Let's time-travel backwards, say fifteen years ago, to the good old days when the Yellow Pages arrived as a massive directory of everything essential, needed and nearby. Sure, we had white pages too, and even smaller, more local phone books, but now, instead of just placing your classified listing, or perhaps even a print advertisement, you now have choices and options which range from Bing to Yelp. While each website or network may offer a slightly different version of your information, the premise is the same; selling advertising space to customer-seeking local companies, nonprofits and business destinations. In this myriad of choices, some cost-driven, others free but with limitations, where does your listing stack up? Are you easily found when a short description or neighborhood term is entered online? If you are not returning a slew of options and links to an online query let me assure you that someone else (your competitors), are.
Enter the elephant(s) in the room, a particular way of thinking in regards to social media branding, advertising and promotion. It's one we've come to identify as The Argument Against Online Marketing, and can be defined by phrases such as "We already have a great retail location", "Everyone knows about us", and the popular "But we don't think our customers really use social media much". To that we say, for starters, to take a look at all the popular brands and chains and entities which are utilizing online connections and social media. Does it seem logical that they would waste their time and resources developing a brand which includes each and every layer of interactions? Those icons you see appearing at the end of a TV commercial, on a rotating electronic billboard, or scurrying across the screen of your mobile device; they are there for a reason. And if the big guys are building their global strategy, why wouldn't you?
Let's consider, for a bit, that you have indeed opted out of social engagement and online site listings. Maybe you don't really think I'm barking up the right tree, and perhaps this all seems very tiresome and tedious, not to mention costly by the time you hire someone to deal with it all. For purposes of debate, let's say that your business, a fabulous niche market of a restaurant is always busy. Reservations are stacked up and word of mouth among the food critics as well as the public alike is all spectacular, all the time. What's to gain from adding more work to your plate, so to speak? Who is going to manage your online reputation and aren't you opening a can of well, something which looks like a heck of a lot more like aggravation? Consider if you will, the following scenarios:
• You have a connection to your customers, but it is one which they can easily share with others? Do the adult children of your best customers know of this amazing culinary experience, one to which a gift card would be the ideal Christmas gift? Does the rest of the family know you offer a party room suitable for hosting an upcoming anniversary so they can book a large group?
• Hard work and dedication have paid off and your dining experience is amazing. Competition is scarce, and even when another restaurant has opened up in the same zip code it doesn't last. Why then, does the online presence really matter? Answer: it matters just around the time when someone who knows their business as well as you, and who has the funding to create another masterpiece across the street, hangs out their sign. If you have squashed the competition for years, consider yourself lucky, however maintaining that top spot is difficult for anyone to do forever. What IF competition comes in and they dominate the social media scene, engaging daily with the millennials who are their new guests, along with wowing and delighting their existing customers, your old customers. Where then, will you rank on that playing field?
• Change is inevitable, along with construction and growth among towns, cities and communities. Your main street, once a vibrant selection of stores and entertainment, has aged and faded, and the beloved cornerstones of retail shops are closing their doors. You are here still, on the same corner, but now as one of the last remaining businesses. The vibe has changed; no longer do people come to stroll on the plaza as they once did, and when your restaurant is the only place casting light across a dim street, your diners begin to fade away too. Solutions? Rebrand, expand, or relocate? Perhaps one or more of these suggestions are perfect, except for the part where you can't communicate with all of your customers - because you don't have time for a mass mailing and even if you did, there's been little incentive to establish an email list or newsletter connection. You begin to advise regular customers of your plans, run a few print ads and post signage indicating your pending move to a fabulously chic new spot just blocks away - but your customers have THIS location ingrained in their minds.
When they pass by and see the storefront changing over to an office space, will they assume the worst and drive on? Did you provide your business with the opportunity for a multi-faceted campaign to tell the world of your move? Can you reach out to and connect with not only your long-time fans, but a new audience as well? I'll be blunt here; if you have been around and in business for decades, you may have built an empire - but even an empire ages and begins to fade away. You can't just be relying on the over-50 crowd which started enjoying your meals decades ago. To stay at the top of your game, and to remain relevant to both your current audience as well as potential new customers - we encourage you to think about the big picture as individual, separate and distinct segments, which together create one spectacular combined result.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this post of value and to see more of my tips and marketing suggestions check out my other sites. Have a great day!
