The biggest problem in any small business owner has always comes down to one simple thing.
In short, how do we make sure our website reaches new people in our market and engages them to do business with us?
In 2024, business owners are grappling with a host of issues that are making it more and more difficult to get new customers, clients, or patients without overspending.
The rising costs of local and digital marketing means it's critically important that our time and money are invested in the efforts, strategies, and tactics that actually produce results.
Today, we'll be covering the following:
Part 1: The 4 reasons it's gotten harder for service providers to get new customers.
Part 2: The 3 core things your business has to do in order to be attractive to people searching for what they offer.
Part 3: The 10 secret features behind Websites that generate local customers on Autopilot for Small Businesses
Part 4: How to implement this strategy in your business this week.
Let's dive in...
Part 1:
The 4 reasons it's gotten harder for service providers to grow in 2024.
Like it or not, it's more difficult to get customers now than it used to be. There are a lot of reasons for that but we can organize all of those reasons into the following 4 categories.
The 4 Reasons it's gotten harder to get new customers in the last 5 years.
You've probably noticed it happening in your local area over the last few years. There has been a huge increase in the number of direct competitors and this can easily amount to less local buyers to go around for each of you in an area.
The general public often doesn't understand the difference between you and your competitors at a glance so, with this increased presence of competition, it's important that we do things to help our business stand out (more on that in the next section).
Too many times, we see business owners get comfortable with their place in the market and they just stop marketing to drive future (consistent) growth. While this can work for a short period of time for more established businesses, that eventually leads to all kinds of problems like unpredictable lead flow or slower periods.
It's incredibly important that we have a marketing plan to constantly expose new potential new folks to our business so that we can benefit from a steady lead flow for the long term.
One of the biggest business killers is failing to educate your marketplace about your business. It's important to always give away a certain level of your expertise and knowledge in order to exhibit that you're an expert in your field and it's also important to market your reputation.
And when they reach out, being the first to respond and following up until the sales is closed is also critical. Especially in larger priced home services projects, and the distracted lives of consumers and busy business owners. Staying top of mind with follow up can help you win over your competition.
These are easily the most effective ways to establish your credibility and stand out from the competition in your local market.
The cheapest and most effective way to reach your customers is through the internet. And now that 92% of consumers start their search for local service providers on Google, it's important to be visible online when people search for your services.
Even your word-of-mouth referrals are going to research you online to see if you're reputable before calling. You may loose that referral if they don't like what they find online (or can't find your number, or find someone that looks more reputable).A business website combined with social media channels are the best places to reach your potential customer base and educate them about why your business is the only choice when they need installation, repair, or maintenance services.
With all of those things working against us, how do we combat them and become more attractive to the potential customers in our Local Markets?
Part 2:
The three core things your business has to do in order to be attractive to new potential people searching for what you offer.
As a local business owner, there are two key things that we must focus on to increase your success and get more people contacting you for nexts steps or placing orders.
The 3 core things that business owners must focus on to attract revenue right now:
One of the most important things that we can do right now is to make sure that our business is a part of the "conversation" in places where our potential customers are already hanging out. We have to seek out the places where those folks already exist normally and make our business a part of that (more on how we do that in the next section).
Once we are in front of all of those new people, we need to make sure that we have educational content in front of them that will exhibit our expertise and help them wrap their heads around the true nature of the problem that they are trying to solve. We need to educate our market, delivering them "information in advance" and helping them explore project ideas. This causes them to bond with our business before they ever reach out. This creates a desire to work with you over your competition.
In this fast-paced digital era, accommodating the modern lifestyle and preferences is essential. Enabling convenient and secure browsing options is really important so you aren't scaring more people away than you attract.
Since 92% of consumers research a local company online before contacting them, it's important to make sure your website and your online presence across profiles is in order.
Plus, Google requires a secure website, with the lock icon showing in the top of the browser bar next to where your domain shows up. Or else, people will get a scary warning about visiting the site and will be hesitant to stay and your website will also get pushed down in search where no one can find you.
And in addition to embracing a modern and secure website, effective communication is also crucial for fostering meaningful connections during sales and service conversations.
By enabling two-way texting on our website , we open up a direct and instant line of communication that converts.
That all sounds good in theory, but how do we actually increase our visibility, educate all of those "new eyeballs" on the value behind what we do everyday in our business, and embrace secure, and modern technology to increase revenue (without overspending)?
Part 3:
The 10 secret features behind Websites that generate local customers on Autopilot for Small Businesses
As the way that new customers find you leans more and more digital these days, it’s important that your website is on point and set up to convert visitors into customers.
But… what does that even mean?
Isn’t just having a website good enough?
No. A poorly thought out website can actually cost you customers.
