The Importance Of Establishing An Authentic Online Presence For Local Businesses

An effective online presence is a gateway to making a great first impression on potential customers. It also serves as a valuable tool for maintaining and nurturing relationships with existing clients. 

In this article, we help you understand the essentials of internet marketing and share how Xplorio can help you establish an online presence.

The Internet And Online Marketing

In today's competitive market, nurturing professional relationships with your customers is essential for setting your business apart. However, it is worth noting that building connections with them online is equally significant as in-person interactions. 

When it comes to online research, the internet is like an information mecca that is always open.

Being online is your opportunity to satisfy your customers’ needs when they are ‘shopping around’. This is your chance to promote your products and services in a way that reflects your brand, any time of the day and night! 

What Happens When A Business Has A Comprehensive Online Presence?

Remember, your online presence is an extension of your business.

When a business has a complete online presence that is a true-to-life reflection of what they do, existing clients and referrals have a seamless experience. 

Let’s look at this example of a customer journey from the perspective of a restaurant customer. For instance, you plan to have dinner at a new restaurant in town. Your customer journey might look like this:

• Research: You start by doing some online research about the restaurants in your area.

• Short Listing: Once you have spent time researching, you create a shortlist of your top choices. You then check to see if there are any reviews so you can get more insight.

• Reviews: After reading reviews about the restaurants that caught your attention, you will want to check the menus, look for specials and compare prices to decide which would be the best fit.

• Comparison: Hopefully, each restaurant that has made it to your shortlist has a website with its menus and special offers so you can compare them.

• Referrals: You ask friends or family members who have dined at the restaurants on your shortlist for their opinion. They may offer feedback on the food quality, service, and ambience. You might want to search online for a few of the restaurants they recommended that weren’t on your list.

• Connection: You make a reservation online or by phone. You may also check the restaurant's social media pages to see if they have any special events or promotions happening that night.

• Dining Experience: You arrive at the restaurant and are greeted by the hostess. She shows you to your table. You order your meal, and the waiter recommends food and drinks. The meal is delicious, and the service is excellent.

• Business Updates: After dining at the restaurant, you had such a great time that you want to show your appreciation by leaving a glowing review online. You check if their website has a social media link so you can follow their social media accounts to stay updated on any new menu items, promotions, or events.

From researching the restaurant and reserving a table to staying connected for future updates and offers, the customer journey follows a path that at some point travels along the internet.

What Happens When Your Business Isn’t Found Online?

There is nothing worse than searching for a business online when you need to call and finding no trace of them. Even more irritating is finding the wrong telephone number or outdated trading hours. 

If your primary source of marketing is word-of-mouth, making sure all your business information is available online is still very important. Let’s take a look at this example and see how it unfolds:

Step 1: River gives Nicole a recommendation for a great bakery in Gansbaai that bakes chocolate cookies.

Step 2: Nicole is interested, and when she gets home from River’s house, she does a Google search for the bakery’s address to find more information.

Step 3: Nicole can’t find the bakery online. Not only did River give her the incorrect business name, but it also seems as if the bakery doesn’t have a website. 

Step 4: Frustrated, Nicole uses her phone to search for another bakery in town and finds one with an online presence. She checks their product list and sees they bake chocolate cookies. She then calls them to order 50kgs of cookies to use in her wedding gift bags! 

And so the transaction is complete. 

When Nicole gets to the bakery to collect her cookies, she discovers that they also sell ginger-chocolate cookies that weren’t listed on the website. She feels a little disappointed because ginger chocs are her favourite. If she had known they baked them, Nicole would have doubled up on her order. It's a pity the bakery never updated its website with its latest product, ginger-chocolate cookies.

There is more to a word-of-mouth referral than you might think. If Nicole can't find what she's looking for online, she'll likely move on to something else. This underscores the importance of keeping your online presence up-to-date, especially if you're running a promotion or special. Otherwise, potential customers may miss out on what you have to offer.

Conclusion - How To Join Xplorio

Establishing an effective online presence can take time, effort, and a combination of different strategies. By joining Xplorio, businesses can start building a strong online presence by leaving the logistics in the hands of a team of professionals.

Call or WhatsApp the Xplorio team and one of the team members will answer your questions and get the ball rolling to get you noticed online:

Call: 072 519 2138

WhatsApp: 072 519 2138