Almost all of us like the David & Goliath story.
Why?
Because there is something special about the small taking on the big, the weak winning over the strong, and the poor rising to the top. That’s why books and movies about rags-to-riches stories go on to become best sellers and super hits. Even in the world of sports, the crowds tend to support the underdog who is trying to fight a stronger champion. Remember 2001 Wimbledon finals? The 125th-ranked Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter who was the 3rd seeded in the tournament, and won his first Grand Slam.
Something similar is happening in business and marketing today. The internet, powered by global connectivity is creating a new world of possibilities for small businesses and startups.
Small Businesses Can Win Using Digital Marketing
For many years, marketing was dominated by bigger players who had the muscle power to build big brands with big budgets. But that has changed in the last few years.
Smaller players also have started to play the marketing game along with the big boys, but in a different way: they are choosing to build their brands online using social media instead of the expensive traditional media, they are choosing to establish their business presence online using mobile apps & websites instead of physical store fronts & expensive branch locations, they are choosing to influence and educate their customers using blog posts instead of paid advertorials, press releases in 5-star hotels and vip-brand-endorsements.
Push marketing strategies are getting replaced by Pull marketing strategies. Outbound tactics are reducing while Inbound campaigns are increasing. Digital marketing is empowering the Davids of the world to take on the Goliaths, compete with them on a level playing field and have a fair chance of winning.
It is not a distant dream but a current reality.
Here is an example: On July 2015, CNN reported that Amazon’s market value was higher than Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, making Amazon the world’s most valuable retailer on that day!
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. How can a 20-year company with no brick-and-mortar retail presence be worth more than a 50-year old company that operates 11,000+ retail stores in 28 different countries around the world?!
3 main reasons – Global Connectivity, Mobile Device Penetration and Digital Marketing. I call them the ‘3 Big Digital Drivers’ of the new economy. The first two enable the third, and together they can help any business win.
There are many encouraging stories around the world like Uber, Flipkart, Alibaba, Airbnb and many more innovative companies that have redefined traditional business solutions and marketing strategies using digital innovation, driven by these 3 big digital drivers. So size does not matter anymore; there is an open door for startups or small businesses to compete with larger players in the same domain.
3 Action Items To Get Your Started
How can you use this opportunity to grow your business? You can get started today by working on these 3 action items.
Action 1 – Call for a digital strategy meeting with your core-team:
As a small business, it is important to have your core-team with you on the digital journey. So call for a meeting where you can discuss ways of redefining your business strategy to include the digital components. Some of the questions you can try to answer in this meeting:
- Are your target audience online? If so, where are they spending their time? Social Media Channels, Apps, etc?
- How can you solve your customer problems better using web, mobile and social media?
- How can you increase revenue by adopting eCommerce or mobile commerce strategies?
- Do you have the skills internally to success in digital marketing or should you hire an agency to help you?
- Who in your team can spearhead this operation? How can you equip that team member better?
Action 2 – Take stock of your Digital Presence:
Your digital presence must align with the expectations of your customer. What are your customers looking to accomplish on your website, mobile apps or social media? Are you fulfilling those expectations? If they are looking for knowledge, do you have enough material to educate them in the form of videos, blogs and infographics? If they are looking to transact or buy a product, do you have an easy and smooth eCommerce process flow that enables easy hassle-free buying? Analyse your web presence (see our blog on website essentials), your mobile presence (see our blog on mobile trends) and your social media presence and make sure they are all optimised to help your target audience.
Action 3 – Start with Social Media
The easiest way for your to start your digital marketing journey is by working on your social media setup and posts. It is free, and most of the channels are very user friendly for you to easily work your way around. These simple steps will get you up and running quickly on social media marketing.
- Select the right social media channels. If you need help, click here to read our earlier blog on how to select the right social media channel for you.
- Create a social media calendar. This is a plan that contains what you will post, when you will post it and why you will post it (the end goal).
- Set up social media channels in an optimized manner – with the right profile pics (logo), cover images and description.
- Start posting with a simple post of an image of your product, your office space, your logo or even a simple hello to your audience
You have now taken the first steps towards an awesome digital future.
Have a great journey. Cheers!
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Open Minds Agency is a digital marketing agency with operations in India and Australia. We work with small businesses, startups and non-profits around the world. We are a creative bunch that loves digital marketing and we enjoy seeing the positive impact of our creative campaigns on our clients’ businesses. If you think we can work with you and help your business grow using digital media, shoot us a mail at hello@openmindsagency.com or contact us by clicking here. Thank you!
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