by Chris Barnard | Sep 28, 2011 | Local Search
In the past week we’ve examined, or at least loosely discussed, how all of this social media, local search, and mobile marketing buzz affects our local Carlsbad small businesses.
SoLoMo digital marketing is here to stay, embrace it sooner rather than later to save money and capitalize on opportunity while competitors languish or make excuses.
In Part 1 of our Google buying Zagat examination – we use that term loosely – we chose to highlight how that Wall St. acquisition impacts Main St. small businesses right here in Carlsbad. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Sep 22, 2011 | Digital Marketing
Small businesses across the world all share one common need to sustain growth; new customers.
Communicating with these potential and existing customers within their local community seems to still be in the dark ages.
At least the analog ages.
Or, more often than not most small businesses rely on existing customer word of mouth to generate new customer referrals.
Never mind wasting unbelievable amounts of money on local newspaper, Pennysaver ads, or 15 different yellow pages books that find their way immediately to the recycle bin. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Jul 7, 2011 | Mobile Phone Marketing
We’ve seen these digitally rendered splotches before, and we will most likely continue to see these mobile-friendly bar codes as our phones become the number one way to access this metastasizing thing we call the Internet.
What is a QR code?
QR stands for quick response; the code part enables you to implant your local San Diego small business digital footprint up the mobile-enhanced digital information superhighway of the local constituency.
A QR code stores information about your business that you’d like to communicate; people can then scan your specific QR code and see the info you’d like presented.
This allows you to not only connect your customers with your local business; properly implemented QR codes can also allow your increasingly mobile customers to digitally connect with each other.
And connect that all back to your digital footprint…and front door. Mobile marketing will only continue to get further integrated into our daily lives, will you be an early adopter or band-wagoner?
By simply downloading a (FREE) reader application onto our mobile phones, we can then scan any QR code and see the quick results.
So, as a consumer we need a reader to view the info stored in the favorite local business’s QR code.
As a favorite local business owner, we need to generate a code so that we can communicate whatever message we’re looking to send.
To generate a QR code for our own Carlsbad small businesses, we can search for any QR code reader online, hook up with one free by confirming your Bing Business Portal listing, or check out this site that supposedly ranks some of the best QR readers.
You can also click here to read more about implementing QR codes into your San Diego business digital marketing plan. Or check out this blog post for more ideas and background on QR codes.
What can I do with it?
QR codes can communicate your website URL, Carlsbad business social media identities, geo-location coordinates, even discounts and promotions. Basically the code can communicate whatever message you wish to send to your customers and/or potential customers.
Just like you’d use direct mail or a radio spot to broadcast the next big deal or killer sale, a QR code enables you to do the same thing.
The goal is connecting and communicating with your existing customers and recruiting new local brand ambassadors.
How you use it will probably depend a lot on what you sell, and how you deliver your products or services.
If you own a fishing charter, you can update the daily catch.
If you own a dry cleaner, you can offer a discount for local restaurant workers.
If you own a local watering hole you can connect patrons will local cab companies.
Whatever message you wish to send will probably evolve, change, or expire. That’s ok, and all part of the process.
By getting your hands dirty by first doing the research then generating the code, your mind will already be spinning with ideas to incorporate into your new local Carlsbad mobile QR code digital marketing campaign!
by Chris Barnard | Jun 14, 2011 | Digital Marketing
Social media for your Carlsbad business is an easy and cost-effective way to maintain communication with your customers when they are not in your store or business.
Local search is an essential ingredient to any business concerned with how people find them online.
And mobile compatibility should be on your radar if it’s not already generating return on investment and adding more local dollars to your small business’ bottom line.
For a lot of us, our business existed – and prospered in some cases – without (or before) all of this Internet mumbo jumbo.
Isn’t all of this digital marketing stuff for kids and geeky shut-ins who’d rather slam away on a keyboard rather than gulp some fresh air?
It is essential for us to realize this most fundamental and foundational element of local Carlsbad small business digital marketing success.
Like Lotto, we need to be in it to win it.
As local business owners we hear about all the advantages social media, or listen to a cross-section of customers, colleagues, family members, and caffeine addicted bloggers…but we don’t take action.
And forget about local search and mobile integration, those are otherworldly terms that spark feelings of dread from some local small business owners.
Dread because we don’t know what this stuff means, and think we’re getting shined on for useless services directed at making the ad agency or marketing company money, not the local mom & pop.
Online is where it’s at folks, and it’s not for just the kids and cool people trend setters any longer. Its soccer Moms, doting Dads, yuppies, students, thirtysomethings, and even formerly technically averse grandparents have jumped on board the SoLoMo train.
