Why is digital marketing so important for SMEs?

For a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME), having a firm grasp on digital marketing can be a huge advantage, setting your company apart from the competition and even rivalling leaders in the industry. We are well and truly living in a digital age, so your business needs to adjust to the changing times in order to succeed. Opening up your business to the world of digital marketing can provide unlimited opportunities for your business to grow, not just locally, but nationally and even globally. 

Knowing some of the intricacies of digital marketing and its uses is hugely beneficial, ultimately giving your business the best chance to succeed. This is something that we at Active Internet Marketing (UK) are well versed in and provide our clients with. Bearing this in mind, we thought we would share with you exactly why digital marketing is important for SMEs.

Improve Customer Relationships

If used correctly, digital marketing can drastically improve the relationship between your company and its customers. Digital marketing is not just about website content, it is also about having an understanding of what your customers want – what is working for them and what isn’t. This can be especially important for SMEs who are in the process of building their audience. Gaining knowledge about what is first attracting people to a website can allow a business to capitalise on this and make the appropriate changes to ensure that they keep coming back for more, telling a few friends along the way.

Engaging with your customers through social media posts, emails campaigns and publishing digital testimonials are all ways in which you can use digital marketing techniques to interact with your customers. Doing this will improve your chances of gaining a loyal client base, meaning they are more likely to become repeat customers and recommend your company to their friends and family.

Cheaper Than Traditional Methods

Investing in digital marketing as opposed to more traditional means of marketing can be a huge money saver for your business. Marketing tactics such as newspaper, radio or television adverts can be extremely expensive, especially for SMEs who haven’t got the same financial resources as more established companies.

Comparatively, digital marketing is a far cheaper option, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. So many of the struggles of starting and maintaining an SME is linked to financial stress, so having this cheaper alternate way of marketing which can even be more effective, is a must for new businesses.

Once you have your own website, you have a blank canvas to impress your customers and show them exactly what your company is all about. With organic searches counting for the vast majority of website traffic, as opposed to paid-for campaigns, this shows that you don’t have to spend the big bucks on adverts to gain attention. If your website benefits from being run by someone who has experience in digital marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), then your business’ website can be on the first page of Google, making it one of the first things prospective customers see when they search for a relevant service.  

Compete With Big Businesses 

Our previous point leads nicely onto how digital marketing can allow your SME to compete with the biggest businesses in your industry. In the world of digital marketing, experience, ingenuity, creativity and having an understanding of your customers count for a lot more how much money you are able to spend. This means that it is more than viable for SMEs to challenge big companies for web traffic.

Bigger companies may have some somewhat of a monopoly of traditional means of marketing and advertising, but in the world of digital marketing, there is far more of an even playing field. It is important to ensure that you have people with a strong understanding of digital marketing making the appropriate adjustments to your online presence. 

At the end of the day, Google rankings do not care how big or well known a company is outside of the internet. If an SME is putting in the time and effort into digital marketing, SEO rankings and social media management, then they are way more likely to have greater online success than a larger, more established company that may not feel it is worth the investment. 

Expand Your Audience

Digital Marketing’s biggest advantage over more traditional marketing is the size of audience you can potentially reach. If you have an online presence, there is the possibility that your business can be seen from all corners of the globe. Purchasing some advertising space in your local newspaper or radio station can be an effective way to drum up local business, but for further reach to nationwide or global customers, digital marketing is the way to go.

Over 219 countries worldwide use Google search engine. It is needless to say that no matter the size of your local radio station or newspaper’s reach, they cannot compare to the scope that the internet and Google has to offer. Even if your business is not at the point at which it wants to trade internationally, having strong Google rankings in your home country alone can drastically improve customer interaction with your company, creating far more business in the process.

One of the biggest challenges that SMEs face is maintaining and growing their customer base. Using effective digital marketing techniques, more people than ever will be able to view your website and see the services your company has to offer.

Active Internet Marketing (UK)

Here at Active Internet Marketing (UK), we pride ourselves on being able to provide all of our clients with industry experience and digital marketing expertise. We work alongside all our clients to offer them a bespoke service, targeted to their specific needs.

If you would like to get in touch with Active Internet Marketing (UK), you can fill out our online contact form or give us a call on 01604 765 796, where you can book a free, no obligation web audit.