You’ve done your research and studied your data. You understand your customer’s path to purchase and recognize the importance of an integrated multimedia plan that engages your customer throughout their journey. You’ve invested in media, developed your creative messaging, and are in-market engaging customers and potential customers toward driving conversions. What could go wrong?
You could be driving your customers to your competitors.
It is well understood that the strongest local businesses have a comprehensive marketing strategy that raises brand awareness, improves searchability, and creates trust in the marketplace.
But regretfully, many local businesses fail to manage the entirety of their marketing strategy:
- They don’t create awareness despite 75% of customers preferring to buy from a brand they know.
- They are not found in local search despite local search accounting for more than 48% of Google searches.
- They’ve not built trust with customers via social proof, failing to recognize that 89% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase.
For a local business, not paying enough attention to the consideration stage of the journey, including managing their reputation in customer reviews, can be a stumbling point.
Imagine a scenario where you’re looking to remodel your kitchen. You’ve learned about a local business and their services through display advertising you’ve seen. When you’ve searched for their services, they show up as the first Google result.
This business has clearly invested in their marketing.
But when you read their reviews, you notice they have some bad reviews and have not engaged to resolve them…They’ve been silent. Are you going to hire this firm for your remodel? Not likely.
Worse yet, a competitor business with much better review ratings are just a bit further down the screen. That’s the firm you call.
The first business has made all the right investments in the customer journey, up until the consideration stage…Only to render those investments lost while handing the lead and conversion over to a competitor.
They’ve just marketed for their competition.
This is the danger of not having a comprehensive strategy. Strategy based on the WHOLE customer journey is stronger than strategies based on channels in isolation.
Marketing to the full customer journey is important because it enables a business to tailor their marketing messages and experiences to be more relevant, ultimately leading to increased customer engagement, trust, satisfaction, loyalty, and conversions…And avoids spending valuable marketing dollars that only help your competition.
If you’re interested in learning more about integrated multimedia marketing for the customer journey and the importance of customer reviews and reputation management, Sentinel Solutions can be of assistance.
Give us a call at 603-352-5896 or send us an e-mail to advertising@SentinelDigitalSoutions.com if we can be of help.
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