Small and Medium Businesses leveraging the Internet
Frank Reed raises some questions in his post Small and Medium Business (SMB) Search Marketing – What’s the Deal? about Search Marketing in SMB’s:
- What is the adoption rate of search marketing?
- Still wasting money on bad spent ads? (like Yellow Pages)
- Drivers to move to the internet?
- What provider to choose?
This has been picked up by Mike Moran in his post where he claims that Small Businesses Need the Internet in order to make more from less.
He points out that there are several hurdles:
- The Internet is still too hard
- Search or Internet marketing as it is a bit scary for them.
- Inertia
- The complexity of the technology: website, SEO, JavaScript, …
We completely agree on all of the above, still we would like to think one step beyond, as we consider having a website and search marketing as a first step:
- How to write and bring the necessary and interesting content? The website needs visitors.
- What would a SMB company get from search marketing efforts?
- What would their website bring as leads?
- Would the website generate new customers?
- Would the website initiate a conversation with potential customers?
- Would their current customers use the communication channel provided?
- Would it decrease sales and marketing costs or increase sales?
- Would Sales get things done and follow-up on leads?
Much depends on the type of business:
- B2C or B2B
- Distributor, Reseller or Retail
- Selling online or not
- Low or high value item or services sales
In B2B LEADSExplorer offers a solution in order to:
- Get leads from the website
- Use the website visit data throughout the sales process
- Nurture the leads or customers
- Combine your website with a CRM
- Feel the pulse of your website for every customer or lead.
- Have the CRM as a source of information instead a data entry application
This beyond having a website and execute search marketing, as this solution involves the website into the lead generation and sales process.
LEADSExplorer leverages the investments already made in the first step.
