4 Digital Marketing Lessons You Can Learn from Real SMBs

Venturing into the world of digital marketing can seem overwhelming for small and local businesses. You know you need to be online to grow your business, but how do you get started? What tools do you need to be successful?

One of the easiest ways to answer these questions is to learn from real SMBs who have been successful in digital marketing.

So, here are four digital marketing lessons you can learn from real SMBs.

Build on a Solid Foundation

Most of our clients start with a solid foundation of search advertising and build on that success with additional strategies to help them reach their unique marketing goals.

For example, Diana Wagner, owner and audiologist at Audiology First, started with ReachLocal’s search advertising solution to attract new patients in her area. Once she started getting more calls and website visits from her search advertising, she added retargeting to remind those web visitors about her business as they were searching the web. Then, she added Facebook advertising to reach prospective patients when they were spending time on their favorite social media site.

Instead of seeing steady success just with search advertising, Wagner built on her digital marketing strategy to grow her business and the amount of patients coming in from online sources.

More is Better

You’ve probably heard the saying “Less is More,” but when it comes to digital marketing, more is actually better. An integrated approach to digital marketing is the best way to ensure you’re reaching prospective customers no matter where they’re searching online.

Skin Spa New York, a ReachLocal client, combines a number of our digital marketing solutions like search advertising, retargeting, Facebook advertising, SEO, and more, to ensure their web presence is comprehensive and that they’re constantly attracting new clients to their locations in both New York City and Boston.

With this approach, they’ve been able to rely solely on digital marketing to drive new client growth.

Know What’s Working

One of the challenges many SMBs face is knowing what’s truly working for their business in regards to online marketing. Many of our clients depend on our ReachEdge lead management solution to help them manage their leads (obviously) and access reports that show them which marketing tactics are driving those leads and leading to conversions.

K-9 University President & Owner Chuck Bratt uses ReachEdge to track all his leads – he even listens to his calls and categorizes them directly from his cell phone so he can follow up with hot leads quickly. And, from the reports, Bratt is able to see which of his digital marketing strategies, including search advertising, live website chat, and SEO, are bringing in the most leads so he can quickly determine ROI for his marketing spend (of which he can measure is 7x higher since working with ReachLocal).

Rely on the Experts

Just like you’d take your car to a certified mechanic for repair, you should rely on digital marketing experts for your campaigns and strategies.

Shawn Beecher, the owner of Mobile Empire Detailing, found this out the hard way when he stopped running his campaigns with ReachLocal to try digital marketing on his own. After six months of little to no results, Beecher partnered with ReachLocal again for all his digital marketing needs and has never looked back.

“ReachLocal gives my small business the ability to have an expert in all of the different advertising aspects,” said Beecher.

Learn More from Real Clients

Interested in hearing more from real ReachLocal clients? Check out our case studies on our website or read our ReachLocal reviews here.

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Stephanie Heitman

Stephanie is the Communications & Content Marketing Manager at ReachLocal. She has experience in digital marketing, social media management, and content creation for SMBs. Stephanie specializes in helping businesses improve their online reputation and appreciate the impact social media and digital marketing can have on their brand. When she isn't researching the latest online marketing tips and trends, she enjoys eating pizza and watching too much TV with her husband and her dogs.

WebriQ and Buzzin offer a set of web and digital marketing solutions targeted at SMB's