We preach the business benefits of digital marketing almost everyday here on the Hughes & Co. blog, but an industry we've not touched enough on has been B2C professional services. We're here to today to share how and why digital marketing has become an indispensable lead generator for our professional services clients.
In our experience, professional service providers believe that having a website is enough, but it isn’t and with an inbound strategy intervention your online presence can drive thousands of people to your website who didn’t even know that you existed.
THE PILLARS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
There are many schools of thought surrounding digital marketing strategy and deployment, we like to focus on the inbound methodology for professional services. This is a four pillar process that turns strangers into clients and those clients into your businesses best promoters, referral generators! The four pillars are digital marketing actions that attract, convert, close and delight. Much of this process leans on content marketing and SEO.
Content marketing was made for professional services; when we advise clients on how they should be content marketing we tell them that they should write to answer the questions their customers are asking. You should do this because online research has become a large part of the buying/hiring cycle and because it cements your professional expertise. If you have the right content on your website and social platforms, you'll be positioned to generate more business.
Here are some reasons why professional services need a digital marketing strategy:
YOU'LL BE FIRST IN THE GAME
Many B2C professional services are still living in the past, resting on referrals and traditional marketing tactics (print ads and billboards). Moving to a digital marketing strategy puts you ahead of the competition, wading into a territory in which most of your competitors have yet to explore.
YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING
People are searching for information on what you do, the services you offer and how those services will benefit them and you'd be surprised how many. If you are doubtful of that, we’d love to show you proof.
We recently started managing the marketing for a law firm who previously did not employ a digital strategy but had a standard website, one without SEO. Since our intervention and application of an SEO and blog writing strategy their organic traffic reach, visitors to the website through search engine searches, has grown from 37 visitors in August to 759 visitors in September alone.
YOU CAN ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS AN INDUSTRY LEADER
There is a new way to establish yourself as an industry leader and that’s by creating a visible online presence. Through digital marketing, you can position yourself as a knowledge leader by sharing content that educates your clients, comments on industry trends and comes equipped with your personal advice and/or opinions. Digital marketing will raise your professional profile and in effect your leads.
Want to learn more about how digital marketing is helping our professional services clients reach new heights? Get your own consult with one of the Hughes & Co. team members by clicking here.