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Five Keys to improving your visibility
Being “Findable” means that a business is visible to consumers where and when they’re ready to buy. It also means being found first in their category, before competitors. For local businesses, this used to be fairly simple – run ads in the local newspaper or Yellow Pages, and then rely on customer referrals. But times have changed. Reaching today’s local consumeRs RequiRes neW maRketing vehicles Consumers today use an average of nearly eight different media tools to research local purchases before they buy.1 In addition to perusing proven media like print ads and directories, many consumers now rely heavily on the web. In fact, nearly 70% of consumers start their local business searches online.2 And that includes mobile, where more than 40% of mobile phone users search for The reality is local businesses need to develop a coordinated offline and online marketing program in order to reach across the myriad ways today’s digitally savvy and mobile buyers search and shop. This presents some challenges for local businesses, including: • time and resources – Finding time to develop, manage, and fund marketing programs.
• marketing Knowledge – Understanding local marketing strategies and which components
directly impact visibility. Since most local business owners are experts at what they do – and may not be expert marketers – this also presents the challenge of hiring a local marketing consultant they trust to develop and manage marketing programs designed to reach today’s • Knowing Where to start – Online marketing seems complicated and time consuming. It’s
difficult to know where to begin, let alone know how to mix digital marketing strategies with • maximizing return on investment – Realizing the biggest bang for their buck is an
important challenge for local businesses with limited marketing budgets that leave no room An important step toward addressing these challenges for local businesses is identifying key marketing components that have the most impact on being findable. Five key marketing components -- or “factors” -- help identify how findable a business is to consumers. The degree at which a local business is engaged in each factor plays an important role in determining visibility. The five factors of being findable are: • brand
• physical location
• Advertising
• online presence
• reputation & Community
Description: A company’s unique identity (logo/tagline/jingle). Brand distinguishes a company
from others – like Google and Coca-Cola.
Why brand is important for being findable: Presenting a unique identity distinguishes a business
from its competitors. By building a strong brand, a company attracts prospects looking for a positive, memorable experience and serves to promote loyalty among existing customers.
A unique brand is magnetic. It attracts prospects, brings back customers, and sets companies apart. By promoting itself as memorable, easily recognizable, and superior in quality and reliability, a business begins to build brand awareness, which creates a powerful advantage in the local Building brand awareness means promoting your company’s name, logo, tagline, and imagery consistently across a wide range of media and doing so over a period of time. By sending a consistent message across varying media, your chances of standing out in the minds of consumers improve. Being seen in places where and when consumers are ready to buy should be every local Where to begin? Questions to ask:
• Do we promote an identifiable brand that distinguishes us from competitors?• Do our brand and logo always accompany our business name and tagline?• Is our tagline unique and memorable?• Do we update our branding elements (logo, tagline and jingle) as needed?• Do we use our branding elements consistently?• Do we offer a unique value or differentiator in our market? get started now. Help differentiate and promote your brand with solutions from Dex One. A
marketing consultant can show you how. Call 1-877-291-9886 or explore solutions for building
Description: A company’s tangible presence in the market – from uniforms with logos to bus
Why physical location is important for being findable: Since the goal is to be seen by more
people, thinking about physical location beyond tangible presence (e.g., the storefront), is important. Promoting physical location means more than hanging a sign out front or relying on word of mouth. In today’s mobile society, the degree to which a business reaches prospects and customers through location advertising, public signage and messaging on company vehicles does wonders for increasing business locally. The fact is, while a strong presence – physical or virtual – is a necessity, it may not be enough to attract the steady stream of new customers local businesses need to succeed. To grow and thrive in today’s crowded and competitive local business environment, companies must actively promote their location when and where consumers look for their business. Where to begin? Questions to Ask:
• Do we utilize public signage to promote our business?• Do we put our name, logo or advertising on company vehicles?• Do our storefronts have signage promoting our business, hours, website or special offers?• Do we advertise at events or in public by having people hold signs or dress in costumes/ • Is our street address recognizable and easy to find? get started now. Promote your physical location with solutions from Dex One. A marketing
consultant can show you how. Call 1-877-291-9886 today.
Description: A company’s offline media promotions – communicating brand, message and offers.
