Is digital marketing changing for SMBs?

When it comes to online services, like digital marketing and web design, the goalposts are always moving. One week a certain chain of events can almost guarantee the right outcome for your business, but the next, you will need to change focus. That’s why simply creating a website for your business online is not enough. This will need to be updated, improved and built upon regularly, to keep ranking highly in the search results, and to keep creating a positive user experience. And the same is true for your digital marketing strategy. For years you might have kept your website up to date, created new content weekly, and then shared this across your social media platforms. But now, this is no longer enough. Digital marketing is adapting to the needs of your potential customers, as well as utilizing new technologies. And this means developing new practices. But how is digital marketing changing for SMBs? And how can your business keep up? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design, we are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals. We provide valuable web design, SEO, and marketing solutions to a range of clients, across the North West, including Southport and Wigan, as well as Manchester. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything small businesses need to know about changing digital marketing practices.

How is digital marketing changing for SMBs?

Digital marketing is changing, because the online world is changing. Digital marketing is changing in a number of areas, including:

• understanding the potential customer
• utilizing growing technology

For any SMB, keeping up with these changes is an important part of remaining successful and competitive online.

Digital marketing and understanding the potential customer

Digital marketing has always been focused on reaching the user, anticipating their questions, demands or requirements, and providing the right information. From social media profiles that help build consumer trust, to video explainer content discussing new products or services, the user has always been at the centre of digital marketing. But the future of digital marketing is to take this customer focus to the next level, and understand that the user drives the purchasing process. It will involve:

• Creating different customer profiles based on different demographics, and then producing content to reach specific audience types. Currently, the main focus of digital marketing is content that reaches your whole audience. But by sub-categorising, and targeting different areas, you can meet your audience where they are, and increase sales or sign ups.
• Focusing on the customer journey, instead of marketing goals. Because once you get the customer journey right, you should see an increase in conversions and sales as a result. You should be creating content for different parts of the user journey, from brand/product awareness, right through to the purchase, and beyond.

Digital marketing and advances in technology

Some of the biggest changes are coming from advances in technology. Again though, these changes in technology are based on changing user goals and behaviour. For example, for potential customers who need to find quick answers to basic questions, voice search is the quickest way to provide this. So what should your digital marketing strategy be considering? Well there are several important areas, including:

• Chat-bots for social media and your website. A chat bot can be programmed to answer specific questions about your company or your products/services. This can help your potential customers get answers instantly, without having to wait around, improving the user experience and increasing your business potential.
• Voice search results. You need to make sure that your website is ranking for voice search results, and that information about your store, products or services can be found by a simple voice search. This can help increase brand awareness, as well as meet the needs of your potential customers.

As you can see, digital marketing is changing to adapt to the needs of the users, and to new technology. Why not get in touch with leading digital marketing experts, here at Pumpkin Web Design, for professional, results driven digital marketing support?