Many small businesses primarily rely on their physical location to sell their products or services. These types of companies are referred to as “Brick and Mortar” businesses. As an entrepreneur of a “Brick and Mortar” type business, the daily physical activities make maintaining an online presence seem like a tedious, uphill battle.

Here are a couple of benefits to building a prominent online presence that often get overlooked or taken for granted. 

Target The Market Outside Your Neighborhood

Having a product or service that doesn’t rely solely on your location can widen your market and increase profits. By merely showcasing the features of your product or service on a well-developed website, you can increase your earnings in a broader market. Take a neighborhood coffee shop, for example; If they set up a website with a catering option, they can widen their customer base to downtown businesses! If you have a website that showcases an online order-pickup, this can increase the commuter demographics you’re reaching.

Influencing Word of Mouth

Through websites like Yelp and Google Reviews, you can identify if consumers have had a negative experience with your company. You can alleviate those consumers’ negative experiences through discounts and free services, thus decreasing the negative word of mouth (WOM). If your issue is systemic, you can address it and increase the positive WOM of your business from that point forward.

The online world is an everchanging landscape that, without guidance, can be near impossible to manage. If you find the online marketing world a steep hill to climb, look into the benefits of an AFEUSA membership. Some of the benefits include discounts with sites and companies like E6 Agency, that make managing an online presence much easier to handle.