Get More Business and Find New Local Customers
Does your local business need to find new customers?
Then you need to advertise your business online if you are going to be discovered in local search listings.
Did you think the internet buzz is way overblown? Think again. Times have changed since the “bubble burst” of the 80’s and 90’s. Companies were ahead of their time then. Now in 2009 there are WAY more users online and it’s growing by the minute never to stop.
The late, great Cory Rudl (founder of IMC) once said:
“…the biggest change I see heading our way is a shift from the global market to the local market….the Internet is going local! Here is the secret: If you realize this and the power it will have on society… can you find a way to capitalize on this? If you have ideas and position yourself now, you will be an incredibly wealthy person!” (excerpt from The Internet Global).
Cory’s prediction has come true — the Internet IS going local. The question is, when will small business owners realize it?
According to The Kelsey Group, “70% of U.S. households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping LOCALLY for products and services… Findings also suggest the Internet is poised to surpass newspapers as a local shopping information resource.”
Did you know that internet is also now taking over TV as far as how much time spent in front of it? And it’s not just youth online now. One of the fastest growing segments of internet users are seniors! Times are changing.Local businesses that survive are the ones that know not only WHAT their customers are looking for, but HOW. Are you?
The search engines have laid the groundwork and put some incredible tools in place. Google Local Business Center lets business owners add or edit their company information to Google Local. MSN & Yahoo have their own Local Search offerings. Most of them are free (for now), just there for the taking.
If you are a small business owner without a web presence right now, or you tried it once, you may be thinking:
- “Oh yeah, the Internet. That’s for selling stuff to the world, but all of my customers live here.”
- “I tried the Internet, it didn’t work for my business.”
- “I have a website but it gets no traffic - what a waste of money!”
- “The Internet is for products - I have a service business.”
…and so on. It may be hard to believe, but nowadays if you are without a web presence that is found in local search results, you are leaving customers and money behind. Simple as that. You are losing money.
Yet you might be ready to pay enormous prices to advertise in those outdated heavy books called the Yellow Pages
If you think about it, Yellow Pages are ridiculous: a teeny tiny rectangle’s worth of information that you can’t change for a year, on the SAME page as your competitors’ ads. And for that they charge you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.
But the Yellow Pages are familiar, so small business owners stick to it. And since most of the Yellow Pages are online now, many will get basic online listings by default.
Still, it’s a shame that so many small business owners have such misconceptions about the Internet. A lot of that is a due to all the hype and craziness of the early Internet days, when they got sucked into paying huge sums of money for worthless websites that they thought would magically bring customers through their doors. Those experiences left a bitter taste in many a business owner’s mouth, which still lingers today.
Okay, well that was then. It’s time to turn the page and move forward. How can we help you, the small business owner, wake up and smell the coffee?
The internet is changing many people’s lives. There are teenagers making money from blogs. There are innumerable ways even for the "non-business" person to benefit financially from an online presence. Those who know how to get their page ranked high in search results are making a killing.
But how does this help my local company get more business?
Let’s go into the mind of the average internet user. Many may be YOUR potential clients
Let’s say you are offering a backhoe service in Seattle area. You have no web presence (or some site your niece made for you that hardly get’s found). You have word-of-mouth customers, which is great, but times are hard - you need to find more local business customers. How will they find you?
In 2009, the typical person will now skip looking for that big yellow book and instead type “backhoe service Seattle” in the web browser. The first thing that pops up in Google is a handy map with stars showing a local listing of some business names, and their phone numbers. Yahoo has a local search feature by clicking on their “local” tab, and MSN by clicking on “Maps” to see local listings.
Most will find one close to them and start calling without even looking further. Some will go down the page and keep looking, or write down several names and phone numbers. If they find enough, they won’t bother even going to page two of local search results.
Try it yourself - type in a phrase someone would use who is searching for YOUR kind of business, followed by your city. Is your company there? Are your competitors listed right up front on the handy map?What if YOUR company was listed in the local search results on the first page? Would you get more business?
Well you can, and must. It’s not a matter of preference anymore.If you are not found on the internet, you are throwing away money. Period.
You need a little more than just a glorified brochure online - though that is better than nothing. You need something that helps you to connect and build relationships with visitors and customers. How about a video - showing your work? How about some coupons for those who give you feedback on what they’re looking for in your type of business?
Maybe you say, “I can’t do websites” or “we tried a website but nothing came of it” You may have already discovered that just having a website doesn’t automatically get your site found. There are several factors that get your site ranked higher in the local search engine results. Your site needs to be “optimized” and considered important by the search engines (by having links pointing to your site).
You can learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques yourself, but there is a much easier solution for you - and it’s cheaper and more lasting than a spot in the yellow pages. Grab your free report from www.MoreLocalBusiness.com
If you search for web design services and SEO services, you will discover very high prices. It’s in great demand right now.
There are alternatives to those elite services which seem to be affordable only to big companies. Search for complete online marketing packages designed for small business. Search with terms like, “local search consultants” and see if any offer free consultations.
It’s time to be discovered again, find new customers, and get more business by giving your local business an online presence as your least expensive, lasting, and most effective form of local advertising.
D. Palmer
MoreLocalBusiness.com
Tags: find new customers, finding new customers, get more business, get more customers, getting more business, local business listing, local business search, online presence