Lately, I’ve become more and more frustrated with local companies.
My family and I have lived in three different cities in the last three and a half years. Each time we move, we need to get to know a city and we always have basic questions.
Where do we grocery shop?
What are good family restaurants?
What is there to do here?
What are the best bike and running shops?
etc. etc. etc.
Now that we’ve been living in Charlottesville for some time, we’re starting to learn about the area and get familiar with the local businesses. There are a few local companies that excel in brand awareness. They have a solid mix of SEO, TV/radio ads, and other digital and traditional strategies as part of their overall approach. As I explore each day, I am more convinced that a digital strategy is a must-have for any business. I once thought this was only for certain industries, but I now believe it’s essential for everyone. Whether you’re in professional services or selling a product, people turn to the web first. They will find you ahead of your competitors and are more likely to become clients based on your search rankings. Plus, they’ll stick with you and refer others because of the experience you offer.
Don’t get me wrong, potential clients may see your traditional advertisement and gain interest, but they won’t remember your phone number. They will search for your name or go directly to your website.
In recent years, organizations have come to understand that their online presence is just as important, if not more so, than their offline presence. They invest a lot of time, energy, employee resources, and money to create the ideal digital marketing strategy. They research keywords, enhance their website’s appearance, concentrate on their brand, and try to move their sales process and value proposition online. So, what comes next?
Over the past few months, I have done a massive amount of Google searching for local companies. I’ve searched for appliance repair, painting, general contractors, lawn services, and pest control. Each time, I did what over 93% of internet searchers do. I Googled my term and clicked on the first two or three results. I never went past the first page of results. Because all of my inquiries were fairly straight forward, I opted to fill out a simple web form instead of being stuck on the phone with a sales guy. My inquiry was simple, I have a problem and you seem to have a solution. Call me or write me back so you can come out and perform your service. It couldn’t be easier for them. I basically said, I have money and an immediate need. Come do whatever it is that you do, and I will pay you. The sale was done for them! Well, in every case, my first contact never responded so I had to go back and write at least one other company in order to get a response. It was frustrating.
This made me ask the obvious question. Why are these companies spending all of this money on traditional advertising, web development, conversion points (even as simple as an inquiry form) and SEO? Think of it this way – What would the owners of these businesses do if their sales people ignored leads that came right to them with wallets open? They would fire them of course. It seems pretty intuitive, but if you have sales forms on your site, make sure you follow up on them. Not only are you losing direct business, but your are also damaging your brand.
Hello, I would like to hire you…
As an example, there are two main pest control companies that advertise constantly. I’ve seen their ads on TV, heard their ads on the radio. They are everywhere. I had a need, and contacted both via their websites. In both instances, I got no response. To rephrase, I had a serious need, so I went back and found an email address and emailed them directly. Still no response. Next I took to twitter. My tweet was something along the lines of
“@CompanyA & @CompanyB I need your services and neither of you responded to inquiries. Do you want my business?”
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
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