Why a Bricks and Mortar Business Desperately Needs Digital Marketing

It is common for brick-and-mortar businesses to not invest in digital marketing. Small businesses are often stretched too thin with multiple departments, and they simply do not have the budget to invest in the most effective strategies. More than half of small business owners do not have a website, citing concerns over cost and necessity. Yet, the internet is here to stay, and ignoring digital marketing means you’re missing out on an enormous amount of marketing power.

For brick-and-mortar businesses, digital marketing is an important tool to drive new business. While 60% of consumers shop online, many of them visit brick-and-mortar stores first before making a purchase. By leveraging digital marketing to promote their brick-and-mortar stores, businesses will increase sales and improve customer loyalty. For more information on digital marketing, read on! This article outlines the main benefits of digital marketing for brick-and-mortar businesses.

In addition to attracting new customers, online presence helps brick-and-mortar businesses learn about new customers even when they aren’t open. Google Analytics, for instance, will help a business gauge its popularity. It will show which web pages are popular and will give insight into future marketing avenues. Coupons and other promotions will help broaden a business’s customer base. Using tools like Google Analytics to analyze your online presence is vital to success.

While brick-and-mortar retail isn’t a dying breed, it is going through an unprecedented transformation. It will be a new face of a brand, complete with interactive displays and back-of-house technology. Consumers will increasingly be expecting an integrated shopping experience. Brick-and-mortar stores can be warehouses, showrooms, and community hubs. In addition, digital channels will let consumers tell the retailer what they need. For retailers to stay ahead of the competition, they must adapt and get smart about their omnichannel strategy.

Another advantage of brick-and-mortar retail over e-commerce is the ability to engage customers’ five senses. The ability to engage a customer’s eyes, ears, and senses increases their likelihood of buying something. In the long run, digital engagement boosts sales. In fact, it can boost sales by up to 30%, according to research. While brick-and-mortar businesses may have an advantage in the short run, they may be missing out on a vital competitive weapon.

Besides improving its search engine rankings, digital marketing also offers other advantages. In the case of brick-and-mortar stores, they must attract customers through marketing. For example, they can advertise on landing pages, send email marketing to their email list, and create a website that displays informational products. Aside from this, brick-and-mortar stores can boost their online presence with retargeting ads to showcase their new products.

Regardless of the advantages, a brick-and-mortar retail business must embrace more sophisticated tools to stay competitive. A recent survey of retailers shows that 7,567 stores across the country have closed this year alone. The final number is expected to rise to a whopping 12,000 stores by the end of the year. In addition to digital channels, retailers can also improve the customer experience by humanizing their in-store teams.

The experience economy is changing the way consumers spend their money. They look for a personalized experience when they visit a physical location. Using digital outreach to generate demand, however, requires a careful approach to collecting and using customer data. Some retailers are even testing location-based notifications to customers’ phones when they are in proximity to their store. But they must be careful about using this data, as this could potentially be detrimental to customer privacy.