It’s a prerequisite that any start up or established business today must have an online presence, regardless of whether it’s an active one or just for referrals. Other more standard business strategies, from team building to customer service are still of utmost, one of the key drivers of success for an Australian business today is having an engaging and reliable online presence.

While tracking ROI on online investment can be difficult, there is no denying that a good online marketing and branding strategy can turn around the fortunes of your business. If you’re still thinking about whether or not you should take your business online, consider these factors that will change your mind!

Virtually Limitless Marketing Opportunities

Just think about this for a moment – almost 90% of the population in Australia has access to the Internet, which means there are more than 21 million Internet users in the country. However, only 52% of the people use it for business and work purposes. In other words, there’s a huge market and potential for your business on the Internet that you are wasting by not going online.

Getting your business online enables potential customers to know more about what you offer, something which they didn’t have access to, with traditional marketing strategies. Online marketing gives your business the opportunity to reach out to a large number of customers that would otherwise spend their money on your competitors.

For instance, if you are opening a new sushi bar in Melbourne, you will be able to get more customers by creating an online presence and through marketing, than with traditional flyers, brochures, and newspaper advertisements. While we are not asking you to give up on traditional marketing because human interaction can never be replaced, online marketing helps you do much more for less!

Create Brand Loyalty like Never Before

Another undeniable incentive of getting your business online is the branding prospect. Taking your business online does not mean that you should follow in the footsteps of your competitors. Get a custom website design that compliments your business theme and integrate payment gateways if you decide to run an online store. Through organic and paid SEO, social media marketing, and Google AdWords, your website will start getting traffic in no time.

Once that happens; you have the opportunity to convert them into paying customers with good content and well placed call to actions. If people like what you offer, you will be rewarded with good online reviews, which can do wonders to promote your brand.

Provided that your business is perceived by your customers, fans, and followers as a brand, you can then leverage on opportunities to earn revenue through referral marketing, ad spaces, and more. Maintaining an online brand requires your business to have ongoing and long term goals with actionable plans. Once you manage to create to do that, your business will have the potential to become an online success story. The Internet has become incredibly easy to use, and is now more business friendly than ever. Hence, getting your business online could be the best decision that your business makes!

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