Though businesses aim to achieve their making digital marketing goals, only a handful (6%) focus on getting repeat business.
A recent survey reports how several small medium enterprises understand the importance of online marketing, but do not have sufficient financial and technical resources to support their efforts. According to the new study by business news website The Manifest, approximately 31 per cent focus on increasing sales, but have not really thought much about engaging customers. This approach prevents start-ups and small companies from making the most out of their digital marketing investments.
Of the businesses interviewed in the survey, only 6 per cent said they will focus on retaining customers. Their SEO efforts will take into account actual customer needs to foster long-term, organic traffic to their website.
Building Rapport with Customers
Companies may sacrifice their revenue if they seek out new challenges instead of keeping already interested customers continously interested.
Chief marketing officer of California-based marketing agency FountainheadME, Lauren Douglas, said you building relationships with existing customers helps retain them.
She said: "Make them feel that you are talking to them personally, and you will improve brand loyalty.”
Through personalised communication, you can actually build rapport with customers and grow your client base in the long run.
SMEs Operate on a Limited Budget
It is rare for SMEs to pour a lot of money into their digital marketing campaigns.
In fact, majority of small businesses (55 per cent according to the survey) allocate less than $50,000 on overall marketing efforts. This includes payroll for in-house or freelance employees.
About 36 per cent of SMEs allocate a $10,000 budget for their marketing campaigns throughout the entire year.
While bigger companies see this in a different light, there is no cause for worry. Small businesses have a different way of gauging the effectiveness of their digital marketing campaigns. They follow specific standards based on specific goals and their company size.
Robert Weiss, president of New York-based video production agency MultiVision Digital, said that it’s a win-win situation if digital marketing investments is “matched, not exceeded, in returns.”
He said: "We just want a 1 to 1 ratio because for us, once we acquire a client, there's a strong long-term value proposition because we keep clients."
How small businesses define digital marketing success differs significantly from how big businesses definite it. For them, it’s all about their company goals.
Though not always the case, the amount of money you put into digital marketing can influence results.
SMEs Prefer In-House Teams
Cheap and efficient – these are the reasons cited why small businesses prefer to hire in-house teams to carry out marketing projects.
60 per cent of SME respondents said they use in-house staff while only 40 per cent hire third party agencies to handle digital marketing campaigns.
Having their own employees and management team allows SMEs to properly communicate their brand's mission and communicate. Third party agencies may have more experts, in-house teams have first-hand knowledge of the business itself. Not to mention they’re more cost-efficient.
But companies should mobilise their in-house team by providing marketing tools that can make them more productive (and not necessarily exhausted).
Click here to read the full 2019 Small Business Digital Marketing Survey report by The Manifest. This survey covers 529 small business managers/owners in the United States.
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Helpful Resources:
1. How Much Has The June 2019 Google Core Update Affected Web Traffic? 2. New Google Update – An Attempt To Diversify Search Results 3. Tips for Handling Google Algorithm Updates