Why Advertising is important for being findable: Advertising is a company’s voice. It speaks to
consumers about the uniqueness of a company’s products or services. It requires the right mix of traditional advertising and online vehicles as well as the ability to track effectiveness to ensure the right message is heard at the right time. Local businesses need to cross-promote using the best blend of offline and online media – from print directories to online search campaigns – to be seen in myriad places consumers look today Where to begin? Questions to ask:
• Do we advertise in print—newspapers, magazines, circulars, Yellow Pages?• Do we purchase radio/TV advertising?• Do we use direct marketing, newsletters, flyers, coupons and promotions?• Do we cross-promote throughout a variety of ad media?• Do we track the effectiveness of our advertising and adjust marketing plans accordingly? get started now. Promote your business with advertising solutions from Dex One. A marketing
consultant can show you how. Call 1-877-291-9886 today or explore solutions on
Description: A company’s existence on the Internet – website, online marketing and email.
Why online presence is important for being findable: Marketing online can open up doors to a
huge new audience of potential customers. More than just offering a Website, building a strong online presence means diving into more advanced ways to ensure findability, such as optimizing Web pages for Search Engines, establishing trackable advertising and marketing campaigns, creating mobile instances of the brand, and utilizing digital resources like directories and listings. Since being found online is critical to the long-term success of local businesses, it requires more than having a website or a Facebook page. Businesses that want to reach a growing audience of potential customers and establish long-term success need a robust online marketing program, which requires confidence in the power that online marketing has to attract new potential Where to begin? Questions to ask:
• Does our business have a website and unique email address?• Do we tag and optimize our website for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?• Do we use Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to appear in search results pages, digital directories, listings or mobile applications? • Do we purchase online advertising – paid search, listings, banner ads or maps?• Do we track how customers are searching for us – search engines or social media? get started now. Build your online presence with solutions from Dex One. A marketing consultant
can show you how. Call 1-877-291-9886 today or explore solutions on
Description: A company’s reputation and involvement with online and local communities – events,
social media, sponsorships or memberships.
Why reputation & Community is important for being findable: Consumers talk daily about
the companies they have experiences with. Local businesses that listen to their customers and understand that others are having conversations about their business online and offline, benefit by not only understanding how people feel about them, but by providing the opportunity to guide the conversation rather than react to it. Through social media, blogs, sponsorships or memberships, local businesses can manage their reputation and interaction with online and offline communities. Community presence is professional involvement with both online communities and the neighborhood organizations where they do business. Being involved in local communities and organizations promotes good will and brand loyalty.
Where to begin? Questions to ask:
• Do we actively communicate online using two or more social media tools – Facebook, • Do we track posts about our company on social media websites and use this to plan • Do we monitor ratings, reviews and dialog about our company and competition?• Do we sponsor or participate in community, industry or charitable events?• Do we closely monitor our company’s reputation? get started now. Easily track your online reputation, the accuracy of your business’ social
buzz—even your competition—with Dex One. A marketing consultant can show you how. Call 1-877-291-9886 today or explor.
According to Aberdeen Research, more than a half-million new small businesses were started in 2009.4 Statistics also show that 70% of small-medium business employer firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years, and a quarter stay in business 15 years or more.5 Increased competition, tightening budgets, and an ever-changing consumer landscape puts a great deal of pressure on today’s local business owner. To ensure long-term success, it’s critical that local businesses take steps to increase visibility across multiple channels. By understanding how the five factors of being findable help identify and optimize marketing efforts, local businesses can begin developing marketing programs that reach today’s most qualified and ready to buy consumers when and where they search for the products and services they need. Understanding where consumers are looking when they’re ready to buy allows local businesses to target their marketing efforts. Doing so greatly increases their chance of being found, builds their customer base, and helps ensure long-term success. But being findable is more than just a concept. The How Findable Are you?tm free online assessment allows local businesses to test
how visible they are in each of the five factors, as well as discover how consumers search in their industry and gain insight into how they can improve their visibility. It’s simple, easy, takes just minutes to complete, and it’s available today. Once the assessment is completed, a scorecard is produced that provides all of the details and helpful advice.
5 Small Business Administration, January 2011.

Source: http://bulldogsolutions.net/DexOne/knowledgebase/FiveFactorsWP.pdf