By 2016, More than HALF of [ALL] the dollars spent in US retail

will be influenced by the web .

(Source: Forrester Research)

The most common thing I encounter when speaking with potential clients (or anybody born outside the “digital generation”), is a shocking lack of understanding about the true depth and potential of the internet, the importance of digital web presence for a business, and a real resistance to learn, invest or embrace the digital age. I don’t mean a stubborn insistence on sticking with typewriters. They tend to look down on it as a non-serious, non-essential tool with minimal ROI (Return On Investment). Visions of teens gossiping on Facebook, video games, chatting, the list goes on. Some are scarred by memories of the Dot-Com bust. Others do the bare basics when instilling their brand presence, but do such a horrible job that they actually end up damaging the brand and driving business away. They are usually adamant that they already have a website/web presence, so they have it covered. Often, the website isn’t truly ugly via the magic of templates, so without something visual to point out, they can’t understand the fuss. This belief of minimal results from being online leads to a refusal to invest anymore time and resources. Yes, this is a generalization to classify people in those few categories, but most of the “non-believers” share at least a portion of these traits. What they all have in common: Since they operate the business with traditional outreach tactics and can still turn a profit, they can’t see the point. ”Well i’ve been doing _______ and I haven’t had any problems. It’s worked fine for me”. The other thing they have in common…..: They are in for a Rude Awakening in the coming years, and some will never recover the market share they’ve lost.

Search Engines Are Now The #1 Source For Local services search

“64% of smartphone owners are using their mobile devices to shop online .” (Source: eDigitalResearch )

Web presence is the “total presentation” of your assets. This is where the “unconvinced” get stuck on a certain notion or prejudice rather than apply the business smarts that got them there in the first place. In those cases, you may hear: ”Well I’m not really interested in advertising on the internet, I advertise to a local market” . ”My business is brick and mortar, I don’t need an online store”. ”It’s not really necessary for my business model” etc… It’s not about having a website, having paid ads online etc…In fact a huge portion of web presence involves marketing without any internet advertising. You may not need paid advertising at all. Quite simply, you are taking all those concepts of marketing and human behavior, but changing the presentation format to the current and future standard. You don’t need a marketing degree to see the common sense of actually reaching your customer base. I often find that the main blockade to embracing the digital landscape is a conviction that the internet isn’t serious, it’s for fun

FACT: 82% of local searches result in an in-store visit, phone call, or purchase

Let’s look at an analogy. Think of the situation like a distributor continuing to release films on Betamax exclusively after VHS took the crown. The rationale: “Well we’ve always done it, sold well, people have players, since it’s worked so far, why would I switch formats and/or publish both? We can keep going with the Betamax until we have to change over.” You saved a little from the initial cost of switching production formats, you may still sell some movies for some months or years. But…. the VHS is the CLEAR winner, no one else makes Betamax anymore, any consumers who have video players will have VHS. You are now completely disqualified from making a sale to a huge segment of the client base. Simply because the only format they can use to watch a movie is not compatible with your system. In our case, when you don’t have a professional web presence or presentation, you are loosing any chance of exposure to those who use digital means for retail and service location. This isn’t a growing trend or something on the horizon, it’s already here.

Now, it’s not like if you don’t have a professional web presence by a certain date, you can’t do so down the line. No rush! You can keep the traditional marketing exclusively until you have to switch over right? Yep. But let’s apply that situation to our Betamax example. Let’s say hypothetically that Betamax still has a 5% market share at this point. You may sell some movies, but 95% of your potential customers can’t get to you. With every passing day the Betamax market share drops… 4%, 3…2…None. You switch to VHS and go on your merry way. But how much FREE business did you give away in that period?

“64% of smartphone owners are using their mobile devices to shop online .” (Source: eDigitalResearch)

If you sold “x” amount of units with only 5% of the potential customer base, multiply your sales by 20…If someone told you: “Here’s a button you push that multiplies your sales by 20 times”, would you jump on it? Or would you say: “I already get some results without it, why would I need more business? It’s fine just the way it is”? Your ideal customer (who may have bought movies from you back when he had a Betamax) no longer has any brand attachment, loyalty, recognition etc…. You will now have a steep uphill climb to get back in the game, the capital you’ll need to invest to rebuild your brand and make up for the lost time will dwarf the original investment. Your market share was generously gifted to your competitors and you more or less helped them grow their business, all by omission. If you were a CEO and this information was presented at the shareholder meeting…..

Print and traditional media is rapidly becoming extinct as this new “Computer Generation” matures and becomes the dominant economic force. This generation doesn’t bother with flyers and phone books. They’ll have all the information they can ever need pulled up in minutes or less, wherever they are connected (which is everywhere with the advent of the smart phone). The web is becoming the driving force behind everything, because you can literally do anything you need, and find anything you want. The rapid rise of it’s integration into everyday life means that it’s also at the center of people’s lives, and a main source of influence. Web presence execution is much more involved than just how good your website is. It’s an artform that requires many different skills and creativity.

A good specialist will never try to force a generic setup on a client. They will assess the client and individualize a plan of action that fits the exact needs. Not a general overview, an in depth inventory of existing “assets” and opportunities. The best will not only build your plan from scratch, they will get down all the way to the local level factors and optimize. Maybe a pork sausage shop would want to avoid investing resources in a neighborhood with a mostly Muslim population for example. A Filipino specialty food store would want to make sure that it had full coverage and high visibility in local filipino publications and areas of gathering as a priority for best ROI.

This is exactly what we at Three Peak Solutions strive to offer. A cutting edge, multidisciplinary approach to our work, backed by statistics and studies, but with a level of personalization and exclusiveness not seen in “big box” agencies. Contact us for a free consultation or with any questions you may have and let Three Peak Solutions take you to the next level

Nick Bergstrom

Lead Consultant

Threepeaksolutions@gmail.com

This is the first post of what will be our “Digital Presence Blog”. A look at concepts, theories, news and upcoming trends and tips. Here’s to the start of a brand new community!