Where ‘o Where Have Your Customers Gone?

As I entered my local Chinese restaurant today, I was quite surprised to find I was the only patron. I immediately wondered where ‘o where had their customers gone?

Visiting with the proprietor, I asked her about the state of her business. She told me it was “okay” but she was really worried about the summer if things were already this slow. (I don’t know how we went from “okay” to “slow” in about ten seconds; maybe I lost something in the translation)

I quickly asked what she was doing to promote her business online and if I could send her an email with some helpful information. My jaw hit the floor when she told me she didn’t have an email account.

As she left to prepare my order, I double checked the date on my I-phone. Yes, it was 2009 – a whole decade into the new millennium!

Back in the day, as they say, a business that doesn’t advertise was soon to be out of business. These days, a business without an online presence will soon be shopping for a Rest in Peace sign as well.

How can you survive today without a website? You can’t! How can you survive without driving traffic to your website? Again, you can’t. If you are still relying on the marketing weapons of yesterday, you might still attract a few prospects. But without an online presence for people to find you and validate who you are, you’ll continue to miss the majority of your potential customers.

Yes, the local Chinese restaurant attracted me as a customer today. I noticed them when visiting another store recently and decided to give then a try. It was my first visit since moving to this area more than a year ago. Just think how often I may have visited them if they were on page one when I Googled Chinese restaurants a year ago. 10 visits? 20 visits? Maybe more!

Where ‘o where have your customers gone? They are online, my friend, looking for you. Will they find you there?

About Bill Merrow
Bill’s marketing career began in 1984, leading to opportunities to manage a 40,000 person sales force and sell over $500,000,000 through direct mail. His consulting clients include General Electric, American Express, Walmart and hundreds of smaller firms. Bill specializes in helping small businesses differentiate themselves from their competition and create massive growth in sales and profitability. Learn more about Bill at http://www.azprofitplanners.com/ or http://www.linkedin/in/billmerrow. You can also contact him directly at bill@azprofitplanners.com or 602.821.7340.