends have been in expected in some way, with high exposure businesses of course being forced to close their doors. The numbers also wrap some further context around the 36 million unemployment claims in the US over the past six weeks. The big question is, how many of these businesses will be able to recover and bounce back?

Businesses re-opening

In general, the majority of small businesses remain optimistic with a respective amount of caution.

small business facebook report 2

Lots of “maybe’s” here, but most significant is the lack of “no’s”. This definitely provides hope of most people getting back on their feet and resuming employment, with the economy getting back on track at some stage. Of course, the longer that businesses are forced to remain closed then the path to recovery is significantly more difficult.

Current impacts on revenue

In later notes of the report, Facebook provides some context as to current impacts on revenue, even for those businesses that have remained in operation.

small business facebook report 3

2020 will certainly not be a year of growth for the majority of businesses, if any. However, there are some indications of future potential.

Digital opportunities for small business

small business report 4

More and more business are exploring online opportunities and going digital. This was already a trend, and the pandemic has catapulted all business into the world of online sales and e-commerce. This will most likely end up being the biggest long-term shift we see stemming from the COVID-19 shutdowns. While e-commerce accounted for only around 16% of total US retail sales in 2019, this number is expected to significantly increase in the next years. While retail is the most common e-commerce sector, the pandemic crisis may prompt more businesses to consider their options for digital operations, meeting consumers where they’re spending more and more of their time.

You can read Facebook’s full, 36-page “State of Small Business Report”, which includes a heap of more specific insights and data, here.

More from Onimod Global

Contact Onimod Global today, we are here to help you navigate this uncertain time. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here.

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here.