How would you feel if you visited a local business (A) to buy something and found out it was closed for no apparent reason? As a customer, you might consider it an unpleasant surprise and quickly find an alternative business (B) to get what you want, right? Chances are that in the near future you are likely to set B as your favorite business and take A off your list because it didn’t meet your expectations.
Sometimes local business owners don’t find it necessary to provide information about their business and unfortunately, they miss potential clients or even existing ones. To prevent this from happening, Google has created an excellent tool called Google My Business (GMB), a robust platform where businesses can manage their digital marketing efforts all from one screen.
In today’s information age, it is more important than ever for businesses to have a strong online presence. Although it can be achieved in many ways, the easiest is with the help of GMB — a free, easy-to-use tool that manages your business’ or organization’s digital footprint across Google search results pages as well as map listings.
Not only does this ensure you are found in relevant searches such as “restaurants near me,” but also allows customers to leave reviews about their experience at your establishment that could lead them & others who might be reading those reviews back again!
This tool is very useful for local businesses, as it allows owners to manage their business information, interact with customers and expand their presence. One of the most relevant features for today’s business is that customers can share your company’s profile with other people, further increasing potential clients.
GMB is very simple to use thanks to its user-friendly interface. All you need is to access Google My Business web page, create a business profile and add your business information such as business name, category, location, working hours, phone number and website.
Market research indicates the best way to ensure your business stands out is by showing potential clients the reasons why your company is different from the rest. This helps to attract new customers and keep existing ones happy!
To take maximum advantage of this powerful tool, we consider the following steps necessary:
- Add a short description
You need to write some lines to tell people about the products or services your business offers. This is your opportunity to attract potential customer’s attention. Try your best to make this short description catchy but not “salesy.” It will reflect your business brand values and personality.
- Add pictures to call the attention of potential clients
We recommend choosing genuine images, not downloaded images. Original images will fit your business perfectly and will be trustworthy for visitors. Deliver a relatable experience. Think of what your current customers love the most of your business and showcase it properly!
- Answer every client’s review
Customer reviews are important. Responding to customer’s feedback is a way of showing that you care about customer satisfaction. It also helps you to identify business areas that can be improved.
- Promote your content, events, offers and products through advertising
Google has launched Google Post for businesses. It allows you to share interesting content about your business such as blog posts, events, special offers and all you consider necessary to promote your company.
- Add a short video
It is by far the best way to catch your target audience’s eyes because it shows the reality as if they were there. Start recording your company’s events or even just how your team works. It makes a huge difference!
- Complete the Question-Answer section
Respond to your clients’ doubts so they don’t hesitate in coming on by. You should do this not only for the sake of professionalism, but also because your answers help strengthen relationships with previous clients or even potential future clients who might have similar queries.
About the Author
Fernando Polti submitted the article on behalf of Global Wizards, which specializes in marketing and web development. Check out his company at https://wizards.us