To be successful we have to make sure that we are getting in front of our audience with our best foot forward. We also have to make sure that we're doing it in a way that isn't going to cost us an arm and a leg. We've had a ton of success doing that by following the formula that we explain below.
It's not enough to just have a website these days. You have to have one that looks good and is easy to navigate.
There is nothing worse than having a website that looks like it was designed in 1995 and hasn't been touched since. Having an outdated website telegraphs that you and your staff don't pay attention to details and don't care about staying current. Whether it's fair or not, this can shift the way they think that you operate inside of your business as well.
It's important that you have a professional design your site to be easy to navigate and to look current. It's also extremely important that you have someone who makes sure that your site loads quickly and does weekly check-ins on your website's health (hackers are always coming up with new ways to do damage so it's key that you have a pro monitoring things for you.)
Simply put, people want to know what the inside of your business looks like before they ever decide to step foot inside of it in real life. Giving them this window into your physical location or what's going on in the field goes a long way to helping them make the decision to do business with you.
People want to know who they will be dealing with when they decide to do business with you. It's important for them to see your face and the faces of the people they'll be dealing with once they come in. Putting your staff's pictures on your website is a critical component to converting casual website visitors into paying customers.
The number one reason that people will visit your website is to figure out what your hours are, how to contact your business, and how to get to your Physical Location.
Having a page that describes your main services or products is a huge part of converting people into customers. A little bit of detail on what someone gets when they spend their hard earned money with you goes a long way.
Today's consumers typically don't just look at your website when they are deciding whether or not to do business with you. Statistics show that consumers are overwhelmingly also using Facebook to look for your business.
Linking people to your Facebook page from your website instantly gives them a way to learn more about your business without them having to look for it themselves. (we talk about why Facebook Pages are such an important piece of your marketing puzzle here.)
One of the most important parts of a great website (but most overlooked) is a piece of content that shows that you really know your craft. This content is usually educational in nature and may take the form of a blog post, email download, or digital book.
We create these for our clients (because they usually don't have time to do it themselves) and this very page is an example of the kind of content that proves your expertise in your field. We have a website, but this piece of content is the kind of thing that really helps people understand what we do and how we can help them.
This one doesn't apply to every business but is vitally important to those that it does. If you run a business that requires people to have an exam, take a test, or apply for credit, it's important to share those documents on your website.
This helps your potential customer prepare before they ever walk through the door. It also helps your staff point potential customers to essential documents when they are on the phone with them.
A great example of this would be a Chiropractic clinic having their "new patient health history" forms on their website so that new customers could fill them out before their visit.
No matter what page of your website someone happens to be on, they need a link to immediately start the process of doing business with you. This could be as simple as a link that says "call us now" (remember that a large percentage of people visiting your website will be viewing it on their mobile phones).
No one is going to trust you, or using your website, if it's not secure with the lock on it. Most will be shown a warning before ever getting to your site and they are going to have to "proceed with caution are you sure?" or something like that. They may not reach you.
And Google requires security and certain legal pages -- so without following modern protocals, those sites are being pushed down in search.. out of sight... getting harder to find...beat out by their competitors that are doing things right.
This is how we’re text-enabling our websites to generate local customers on autopilot with our websites for small businesses.
It’s simple.
By implementing this system, our local business owners can stay ahead of the curve and take their website engagement and communications into the modern age.
The step-by-step approach also engages and optimizes every aspect of your online presence for maximum impact.
From harnessing the power of digital marketing and reviews, to text-enabling communications, and staying top of mind through paid advertising and social media, our proven process has been honed through years of experience.
And what's so neat is you can increase results just by making these improvements -- and that means you could generate more results from the people you’re already reaching.
Part 4:
How to implement this complete website engagement and autopilot strategy in your business starting this week.
The key to making big changes in your local business marketing is to take action.
Option 1. You can implement all of the above information yourself.
Option 2. You can send this action plan to the marketing agency that your business already works with, or
Option 3. You can reach out to me, (the author, and founder behind OnlineKix...would love to introduce you to my Rapid Website Rehab Service) and we can talk about implementing this for you in the next 5-7 business days -- DETAILS HERE
My proven website design ensures that every aspect of your online presence is optimized for succes.
With my help, your business can launch a new website that eliminates any problems you've been worried would cost a lot to fix -- but won't be expensive at all because of my unique approach.
My mission is to put advanced marketing strategies within reach for local business owners (without high costs…made possible with the power of modern technology).
I'm also always here to answer any questions that you might have about this article (for free of course, if you're a business leader).
You can message me here.
I hope you enjoyed the walkthrough.
Send me your success stories after you put it to use! I can't wait to hear about your results.
