Author // Mike Kalil
Is your business turning a decent profit at the moment? Do you already have more inbound sales leads than you can handle? Are you uninterested in expanding your business because you’re plenty comfortable with its current size? Do you have trouble justifying investing in marketing because the current economy is treating you so well?
You’re one of the lucky ones, for sure, but that’s no reason to ignore getting the word out about your business. Large, successful companies have in-house marketing departments and invest heavily in advertising for a reason: They want to remain in the black. They realize that the business world never stagnates. While the future may look bright for them now, they realize their situation could change very quick if their competition outsmarts them. They invest in marketing to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Marketing should never be considered an expense. It’s an investment. If executed properly, your marketing campaigns should lead to increased profits for your business. If the return on your investment does not exceed your marketing budget, it’s simply not being done right. In order to gauge your campaign’s effectiveness, you must track where your incoming leads are originating. Too few businesses actually take the time to ask their customers where they found them.
It’s especially important that you make certain your company’s digital footprint is adequate. A March study by BIA/Kelsey indicated that 97 percent of consumers surveyed reported going online to research products and services locally; 90 percent use search engines, 48 use the online Yellow pages, 42 percent use shopping comparison sites and 24 percent use vertical sites.
Ideally, you want your business to have a presence in all the places your target market’s looking, whether it’s in organic or paid search engine results or social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. There’s no better way to get qualified leads than via the Internet. If you have volumes of optimized, quality content online, you’re in a good position to be found by the consumers most likely to purchase your products or services.
