In today’s digital world, it’s hard to imagine a business surviving without relying on digital marketing. Even businesses older than the Internet arrived now find themselves dependent on digital marketing’s limitless capacity. Surprisingly, a lot of businesses choose to stick to traditional methods without realising that they are missing out on great growth opportunities.
It’s not fair to say that traditional marketing is obsolete. After all, some time-honoured methods, such as television and radio advertising, still work. Unfortunately, these methods are quite expensive, and most small and medium enterprises, particularly start-ups, can’t afford them. What SMEs need are targeted marketing methods that are both effective and affordable. That’s where digital marketing comes in.
If you own a business, now is the best time to go online. Every second you waste thinking twice about investing in digital marketing pushes you further behind your competitors. Maybe your reluctance emanates from various scepticisms surrounding digital marketing and its perks. In that case, let this article be your guide. Here are some of the reasons why your business needs digital marketing.
It Is More Cost-Effective than Traditional Marketing Methods
As mentioned earlier, digital marketing is less expensive than most traditional marketing methods. Various past and present studies and statistics confirm this. Around 40 per cent of businesses that use digital marketing claim getting substantial savings. Meanwhile, 28 per cent have decided to move a large portion of their marketing budget from traditional marketing to digital marketing.
It’s not difficult to understand why more and more businesses are shifting to digital marketing. Since digital marketing is based online, it eliminates the need to deploy people in the field, consequently increasing productivity tenfold—everything a business desires to make more net profits. All they have to buy are equipment and a few dedicated digital marketing experts to run their campaigns.
But that too could be impractical, considering the amount of time and effort involved in setup and operation. It is the reason why most businesses turn to trusted digital marketing companies like Blue Mark Digital. Want to grow your business with digital marketing? Consider outsourcing it to the experts, so you can focus on running your business and avoid all the hassles such a sophisticated process entails.
Your Target Audience Is Online
A 2018 study has shown that internet penetration in Australia is at 88 per cent. Meaning, around 15 million Australians are using the Internet, and a big chunk of that represents your target audience. With e-commerce slowly replacing over-the-counter purchase and business transactions, more people are likely to log on to the Web when searching and buying products and services.
And even if they don’t intend to buy these products and services online, they’d still use the Internet to locate stores that offer them. If your store is nowhere to be found, it’s highly unlikely that you will have buyers knocking on your door anytime soon. Digital marketing is key to building an online presence, which can guide your prospects to your store.
You Can Get to Know Your Customers Better
Thanks to the Internet, it’s now possible to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world. Many platforms provide a channel of communication, whether it be in the form of email, SMS or video call. Some platforms, especially social media, even have metrics that allow you to express your opinion or reaction to specific content. These metrics help collect user information. You can analyse this information to work out a strategy that will draw in more conversions.
It Helps Improve Your Engagement
Unlike traditional marketing methods that are mostly a one-way communication with your target audience, you can configure your digital marketing methods to allow your target audience to reach back. This kind of engagement between you and them creates a lasting bond that results in conversion. You can also use the data you collect from that engagement to find out the areas of your business that need improving. Doing this also helps both your prospects and customers feel more connected to your brand.
Your Competitors Are Online, Too
Probably the most apparent reason why you should start investing in digital marketing is that your competitors are already doing it. They’re not wasting time and money on costly and low-return marketing methods anymore. If you don’t pull yourself together, they’ll leave you behind until you’re totally out of the game. One good example of a company that made the wrong move of refusing to adapt to changes is Kodak. They thought their film-based business model is unbeatable, so they refused to adopt the more timely digital-based photography. As a result, they went through a decades-long decline, which eventually led to bankruptcy.
It Helps Level the Playing Field
Whether you’re a start-up or an established business, you have the same growth opportunities online as everyone else. You have the same set of resources and level of access to the same target audience. All you have to do is to create a digital marketing strategy that will allow you to maximise the resources given to you and generate as much income as possible.
Higher Conversion and Revenue
Ultimately, the purpose of digital marketing is to increase your conversion rate and revenue, something that’s very hard to achieve if you rely on traditional marketing methods. With digital marketing, you can also build and maintain a database that can help you reach out to your audience multiple times. For instance, you can launch a landing page where viewers need to input personal information in exchange for a free eBook. This lead generation approach is becoming increasingly popular these days.
Hopefully, at this point, the question “how can digital marketing help your business?” is no longer lingering in your mind. Instead, the question you should ask is, “who should businesses that need digital marketing turn to?” That is if you’ve decided to ditch the idea of doing all the work by yourself. In that case, hire a digital marketing company like Blue Mark Digital that has an impeccable track record.
With a reputable digital marketing company supporting you, there’s no need for months-long planning and preparation. You can launch your campaign as soon as possible and start getting traffic into your website in no time.