How Small Businesses Can Benefit from Digital Marketing

Selling the story before the business

What’s the first thing you think about when you think of the term, “Small Business”? To me, I think of my friends parents who owned paving and other construction companies. I also think about my mom, a former small business owner who sold DeYoung Landscaping because she wanted to start a family. When I think of small business, I think of hard work.

Today, small businesses are hailed as courageous competitors to those giant household brands we know and trust. In the digital world, brands compete for memory in a customers head, and have the budgets to reach people at scale. Small businesses can use digital marketing to promote their Unique Selling Proposition unlike big name companies. Every small business has a story and digital marketing gives small businesses a way to reach new customers and tell their story on any budget.

I have worked in small business marketing for almost 3 years and have hands-on experience in the restaurant industry and in healthcare. When I was tasked as a community outreach intern for Tata’s Tacos I developed a 4-week promotional campaign that partnered with local dog shelters. I learned that partnering with other small businesses helped create trust within the community of Portage Park, and we saw a significant increase in sales on our slow days. During my summer at Tata’s, I found that telling customers about our family owned and operated restaurant interested people far more than new menu items. We already had great food, people were more interested in the story of Tata’s than the new burrito.

A social post of the buttons I designed for the Dog Days of Summer campaign for Tata’s Tacos

A social post of the buttons I designed for the Dog Days of Summer campaign for Tata’s Tacos

Currently, I manage all the digital and traditional advertising for an Ear, Nose and Throat clinic. At Sinus & Snoring MD I have been able to leverage more digital advertising like Google Ads along with finding Sinus & Snoring MD’s story. The majority of my time is spent optimizing our Google advertising and now I have begun focusing more on writing fun and engaging blogs.

Finding Sinus & Snoring MD’s story has been the biggest challenge for me. Sinus and snoring problems aren’t all that exciting, so I’ve had to stretch my creativity muscles. I’ve always felt that the best way to advertise is to appeal to a customer or patient’s emotions. If I am able to provide a customer with a great experience I feel they are much more likely to return. In my current industry, there are a few major players that do the same Ear, Nose and Throat procedures, but none of the other practices have a bi-lingual doctor or treat their patients the same as our clinic. I found the best way to compete is to sell our doctor’s personality.

Small businesses carry the trust of their communities and I believe selling their stories through digital marketing is fundamental now and in the future.

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