Technology is not just something you use to make your business more efficient. From social engagement to direct marketing, tech solutions abound that can help you attract, serve, and retain customers.
The variety and abundance of available technologies makes tech solutions more affordable and accessible.
Still, it’s sometimes difficult for company owners to know the most effective ways to incorporate it into their customer acquisition efforts. Budgets are also a concern when it comes to investing in technology, especially for startups and SMBs.
As a business owner, you have to ask: Is it enough to just put up a website? What other ways can I use tech to bolster my efforts and get a high ROI?
We’ve got some good news.
There are several ways that you can use tech to attract and nurture a new business, and they don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
Using Technology to Attract New Business
The tech that’s available to you is also available to your competitors. Before you can serve customers, you have to let them know you exist. By strategically leveraging technology, you can attract new business no matter if your company is located in the 3D world, online, or both.
Take Advantage of Local Business Listings
Local SEO is gaining prominence for any company that has a real-world presence. In addition to leveraging traditional marketing avenues like running TV or radio ads and attracting foot traffic through storefront marketing, make sure that your local SEO game is on point.
Online, make sure that you claim your Google My Business and Yelp listings and keep them updated. This will pinpoint your location on Google Maps and help get your business in front of people using search terms like “(your service) near me”.
Optimize Your Web Design and Content for Mobile Search
Consumers aren’t only looking for businesses and reviews from their PC anymore. Many searches for business providers begin on mobile and end on a PC or tablet.
Potential new leads are searching for services on mobile that they need immediately, such as out of town visitors or someone having an emergency.
In addition, search engines prioritize indexing for responsiveness, which means your web content should look and behave the same on any screen or device.
Leverage Social Media Automation
Social media is inescapable if you want to improve customer outreach and engagement. However, unless you have the time or an in-house social media specialist, capitalizing on this vital platform is time-consuming and sometimes confusing.
You can get around this problem by automating some of your social outreach efforts.
In addition to adding “Like” and “Share” buttons and encouraging visitors to comment, you can use plugins that will post news on your Twitter feed and let your Facebook followers know when you have a new post.
Product launches can also be released to all of your connected platforms using automation. All you have to do in most cases is to update your website and let technology take care of the rest.
However, it’s important that you follow up personally by engaging customers and addressing any issues publicly, in real-time.
Tech That Adds Value to Customer Service
Once you have your website set up and optimized for mobile use, you can investigate ways to incorporate technology into your marketing campaign and in-store services.
Innovative technologies that are a part of industry 4.0 such as AI and robotics completely transformed the supply chain from manufacturing to sales, creating a holistic approach that results in better customer service.
Just look at Amazon — such a big company has to rely on robots in their warehouses to ship items quickly and have an outstanding service.
For example, mobile apps that use QR codes help by comparing product availability and prices by location and providing information about specific products while customers are shopping in your store.
Video can be used in several different ways, and it’s often more effective than just static text or images. You could embed a video on your landing page that demonstrates how your product works or start a YouTube channel that provides value-added information.
Some ideas are creating how-to videos, sharing behind the scenes clips of your company headquarters, or uploading user-created lifestyle videos of customers enjoying your product or benefiting from your service.
If your business is one that depends on optics, like cosmetic surgery or dentistry, you could include video on your website about how procedures are performed or show before/after clips and slide shows.
Technologies That Build Trust and Streamline Service
Capturing leads is just the beginning. Once you reel them in, you have to streamline service delivery in ways that make customers feel valued and instills trust.
* Downtime is death to any website. Choose a web host that promises at least 99 percent uptime and backs it up in writing.
* Make sure that your website is secure by using plugins and apps that prevent hacking and protect customer data.
* Leverage advancing technologies like chatbots to streamline service and answer customer questions in real-time.
Show Your Customers How Much You Care
Not all technologies are up front and center. Some run in the background to keep your customers and their data safe. While few people need to know the details that go into data protection, knowing that they’re in place instills confidence and trust.
Even in places where data protection isn’t the law of the land, you can show your customers how much you care about their privacy and security by being transparent.
* Use multiple authentication methods for customer account logins. This won’t adversely affect their access, but it will send a subliminal message about security.
* Take the extra steps to verify your website through SSL certification and in-house mechanisms on social platforms. That little checkmark next to your name or padlock symbol in front of your URL instills trust.
* Craft a comprehensive privacy policy and display it prominently on your website. If your website uses tracking cookies or engages in digital fingerprinting, post your policy online and give your visitors an opt-in/out option. In many places, this is required by law and easy to implement through plugins.
* Use the most current tech when adding shopping carts or electronic checkout to your website, and advertise their presence. When consumers see the Symantec (VeriSign) certification or PayPal button on your website, they’ll feel more comfortable giving you their financial and personal information when they make purchases.
* Hacking exploits and ransomware attacks are on the rise. Know the importance of data integrity, and make sure that all staff members are adequately trained in data protection methods. This includes understanding how data loss happens and the implications of a breach. Make sure that your website admin or hosting service is exercising best practices like conducting regular backups.
Final Thoughts
Whether you own an older, established enterprise, a startup with a lot of promise, or somewhere in between, you can incorporate technology into your customer acquisition model in a variety of ways.
Even adding one or two digital marketing and customer support mechanisms can make a measurable difference. Select the best options to align with your goals and bring your vision to life.
