Digital Marketing for Professional Service Companies
Running a professional practice involves a variety of components. Whether you are a lawyer, an accountant, or a financial planner, online marketing of your business is essential. In addition, whether you are just getting started with a small office, or you are in charge of operations for a large and established firm, employing the right marketing strategies is imperative for your continued success.
We all need help with various aspects of our business, and no one should try to do it all. When leveraged by a skilled marketing team, the following tools and practices can yield powerful results for your business.
6 Reasons Why You Should Market Your Professional Service Business Online
Today, consumers rely on the internet more than ever to make purchasing decisions. In order to make solid choices, countless individuals research products and services online. This is no longer simply a trend. The web has become a primary resource for consumers across the globe.
This is why it is so important for professionals to reach people online. A strong online presence can build customer relationships, and it can streamline your marketing efforts in a highly cost-effective way.
#1
Growing Your Customer Base
By creating a presence online, your business has the potential to attract clients you might never have previously reached. If you have the desire and the capacity to serve customers nationally or internationally, this is the way to make them aware of you. Even if your practice is strictly local, digital marketing makes it easier to expand the customer base in your area.
#2
Strengthening Existing Relationships
Getting a website up and running is only the beginning. Once a client has used your services or consulted you, sending a follow-up email is a proven strategy. You can also ask for feedback on your website itself. Another way to improve retention rates is to provide tools that your customers find useful. If you are a financial planner, for example, you might hold a weekly or monthly Q&A session for your customers. They can access the meetings via an online platform designed to accommodate this need.
#3
Personalizing the Experience
Giving your clients a personalized experience is another effective aspect of marketing online. You can start by analyzing relevant customer data. Once you develop a digital profile for a particular client, you can market to that person based on buying history and other details. Then, you can offer personalized offers that reflect that person’s preferences.
#4
Using Social Media
No modern online marketing campaign is truly complete without social media. If you add social networking to your marketing toolbox, the results may surprise you. Innumerable people rely on social media platforms to remain informed. Therefore, it makes sense to reach your client base through these sites. When this is done in an organic way, you can improve brand awareness and increase revenue.
#5
Being Consistently “Available”
Reasonable customers are not likely to expect 24/7 availability from most professionals. However, having this kind of access to your website affords them a great deal of convenience. They have the ability to browse your services, examine your credentials, and explore your areas of expertise. They can also reach out via your online contact form, and they can do so at a time that works for them.
#6
Enjoying Cost Efficiency
Conventional advertising can be expensive! Although you probably should not do away with advertising methods that are working for you, online marketing can be far more cost-efficient than traditional ads. Generally, you can get your message to the masses for a fraction of what you might pay to advertise on television, the radio, or billboards.
What are My Options for Online Marketing?
While the possibilities for marketing online may seem overwhelming, some strategies are more likely to ensure a favorable outcome. The following are five of the top digital services in use today:
Website Design & Development
The best place to get started is with your website. This is one of the first things that many individuals look for when they are shopping for professional services. Essentially, your website is viewed as an extension of your business and your online presence. It should be used as a major component of your online marketing plan.
The structure and development of your website should reflect the objectives you have for your practice. When current and potential clients visit this site, they should gain a solid sense of what you have to offer them. Your past successes should be clearly presented, and your areas of expertise should also be clear.
You may utilize your website to achieve a variety of functions, from highlighting your capabilities to conveying your overall mission. A knowledgeable development team should help you accomplish all of this and much more. Your website must be easy to navigate, and its content must be as unique as you are.
Always keep in mind that your website is the lifeblood of your marketing efforts. Customers look to it for crucial information about your services, and a strong design and presentation can do much for your credibility. In many cases, your website may serve as the first impression people have of your business.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO, is a vital aspect of digital marketing. Here are a few factors that make SEO so integral to a successful, ongoing campaign:
Organic Search
As the search engine used by an overwhelming majority of online users, Google sets the standards for success in search engine results pages, commonly shortened as SERPs. This means that your web pages must meet Google’s expectations to rank high organically in the SERPs. These expectations are a direct reflection of the user experience. In order to do this, you need an effective organic SEO campaign.
Credibility & Trust
By providing users with quality online search capabilities, Google helps to further your credibility as a business. Good SEO is a crucial part of this process, and it can heighten your authority as a brand.
Local SEO
As a professional, you may depend heavily on local business. Local SEO can direct online traffic to your web pages. This technique can also produce leads from many other geographical areas. An increase in traffic and engagement may then result in more conversions overall.
Staying Updated
Google’s algorithms are known for evolving periodically. This aids in maintaining a safe and user-friendly search experience. However, you should never need to worry about updating your web optimization. In fact, this is generally a task best left to qualified digital marketers.
Lower Costs, Higher Rewards
Few, if any, companies have an unlimited budget at their disposal. Unlike an array of other marketing options, investing in SEO is relatively inexpensive. While you may not notice a positive outcome immediately, properly implemented optimization can ultimately yield substantial rewards.
Measurable Progress
Over time, good SEO should have an impact on the growth of your business.There may not be a simple formula for measuring the effectiveness of your SEO tactics. This does not mean you cannot quantify their progress. You can analyze this trajectory by keeping track of improvements in certain areas. At the outset of your campaign, you should discuss your expectations with the person or team conducting your SEO. They should be able to help you track its performance accordingly.
