Why Digital Marketing is Important for Small Business

digital marketing for small busnesses

As a small business, it's essential to think about ways to reach more potential customers. Traditional advertising methods may bring in some business, but there's a better way to reach a wider audience. It's called Digital Business Development and it involves digital marketing and advertising.  

Converging traditional and digital marketing is the best way to reach prospects online and benefit from the global marketplace. Digital channels should not be overlooked as a way to generate leads and customers.

When small businesses get started, their focus is often on how to get the first customers through the door. They may rely on traditional forms of advertising, such as print ads, coupon mailers, or even outdoor advertising. Businesses may believe that since they offer a good product or service, it’s just a matter of time before customers find their way to them.

While this strategy may bring in a trickle of business, there is a better and easier more cost effective way. The world had gone digital, and digital business development is now more important than ever.

Let’s look at the benefits of digital marketing and the ways online platforms can be used to help grow your business.

Benefits of Digital Business Development and Online Marketing

Digital business development and online marketing allows small businesses to level the playing field against larger businesses. Online channels make it easier for small businesses to target specific audiences with precision. Search engine marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing are just some of the ways small businesses can reach their target market more effectively.

Digital marketing is important for small businesses because it helps them connect with customers where they are spending the most time online. Small businesses need to have a digital marketing strategy in place to compete in the online marketplace.

Some of the key benefits of digital business development include:

The ability to interact with your prospects and learn exactly what they are looking for i.e. get to know your customers better!
The ability to reach out to anyone and anywhere as there are no geographical boundaries with digital
Target the right audience at the right time - personalization is simpler with digital marketing
Communicate with your prospects at every stage of the buying process
Save money and reach more customers for less
Get to know your audience and drive engagement to create brand loyalty. Get some inspiration from the power of customer loyalty schemes.
Track and monitor responses to your marketing efforts easily and instantly

Getting started on online marketing for small businesses

Digital marketing for small businesses

Digital business development and online marketing can seem daunting if you're new to the world of digital online business. There are a lot of different platforms and terms that can make it seem like a more complicated project than it actually is. However, it's important to remember that the marketplace is competitive and that customers will have a hard time finding your business if you're not present in the places they frequent. 

With that in mind, here are four reasons why you should start promoting your business online and make sure you have a digital business presence:

2. Word of mouth and customer recommendations can only do so much. You need to be visible in the places where your target customers spend their time in order to attract their attention.
3. Building a presence online is not something you can afford to delay - the longer you wait, the further behind you'll fall in comparison to your competitors.
4. Promoting your business on a global scale gives you access to a much larger market, which increases your chances of success. With the global promotion, you can use targeting techniques to reach specific groups of people who are interested in what you have to offer.

Realize Your Customers Are Online

As a business owner, it's important to have a strong online business presence so that potential customers can learn about your company. 

In today's digital age, a website and social media presence is expected. Customers will often read online reviews to get an idea of what others are saying about your business and whether or not it is a good place to do their business.

Local businesses should especially focus on this, as 87% of consumers read online reviews (this is up 6% from 2019 to 2020 and up to 92% in 2022). If a potential customer can't find you online, they may conclude that your business isn't legitimate and take their business elsewhere.

Make sure your website is up to date, easy to navigate, and that it provides all the information potential customers might be looking for. Your social media accounts should also be active and regularly updated with fresh content.

Find Out What Your Competitors Are Doing Online

It's important to stay aware of your competition and learn from what they're doing. Don't see them as an enemy, but as a source of information. You can learn a lot by observing what's working (and not working) for them.

look at their web presence and consider the following:

What kind of content do they use?
What kind of content do they use?
Do they focus on visual content like videos?
How do they communicate their brand and what makes them unique?
How well do they engage with their audience?

