If you’re a Small Business Owner interested in dipping your toe into the world of Digital Marketing, we can understand you may be hesitant to dive straight in. With Marketers throwing around terms like “SEO”, “PPC” and “optimisation strategies”, beginning your Digital Journey can be a rather intimidating ordeal.
And that’s why we’re loving Google My Business. Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for Businesses of all sizes to manage their Online Presence across Google, including Search and Maps. Using this tool allows you to verify and edit your Business information, such as your location and opening hours. It’s a great, simple way for you to give potential customers a quick overview of everything they might want to know about you!
So, if quick and efficient Marketing sounds like something you’re interested in (and why wouldn’t you be?), here are a few key features of Google My Business and how it could significantly increase your success.
How it Works
But before we dive in, let’s take a closer look into how Google My Business (GMB) actually works. Chances are if you’ve ever Googled a Business before, you will have noticed a pop-up box on the left hand side of the screen displaying the Business’s location, contact information, opening times and even photos and customer reviews. This is your GMB Listing. From here, your audience can call your Business, check out its rating on Google and even get directions there through Google Maps.
While this may seem like relatively simple information, having it all stored in one easy-to-find place like a Google My Business Listing is a great way to showcase your brand, physical location, products and services as well as customer satisfaction.
It Leverages Off Mobile Devices
We all know that a large portion of Online traffic and sales are now driven through Mobile Devices, such as Smart Phones and Tablets, making it imperative for Small Business to have a way in which to target these potential customers. Google My Business allows you to do just that.
Research shows that 28.88% of consumers who search for a type of local Business on a mobile device either call or go to that Business within 24 hours. This means that you absolutely must make it as easy as possible for these mobile users to locate, contact and get to your Business as possible. If it’s too hard, they just won’t bother coming. Simple as that.
Google My Business allows you to chance to offer up all your Business information on a silver platter. Whether the searcher is wanting to know what time you close or whether you’re open on a public holiday, Google My Business allows you to advertise these facts.
It Opens Channels of Communication
One of the best characteristics of Google My Business is that it makes your Company so much more accessible to the public. Nowadays, people want to engage with the Business they’re buying from, choosing less and less to patronise faceless Organisations that won’t give their customers the time of day.
As a Small Business Owner, this tool offers a simple and direct way for potential customers to get in touch. With just a few clicks of their home button, they can call you to make a dinner reservation, place an item on hold or see if you have their favourite product in stock.
It’s essentially a great way to break down any barriers of communication between yourself and the customer, helping to give your Business an aura of efficiency and likability. The easier it is for customers to contact you, the more likely they are to feel “in touch” and connected to your Business.
It Includes Booking Software
While Online booking software has been around for more than a decade, many Small Businesses have been hesitant to adopt this increasingly popular technology. ‘Reserve With Google’ is a relatively new component of Google My Business that allows consumers to book appointments with service-based Businesses.
By integrating with various Online Scheduling Providers, such as Bookatable and MindBody, Google will automatically add a booking button into your Google listing. These bookings are then reported in GMBs analytics, so you can keep track of how many people are becoming customers through GMB.
This feature is fantastic for all service-based Small Business, particularly those within the restaurant, health and fitness, beauty or trade industries. Think about how happy your customers will be if it takes them 10 seconds to book in their child’s next haircut, or just moments to reserve their favourite table at a restaurant for their wedding anniversary.
Allows You to Promote Sales and Offers
Google Posts is a relatively new feature of GMB that allows you to promote any sales or offers you may have running at a particular time. This is a great way to advertise this information to a wide audience and is likely to encourage much greater audience engagement, whether that be from Online consumers or foot traffic.
Google Posts lets you upload an image, ad copy, and even includes a little CTA button to encourage your target audience to “shop now!” or “sign up today”. These mini ads should be refreshed often - you don’t want to be advertising a sale that ended 2 weeks ago! But don’t worry, GMB sends admins handy reminder Emails as well as stats on your recent posts performance, so you’ll know just how successful your ad has been.
You Can Easily Update Your Business Info
Chance are that your Small Business is shifting and changing all the time. Your opening hours may differ, your products will change and you may even move location. Without the assistance of Digital Marketing Strategies, it can be hard to advertise your new Business Details to all your customers, who might only realise you’ve moved from your original brick and mortar store when they arrive at the old location!
To avoid mishaps like this that can annoy or alienate your customers, GMB gives you an extremely simple way to broadcast out your new Business information, ensuring that you’re still viewed as reliable and reputable in the eyes of your audience.
If you are looking for a good, solid place to begin your Digital Marketing journey, Google My Business is a great tool to consider. It allows you to easily convey all your important details to potential customers, helps to promote your Business to a Mobile Audience with high buyer-intent and allows simple forms of communication through booking integrations and call options.