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(YESTERDAY) Traditional Buying Cycle
Stage 1-- A person consults the directory when they re considering a purchase. Theynarrow their choices (on whatever criteria they consider important). As it turnsout, over 50% select on the basis of convenient location.
Stage 2-- They call with questions. Whereupon the business owner persuades them tocome into the shop or make an appointment - or not.
Stage 3-- Their coming to your store provides a face-to-face opportunity to nail thesale.
(TODAY & IN THE FUTURE) The convenience of the Internet has thrown that sequence onits head.
The Shortest Distance from Your customer to you is over the Internet. Recent studiesshow that these days as high as 70% of potential buyers head to the Internet insteadof the Yellow Page directory. They consider search engines the fastest way to getthe information they need to make buying decisions. By the time they walk into yourplace of business, they re already informed about the products they want.
In 2005 Google introduced the LOCAL SEARCH feature. Since then local searches haveassumed an immense importance to search engines.
Increasingly, buyers learn about available products and services in their hometownarea by conducting a Internet LOCAL SEARCH. A Local Search occurs when a searchengine query is coupled with a geographic term, like city, state, zip code forexample: plumber + Chicago north shore,Ill). The search results only includeenterprises within that area.
Even a very small business can show up at the top of the search results. But ifthey re do not have a website they won t show up at all. Being Found Demands YouShow up where Customers are Looking.
Businesses will be compelled to make themselves findable online (website) because ofchanged consumer behavior. And the Internet has altered other habits as well. Themajority of young adults use the Internet every day. It s an integral part of wherethey get news or the facts they trust. For them going online is as convenient aspicking up the phone.
Since 74% of households have Internet access, more and more of the buying public uses search engines as a preferred LOCAL SHOPPING RESOURCE. By comparison, Yellow Page use declined from 75% to 62%. The public is very attached totheir cell phones (literally) and, they carry them everywhere they go. There areabout 200 million wireless phones in the U.S - 200 million potential buyers walkingaround. It s now possible for anyone to conduct a Local Search from their cellphone. So there s no question that on-the-go consumers will rely on Local Searcheven more.
Re-examine your assumptions about your own customers. Times have changed. How dothey find you? What information they want to know, and how hard is it for them tofind it? And what do you intend to do about that? Yesterday s answers about thebest way to promote your business don t match the new reality. Most buyers are aheadof you when it comes to computer savvy and confidence in search engine results.That s not a prediction, it s an actuality. Take Local Search seriously because yoursurvival is at stake.
