Many businesses don’t really regard themselves as digital companies, because they may offer “analog” consumer products and services. After all, they’re not selling high-tech products and software programs. Common small businesses include restaurants, arts, and crafts sales, and plumbing services. So since these are traditional businesses, often they employ traditional marketing strategies—and that’s a mistake. Instead, digital marketing must be at the forefront of any sensible marketing strategy these days.

It’s true that many of these old-school marketing departments have now added more modern online marketing elements like mobile marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and website operations. Yet often the focus is on traditional marketing methods like print ads and retail store promos. The digital marketing teams receive a far smaller share of the marketing budget.

If you’re running your own business, you have to increase the budget for digital marketing. In fact, the bulk of your marketing budget should probably go-to digital marketing instead. Your digital marketing team should be at the forefront of your marketing efforts, leading the charge in promoting your brand and gathering data about your customers.

How Much Should You Budget to Spend on Marketing

If you’re not convinced, here are some facts that should change your mind:

The vast majority of your customers are online. In the US, about 89% of the people use the Internet. Among Internet users, 77% go online every day, 43% are online several times a day, and a staggering 26% are online almost constantly. The percentage of the constantly connected jumps to 39% for the 18 to 29 age bracket.
According to expert consumer marketers, the most effective marketing tactics include digital marketing techniques like social media, email newsletters, videos, mobile apps, website articles, and blogs. Online marketing is quite versatile, as it can also include webinars, webcasts, online presentations, white papers, infographics, and case studies.
With so many digital channels, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the message stays consistent throughout. Every platform should have the same information regarding your business, such as your location and your contact information. Your prices and promos should also appear the same for each channel. Your offline channels must also fall in line with your online promos, though this can be a challenge when you’re prone to quick reactive promotions.
The speed of digital marketing is significantly faster compared to the traditional offline channels. This is in terms of fulfilling consumer demand for information. Direct mail and even telephone channels can’t compare to having all the information readily available on your website. You can also chat with your consumers and respond quickly via forum posts and emails.
The analytic tools for online marketing are also superior as you’re able to really track your marketing ROI. These tools can track how each digital marketing method is actually contributing to your bottom line. You can find out which methods are increasing your brand visibility, increasing your website visitors, and boosting your sales.

The basic truth is that all businesses these days are digital. You may offer traditional services like food products and plumbing services, yet marketing today must be online.

Photo credit: Campaign Creators

LA STARTUPS

Website | + posts

LAStartups.com is a digital lifestyle publication that covers the culture of startups and technology companies in Los Angeles. It is the go-to site for people who want to keep up with what matters in Los Angeles’ tech and startups from those who know the city best.