I’ve been speaking a lot lately with face to face, bricks and mortar businesses, who don’t see the benefits of being online. And I get it. When your clients come to you through face to face networking, word of mouth, or off the street, what’s the point of updating your website or investing time in social media? If your business is done ‘in real life’ rather than online, why bother. Well, as you’ll not be surprised to hear if you’re a regular reader of this blog, the reasons are threefold.
One: Your customers are there
Your business may not be online, but I’ll bet your customers are. These days the majority of the population spend time online. The biggest rise of subscribers to Facebook, based on age demographics is in the over 60s: age is no longer a barrier to being online. And with the rise in smartphones, you don’t even need a computer! So if your customers are online and you’re not, you’re missing out.
Two: You’re missing an amazing opportunity to show what you can do
Yes, I know, my headlines need some work! Anyway, did you know that you can post whatever you want on your blog? It doesn’t have to be post after post of written articles. Some people would even say that variety is the spice of life, and your blog should be a mix of different types of posts. One of those people would be me, in a do-what-I-say-not-as-I-do kind of a way – ‘I’m a writer’ is my excuse. My point is this: you can post whatever you like. Handy tips, before and after shots, Q & As, quizzes, case studies, useful information, news articles, photos, videos, audio, book reviews. There’s no limit. So a blog can be a handy online store of all sorts of useful information that you might like to share with your customers. So that when someone says, ‘oh wouldn’t it be great if..’, you can refer them to your blog to show them when you’ve done it, and how it turned out.
Because here’s where it gets interesting. When you meet someone you get one shot to convince them to buy from you. But most people need more than one shot to be convinced. And different people need a different number of times to be convinced. In marketing terms it’s called touches, and a touch can be anything from someone else saying they liked it, to seeing the evidence with your own eyes, to receiving an email. I’m relatively easy to convince in comparison to the husband. For a few years we’d both known that we needed to lose weight and get fit. My hairdresser told me about a personal trainer who was getting great results with his friends, and that conversation, along with a visit to the trainer’s website, and a 3o minute consultation with her was enough to convince me. It took me three months to convince the husband to meet with her. He’s a long convincer, I’m a short convincer. The point is, even I need more than a couple of touches before I’ll buy something I know I need.
Three: Your competitors are there
Do I even need to bother writing a paragraph here? Your competitors are online, hoovering up all the customers that could be yours. They’re demonstrating their expertise, showing-off their experience, and showing your potential customers why they should choose them instead of you. Grrrr!
There are loads of reasons for having a blog. It gives your customers a chance to get to know, like and trust you before they’ve even met you. And it’s great for showing that you understand them, get their problems, and know how best to solve them. It’s a no-brainer really.
Business Blogging Toolkit
If you want to start blogging but don’t know where to start, Business Blogging Toolkit is perfect for you. It helps you set strong foundations, get clear on who your ideal customers are, generate content they’ll love, plan it all out, and write great posts. And at only £17, it’s the snip of the century! A no-brainer to start your no-brainer 😉