Tools that can help you research your competition:

Semrush - great for keyword ranking and keyword traffic
Ahrefs - useful for discovering competitors’ most linked content
Moz - another platform for keyword ranking
BuzzSumo - track popular content types and influencers
Google Alerts - a tool for tracking mentions of any competitor your choose to track
Ontolo - a great tool for backlinks and content marketing

Be Accessible to Your Customers

Digital business development

As we discussed, it's crucial for your business to have an online presence. In today's digital world, Over 90% of people start their product or service searches with a Google search. If you don't have a website, you're invisible to potential customers. Even if you do have a website, but your competitors are ranking higher in search results, you're still at a disadvantage.

Having a Digital Business Development process and strategy is no longer a nice to have componet for your business. It is a critial part of your digital marketing initiative, lead generation, and business growth, now and for years to come.


SEO is key to making sure you're visible to your target audience. Keywords are a crucial part of SEO, and understanding how to use them is essential to driving traffic to your website. This infographic provides a simple five-step guide to keyword research.

Have a look at our SEO Master Class for small businesses  

It's also important to include answers to common questions potential customers may have, such as your business location, hours of operation, and product or service details. By examining your website and your competitors' websites side by side, prospects should be able to compare key information easily and make the best decision for their needs.

Let Customers Come to You

Think of digital marketing as a way to make yourself accessible to the people you’re trying to target. The reach of your business can reach well beyond your locality and scalability becomes a reality.

Through a web presence, your business is open for business even when you’re not! You can create an environment where your customers can contact you day or night.

This means that customers and prospects can send you emails with questions, make purchases and browse your inventory in a few simple clicks. In addition, potential customers who have no way of physically coming to you can still do business with you through an e-commerce function or simply by using social media.

Get to Know Your Target Audience

Digital marketing target Audience

Digital online marketing and digital business development is all about engaging with your prospects and getting to know them. You can use social media, blogs, or surveys to start a conversation and gain insights. Pay attention to comments and survey responses to get an idea of what your customers are looking for. Use this information to offer solutions through your product or service.

Digital marketing helps you take the guesswork out of who your customers are so you can personalize communications and refine targeting. By doing this, you will build a relationship with your customers and become much more than just a business to them. You become a trusted partner. Keep in mind that people are more likely to buy from businesses they've already had a good experience with.

Digital business develpment - get to know your customer

Most companies don't have a plan for the way to attract, communicate and help customers. So their primary goal is to generate short-term revenue from one-time customers. This is no longer good enough. Consider future proofing your business with a Digital Business Development Plan and strategy.

The focus of your digital business develpment and marketing efforts should be on building long-term relationships with your customers, especially if you hope they will become repeat customers. By working to cultivate relationships with minimal human interaction, you can make customers feel like they matter to you, something that will set you apart from your competition.


Digital business development and online marketing should be a part of your strategic planning process. It will help you to understand your customers better, as well as their purchase behavior, and target other markets with similar demographics and purchase behavior. If used correctly, digital marketing will allow you to improve your customer relationships, as well as your bottom line.

Do more marketing for less money!

Digital business development

Digital marketing is one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising available. Small businesses and startups often have to be very careful with their marketing budgets. Advertising online can help you stretch your budget further and also allows you to target your audience more precisely.

Social media is particularly good for this as it enables you to create a daily budget for a specific audience that is interested in your brand or ethos. Most importantly, social media advertising allows you to exclude people who would never buy from you—saving you time and money!

When advertising on social media, it’s important to select the platform that will work best for you and your brand. Don’t pick TikTok just because it’s trending or advertise on LinkedIn if you’re not trying to generate B2B interest. Research social channels, check out a guide on social media demographics, to find one that matches what you’re looking for, and run some simple tests to see what messaging and content works.

Help and Support with your digital marketing

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Larry Wedgewood
Larry Wedgewood

Larry is a Digital Business Development Advisor with a passion for helping people, and the Founder and Owner of My WebPros Digital He has over 25 years of experience with computer and internet technology, Training, coaching, and businesses development.