How do people come across your business? Whether you are an accountant, a roofer, or a cosmetic surgeon, how people search for providers is typically by looking for a solution to a specific problem. If in the way you interact and communicate about your business, you can show that you are their solution, chances are good they will set up an appointment with you.
To do this, you have to consider several things, including what your target customer’s problems are, how you can provide solutions, and how they are going to look for the answers they need. In many situations, this starts with understanding how customers find local businesses.
Long gone are the days of pulling out a phone book. There are many situations where people still talk to each other – such as asking the neighbor who they use for heating and cooling services or trusting a friend who just went to the chiropractor to offer a reference. Yet, there are many other avenues to consider as well.
To help you adjust your marketing efforts, it’s important to consider the top channels people use to find businesses like your own.
What Are the Top Channels People Use to Find Local Businesses?
The following are the most common channels people use to locate a local business to meet their needs. You may even consider what you personally do when you need a plumber or a veterinarian. Consider how people find the companies they need.
By searching on the internet
A large number of people use the internet as their first step in finding a local business. About 34% of people will use the internet as their first step – going to Google or another search engine, typing in the problem or what they need, and using the organic search results presented to make a decision.
Through social media
Social media makes up about 27% of those searches. Consumers rely on social media in various ways. For example, many use it as a way to learn about a company or to ask for recommendations for a company that can meet their needs. Some people go to Facebook groups, for example, and ask a large number of strangers to make a recommendation for them. Other times, it is the ads that show up in the social media channels companies use that influence them to click and connect with a company.
Through voice search
Voice search has become another large component of local searches. Voice search is any situation in which a person uses an automatic speech recognition system, such as Google, Siri, or Amazon’s Alexa, to find information. Voice search is different in how it functions, for many people, it is the fastest and easiest solution for finding the help they need. If a person is driving and needs to locate a company to change their oil, they can use voice search to find a company, call them, and schedule an appointment without actually touching their phone.
Through online reviews and word of mouth
Companies cannot ignore their reputation and the impression they make on other customers and clients. Reviews are a powerful tool for connecting people with companies. You may ask your neighbor who their eye doctor is or ask for recommendations from a friend at work for a reliable painter.
Online reviews allow people to trust strangers with those same types of recommendations. For example, a person who needs a personal injury attorney can do a quick search online for one, read reviews on Google (or through numerous other sources), and then make the decision of who to call based on another person’s recommendations.
Through TV & radio ads
There is still a strong place in marketing for TV and radio ads. If your target audience is present in these areas, then you will want to consider developing a marketing campaign that addresses those needs. However, these types of advertising tend to be harder to maximize profits for (due to the wide range of potential watchers that limit personalization) and their high costs.
Building Your Online Presence
A large portion of the customers you need are, in some way, online. To be found, your company needs to be present online, and your presence needs to be enough to ensure that you stand out from the competition. There are several core ways you can do this:
Your website
Your website is the hub of your online presence. It is where people who know of your business will automatically search for it, but it is also the location people will land when they Google a service you offer and your site pops up in the organic search results. To ensure your website is helping to build your online presence, you need to focus on:
- Local SEO: Incorporating local SEO strategies into your website is critical. A component of this will include using location information on your pages. Local SEO ensures that people who are located within your geographic area can find you specifically.
- Speed: One of the biggest drawbacks for many people is a slow-moving website. You have seconds – under just 5 seconds, in fact – for your site to load before a person will go back and choose another provider instead.
Social media
Local businesses need to be present on social media. For most businesses, this means creating a profile on larger sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok and YouTube. To maximize the benefits that social media can bring to you, consider the following tips:
- Claim your profiles. Set up pages on each one of the social media sites your target customers use.
- Build your profile and use your account. It’s not enough just to have an account; you must post to it, interact with people through it, and build out your network.
- Respond to messages from people who send them to you. This is a direct avenue for connecting with customers who are looking to use your services.
Voice search
Voice search may seem a bit more complicated because it is one of the newest methods for connecting with customers. Yet, it does not have to be difficult to do. In fact, you can build your online presence using voice search without a lot of time invested on an ongoing basis. Here’s how to do it:
- Optimize your directory listings. This includes your Google Business Profile and Yelp to start with as these are the two platforms that power voice search results: Google Business Profile on Google and Yelp profiles on Apple and Alexa searches. If there are industry-specific directory listings, update those as well. Ensure the information is accurate and exactly the same from one site to the next.
- Create website content that responds well to voice results. It should be conversational, for example.
- Create question-and-answer content for your website that includes local signals. That means it should include your service areas. Answer questions that people may ask to voice search services on your site.
Reviews
Though many people despise customer reviews, worrying about them on a consistent basis can be one of the most important tools you have for building your business and online presence. People trust online reviews because they know the person responding is someone like them who needs what they need. In order to get the most out of online reviews to boost your online presence, consider the following tips:
- Get more reviews. That sounds hard to do, but often, the best way to do so is to ask your existing customers for them. Focus on getting reviews on the platforms that matter the most for your marketing efforts, such as Google, Facebook, Nextdoor, Yelp, and others.
- Utilize tools and strategies that encourage customers to send reviews to you, such as text messages and emails that specifically ask for reviews.
Advertising
In building your online presence, do not overlook the value and importance of advertising. Advertising involves paying for your ads to be placed on various sites. Without a doubt, there is still value in placing ads, especially when done with careful attention to reaching your target audience.
- Create highly targeted ads that get the attention of your target audience.
- Compliment your PPC ads with tried and true advertising methods like radio and TV, as this can help expand your reach and connect you to more of the customers you need.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform Demo
Understanding where your customers are online is one of the foundations of your overall success when it comes to building your online presence and your company itself. There are a lot of opportunities for touchpoints, and in every situation, versatility matters. However, that also seems like a lot of work. This is where Surefire Local can offer some resources.
Surefire Local provides business intelligence marketing software at a fraction of the cost of other tools and agencies. It enables you to manage the most important online marketing activities for your business within one platform, streamline your efforts, and maximize your success.
Optimize your lead generation, reduce your cost-per-lead, and generate more revenue for your business using Surefire Local’s all-in-one marketing platform. Now is the perfect time to learn more about it. Set up a free demo to learn how it can work for you.