PPC
Pay-per-click, or PPC, is another key element of digital marketing. Employing a few basics is the first step in making the most of PPC.
First, you should build on a solid foundation of keyword implementation. You do not need to “stuff” your content with a plethora of relevant keywords. In fact, doing this can be a red flag to Google’s algorithm. Instead, you should focus on a few keywords that genuinely relate to the interests of your audience.
Your next objective should be to achieve a synergistic relationship between your ad copy and your landing pages, as well as your keyword usage. Once you have selected keywords that resonate with your target demographics, your copy and landing pages should follow suit. This is the kind of PPC content that will be meaningful, and useful, to your page visitors.
If you expect to sustain a return on your investment, tracking PPC conversions is crucial. This type of analytics can be technical and complex. You can learn the calculations for these metrics, but remember that this is an ongoing process. It may be advisable to leave this task to your marketing team, who should be well-versed in such equations.
Once your campaign is utilizing the PPC basics, your team can take it several steps further. These steps may include using Google Ads’ ad extensions, maximizing the Google Display Network, and exercising flexibility with regard to ad size. Also, talk with your marketing rep about integrating responsive ads in your campaign. Additionally, your rep should fine-tune your Ads’ settings to ensure that they work in the best interests of your PPC campaigns.
Social Media
If you seek results-driven online marketing, social media is an indispensable tool. Consider these factors:
Customer Service
You can help your clients efficiently through social media. Issues may be resolved in real time, and questions can be answered quickly.
Brand Awareness
Social media platforms provide a streamlined way to increase brand awareness. These sites enable communication and connections among users, giving your business many opportunities to reach your audience.
Reputation Management
Once people are aware of you, maintaining a positive reputation is vital. You can monitor your social media pages for unfavorable comments. When you identify problem areas, you can take swift measures to correct them.
Higher Approval Ratings
When people view you as an active member of their chosen platform, they are more likely to trust the legitimacy of your business. Also, by remaining responsive to the concerns of your followers, you may boost their approval of your brand.
Feedback
You should always encourage feedback via social media. If you implement them in good faith, the honest insights of your followers can lead to possibilities you might not have yet imagined.
Content Promotion
Social media can be leveraged as another layer in your overall marketing strategy. Anytime you create a new podcast, blog post, or video, be sure to promote the content on your social media pages.
Engagement
Countless potential customers are looking for ways to engage and interact online. When you provide the means to do this through organic conversations, you can forge strong relationships and increase customer loyalty.
Traffic
Your presence and activity on social media can drive more traffic to your website. When users know who you are and what you do, they are more likely to visit your website. In addition, your participation in social media may inspire more conversations about your brand and your services. In turn, this can result in higher SERPs rankings for your web pages.
Brand Management
Managing your brand’s image is paramount. If you manage a large company, you are probably already aware of how easily public opinion can sway one way or another. Consequently, your business may flourish or suffer from this collective opinion. If you run a small business or sole proprietorship, the public’s impression of you can have an even greater effect on your bottom line.
Reputation
It’s important to take a proactive approach to your reputation. Before they buy, most consumers consider online reviews as part of their research. You can take a variety of actions to ensure that when people see your reviews, they form a generally positive outlook about your business. This begins with reputation monitoring, so you can stay aware of what people are saying about your business.
You can’t always avoid negative comments, but you have control over how you respond to them. In fact, you can use such feedback as an opportunity to make improvements. You can also reply to comments in an authentic and helpful manner, which may ultimately change a reviewer’s image of you. The way that you choose to respond may also inform prospective clients about how you might treat them.
An experienced marketing team can help you manage feedback of all kinds. By making it easy for clients to share their positive experiences, you can build or grow a reputation as a dependable and effective professional.
Citations
Local citations provide another method for establishing credibility. Your company’s name, address, and phone number are not only used as contact information. They also indicate to online users that your business is legitimate. If any of these details change, updating that information across the web can be frustrating and tedious. Fortunately, this is another time-consuming but necessary task that you can delegate to an expert. These citations are a fundamental component of local SEO and brand management.
A Few of the Professional Service Businesses We Serve
We offer digital marketing assistance to a variety of professionals:
Law firms (lawyers)
Lawyers – Every legal practice is a bit different, with unique personnel servicing specific types of cases and clients. We can help you to more efficiently reach your target audience.
Accounting firms (accountants)
Accounting firms need effective marketing strategies to remain competitive. Our team can devise a plan that raises public awareness about your business.
Financial advisors (planners)
Investors have a wealth of resources available to guide them. By marketing online to potential clients, we can help them understand what you offer and why they should hire you.
How Do I Get Started?
The great news is that if this sounds like a lot of work, you do not need to do any of this alone. Here are the steps you can take to get started:
#1 Get a Complimentary Website & Digital Strategy Analysis
We will evaluate your current website, as well as the digital marketing strategy presently in use.
#2 Review Findings & Opportunities
We will review and share our analysis with you. Then, we can discuss a plan of action and the opportunities available.
#3 Sit Back & Relax Knowing the Pros are at Work
Let us do the rest, so you are free to focus on your clients and running your business.
Professional, results-driven help is at your fingertips. Here at BizIQ, we understand what it means to run a business, and that the needs of each customer is unique. Regardless of your size and marketing needs, our experts can help get you the visibility you need to help customers in your area. Call us today, or contact us online for more information.
