| Be where they'll look for you. First, how wide is your business reach? Are you strictly seeking local business, wanting to convert drop-by and passing trade into enthusiastic repeat business? Or do you have a wider geographical reach, seeking regional, national or international business? Either way, make sure people can find you, see what you have to offer and connect with you easily. Have a clear vision of the kinds of networks most likely to reach your ideal customers and the kinds of listings, social media or search terms they will use to look for your goods and/or services. If they search will they find you? Pretend you're someone looking for the goods or services your business offers. Google those goods and services. Does your business come out on top? Is it even in the first page of search results? If not, it might be time to rethink your search engine optimisation (see article this page). What are they saying about you? Can you see any user reviews? Are they favourable or are there opinions you want to turn around? Take action and follow up where you have unhappy customers. Could your reach be wider? While you're googling yourself, do the same for some of your competitors. Are they connected with sites, networks, or directories that you hadn't heard of? Would it help your business to be listed there too? Does your current reach support your plans for growth or are you ready to plan the next step? If you ticked the web off your marketing to-do list when you got a website and Facebook page, your web presence may look dangerously like a placeholder rather than a vital link with customers. Take its temperature. Keep it fresh. | |
