Business Start-up Questions
Brandon Bobart ??
We help small business owners (< 5 million in revenue) build their entire marketing team for the price of one full-time employee.
Are you considering starting a new business?
That’s great! COVID has left many previously successful business models floundering.
The true entrepreneurs are pivoting right now.
However, just because you have a clear path to success with a home-run business concept; doesn’t mean you know the steps to take to get there.
This is especially true within the digital marketing world.
First of all, it’s a constantly changing sector. What was true in 2019, doesn’t always hold true today.
I wanted to devote a blog to some key steps you need to take to get the digital side of your new business up and running!
Google My Business
One of the things that still shocks me. Businesses don’t have their Google My Business page up (now don’t judge my own page, I’m stuck in Google limbo right now!! I’ve verified).
Once you’ve established your business, you will want to visit the business.google.com page. From there, you can establish your place of business, website information, phone number, etc. This is so important if your business hopes to derive business from organic Google search.
It’s even MORE important if your business requires customers to physically visit your location for you to derive value. If they can’t find it in the local “SEO pack” or Google Maps, most likely you’re losing customers.
Once you’re verified and can confirm that your business is listed on GMB; make sure you download the GMB app.
It’s an extremely handy way to access your GMB page, make posts, promote new items, and add/edit photos/videos, etc. that potential customers can see as they view your business online through their search engine inquiries.
Online Directories
Of course you’re going to list your business on Google or Facebook. That’s so 2014!
However, beyond these critical online directories, there are an additional 80+ online directories that are high-ranking places you want to list your business.
Rather than spending the time and energy to figure out who and how, give us a buzz here and let us tell you how we can do it for under two-hundred dollars...for real!
Website
Duh, you need a website! However, I’ve read studies that up to 35% of businesses still do not have dedicated websites for their business.
I’d venture that a large percentage of the websites that do exist are of low-quality, have slow load times, and are not mobile optimized.
There are literally dozens of routes you can go when it comes to your website. Unfortunately, I see so many first-time/new business owners go for the simple drag and drop web builders like a Squarespace or a Wix.
I was visiting a business this past weekend in NC. I noticed that they had a killer concept, awesome social following (19K followers for new business), but were running the most basic Wix site out there.
I tried to explain to the owner why he was operating this beautiful machine on a low quality system. He needed ways to integrate payment systems, reservation systems (his business was a ride), and a more robust customer service profile/back-end.
Wix would never be able to be SEO optimized like other options out there.
He really didn’t understand, so he became annoyed with me and dismissed our conversation.
I’d recommend it to anyone, Wordpress.com. It has so many great use cases, it runs over ? of the world’s web traffic, and is highly customizable.
Social Media
Social media can be….interesting!
It’s a double-edged sword these days.
I’ve seen some companies flourish with their strategies.
I’ve seen others fall on their own weapon.
It can seem overwhelming.
Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.
It’s easy to become lost.
Not only is making/integrating all of these different components time-consuming, it can also be unnecessary.
For example, if I’m marketing an e-commerce brand that sells Nora Fleming table settings, I am avoiding certain streams, like Twitter and LinkedIn.
On the other hand, I am working with a B2C SaaS product. We don’t do any Facebook, Instagram, or Snap advertising. We focus on LinkedIn and segmenting a target audience there.
Finding the right channel is more important than ensuring you have a mediocre representation on each channel.
If your customer isn’t looking there, who cares!
If you decide that you want a presence on each channel, then I highly recommend a social media management tool like Cloud Campaign! They have great features for clients to easily schedule, automate, curate, etc. a professional social media stream across all relevant channels.
Business Phone Number
Trust me, you don’t want them to have your cell-phone! However, more and more, folks are less reliant on a physical location to do business. What’s the solution?
I’ve chosen to create a One Talk account from Verizon. This allows me to have a separate business number for all my interactions, but allows it live on my cell phone!
I can even set it up to forward to my cell phone, should I not notice it rings.
I think it’s great for a couple of reasons:
- Keeps personal/private interactions separate.
- Allows me to market different numbers in different zip codes (folks like local numbers more!)
- Actually reduces my monthly bill!
If you ever decide that you actually want the physical handset, you can always add it down the line!
Advertising
First of all, do you plan to advertise?
What’s the budget?
What channel(s) do you plan on focusing on?
What’s the target audience?
What keyword(s) will they be searching?
It can become overwhelming very quickly.
I so often see new clients marketing for keywords that NO ONE is searching for! If no one is searching for it, you don’t want to devote time to ranking for it.
Web Hosting
Yes, you could host your website on Wordpress.com, but that is not going to be the most reliable way long-term. I recommend other hosting options. Check out Siteground.com or Dreamhost.com.
CRM
A whaaat? A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool is critical to any online business’ growth!
It allows you to keep track of ALL of your customers, their critical information, notes, contact information, purchase history, etc. within one handy piece of software.
Like website builders, there are hundreds of CRM tools available.
I’ve had experience with Hubspot. Hubspot is great, but can be a little cost-prohibitive for smaller companies.
I’d suggest checking out companies like Kaep. They are a touch more small scale.
Keep on working hard on your dreams! Consistent, daily progress towards your goals is the only way to get there. It’s not a marathon it’s a sprint!