Recently I remodeled the basement of my home. The pre-construction phase had started and I searched like a wild man looking for the best man cave ideas. Searching on Google, Houzz, Home Stratosphere, Numer, Pinterest, and about a handful of other websites to get the best ideas. I was absolutely enjoying the designing phase. I wouldn’t be doing the work, but rather the “fun design” part. As I discussed my ideas and vision for the basement with my contractor I realized that once again, a good portion of these ideas were online. The online visibility for top designs helped me fine the products that I ultimately purchased.
This got me thinking that in today’s world if you are looking for ideas, information, or need to make a purchase, it typically starts online. According to Google’s research into local search behavior, “50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34% who searched on computer/tablet did the same.”
What if you are a B2B company?
According to Search Engine Watch, the stats are still saying that 65% of users said they would start their research with a general search engine. Your potential clients are searching throughout the sales process too. 51.8% in the research phase, 42.1% in the negotiation phase, and 42.6% in the purchase phase.
What type of online presence should I have?
The type of buyer you are will dictate where you search. Having an overall online presence through online search engines, search directories and social media channels is a must. The four major purchasing categories are the economic buyer, technical buyer, user buyer and the coach buyer. The economic buyer is the person signing the check. The technical buyer is the buyer who makes the purchase for the workers who are carrying out the task but not actually signing the check. The user buyer is the buyer who actually uses the product or service. The coach buyer is the “champion” who doesn’t necessarily pay the check, make the decision, or use the purchase but helps move the decision through the process. Understanding the different types of buyers helps you provide the right content and ads to the correct audience.
How do I gain more online visibility?
If you think I am making a case for SEO, social media marketing and strategically-placed ads that drive leads and sales…you are right! It’s clear that your customers are in this space so you should be as well. Have you taken the time and money to have a strong brand positioning and consistency on the major search engines, search directories and social media platforms? Are you providing valuable content with clear call to actions? Do you target each customer effectively? Are you making solid returns on your marketing strategies? Is there a strong connection between your traditional marketing and digital marketing? Most of the time the answers to these questions are “no” or “we could do better”. If your answer is “yes”, then great and keep it up! But, if the answer is “no” or “we could do better,” then having professionals grow your online visibility is a key piece to provide leads and sales to grow your business.
If you’d like to talk with Pizzazz Group about your online visibility, contact us today at customer@pizzazzgroup.com or by calling (614) 350-1681.