When we want a friend or family member’s opinion about a product or service, we ask – social media.
When we are looking for products or services, we search online – local search.
How we access this digital environment to search or speak, is shifting – mobile integration.
Communication used to be one to one. Now it’s many to many…and digital marketing is our force multiplier.
Technology + Communication = digital word of mouth for the local Carlsbad small business.
And word of mouth is as grass-roots and cost-effective as we can get.
Social media, local search, digital whatever, and mobile this or that, are all TOOLS allowing our local Carlsbad small businesses to effectively communicate using this digital medium we all flock to before the sleep is even out of our eyes.
In the last 30 days, how many people searched online for products or services you currently provide?
To further narrow it down, wouldn’t it be great if you could determine how many people searched online for similar terms right in our immediate Carlsbad area?
You can find the answer to dynamic keyword research here – at least according to Google.
Go nuts, play around…and envision your local Carlsbad digital marketing potential!
by Chris Barnard | May 17, 2011 | Reviews and Citations
If it’s a donut shop on Roosevelt, a plumber off El Camino, or a nail salon on Carlsbad Village Drive; online visibility combined with a digital word of mouth strategy can begin to shape your local small business virtual footprint.
Local consumers are the lifeblood of any small business; do you know what your customers are saying about your business through the many review and local search sites out there?
A happy customer is your greatest advertisement!
This isn’t a time to shy away from the difficult questions, local online visibility is often the primary concern for Carlsbad small business owners in today’s evolving social marketplace. Right after making sure the lights are on and the cash register is operating correctly, local online visibility needs to be addressed or your business will not survive.
In a very short time we’ll all be accessing the Internet more from our mobile phones than any other source, and we’ll be instantly sharing our shopping – and let’s hope buying – experience with not only our ever-growing list of virtual friends, but also our local communities, and the general world at large.
If your local business isn’t part of the conversation you’re not only missing out on new customers, you could be losing once loyal existing customers to the competition.
Establish a Plan
This doesn’t have to be intricate, overly expensive, or very difficult. But it will cost you time to effectively develop, execute, and integrate digital word of mouth strategies into your local Carlsbad small business marketing plan. The best place to start is at the beginning, with a plan.
Plan what it is you want to get out of your digital marketing efforts; is it more new customers, is it improved customer feedback, is it amplified digital word of mouth???
First you will need to establish an online identity for your local Carlsbad small business if you don’t already have one. This could mean a website, or it could mean a Facebook Business page. The bottom line is your need some place to send people who either searched for and found your business information online, or are already existing customers.
Consider this your online command and control center, you want to direct local customers to leave reviews in your chosen environment AND their chosen environment.
Some people rule die-hard Foursquare® fiefdoms, others align more with Angieslist®. You want to encourage and facilitate your customer to communicate their dWOM in as many places as possible, but be sure to use your online command and control center as the primary repository. That way you control it.
You need to provide this place to the local consumer AND you also need to transmit that business information to the most popular local search and review sites used in your area.
This will be your online business identity – a website, a blog, a Facebook Business page…a virtual representation of not only your business contact info but also your products, services, and digital word of mouth.
Execute
Once you have an established online identity for your local Carlsbad business you can then begin to execute your plan to elicit, capture, and locally broadcast your digital word of mouth.
For every single customer than enters your doors or secures your business for a job, you want to ask them for a digital review of your small business. Direct customers to your website or Facebook Page, or direct them to the growing list of local search review sites out there – or both.
- Add a ‘tell a friend’ option to your website.
- Start a weekly or monthly (or quarterly) newsletter.
- Ask “Would you mind leaving us a review and help us build our business?”
Encourage feedback, and be ready for it. Remember, this isn’t a time for shying away from difficult questions. You should have already performed a serious look in the mirror as it relates to your business, as discussed in this past 1Local blog post.
Evolve
Be ready for change, it will come. An adaptive fluid strategy to collecting and syndicating local digital word of mouth will allow you to adjust to those changes and continually nurture your dWOM.
What happens to be the most popular local search site today in our immediate Carlsbad area may not be tomorrow. The best way to determine success with your digital word of mouth is to track your efforts and continually monitor the environment on a regular basis.
When you notice a trend, embrace it. If you determine one method of review collection is wasteful, adjust your methods. Just be sure to continue your digital word of mouth marketing efforts at all costs. If you’re not noticing results, analyze the situation and identify the possible reasons, then take action to overcome the challenges.
As mentioned earlier, mobile access is growing and is predicted to shortly become our chosen method of choice when connecting to the Internet. You should already have a mobile app for your business or a mobile version of your website, you should be looking into how QR codes can help recruit new customers…and even up your Carlsbad business’ digital word of mouth!
