SMEs contribute a huge amount to overall GDP in the European Union. Although 2020 has brought challenges, it has also brought opportunities for these businesses to accelerate digital transformation for 2021. Consumers will continue to buy products and services from small and medium-sized enterprises, but their behaviours and demands have changed and SMEs must adapt. This workshop will discuss the impact of Covid on e-commerce, before providing digital marketing tips for small business in search and social media.

1. DIGITALISE YOUR
SME BUSINESS
CLARK BOYD
8 DECEMBER 2020

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COMING UP
1. The importance of digitalisation
2. What does a “digitalised” business look like?
3. Digital channels available to you
4. Tips to get started with:
○ Search Marketing
○ Social Media
5. Q&A (20 mins)

3. THE
IMPORTANCE
OF
DIGITALISATION

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TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED HOW CUSTOMERS
INTERACT WITH BRANDS
- AND EACH OTHER

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• Always connected
• Curious
• Informed
Today’s consumer is:
2021

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Of customers share
good experiences
with others
SalesForce
72%

7. ADVANTAGES OF
ONLINE INTERACTION
Online: email, web,
social is accessible
anytime
Digital engagement can
happen anywhere using
mobile devices
Online interaction is
faster than traditional
methods
Digital methods are
cheaper and offer more
control
Digital interactions
are easier to link to
records or receipts

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Of all retail sales
are influenced by
digital interactions
Retail Dive
58%

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• Category heuristics: Short descriptions of
key product specifications can simplify
purchase decisions.
• Power of now: The longer you have to wait
for a product, the weaker the proposition
becomes.
• Social proof: Recommendations and reviews
from others can be very persuasive.
• Scarcity bias: As stock or availability of a
product decreases, the more desirable it
becomes.
• Authority bias: Being swayed by an expert or
trusted source.
• Power of free: A free gift with a purchase,
even if unrelated, can be a powerful
motivator.
CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS

12. WHAT DOES A
“DIGITALISED”
BUSINESS
LOOK LIKE?

13. IS DIGITALISATION
SHAPED BY:
● Technology?
● People?
● Culture?
● Customers?
● Business model?
Of European SMEs are “future
ready”
- Vodafone Business
20%

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FOR 2021, THIS MEANS
SMES MUST BE:
• Adaptable: Customer behaviours will continue to
change, as will their expectations
• Focused on the short-term: Stability will be crucial -
new technologies should address clear needs
• “Omnichannel”: Giving the customer multiple options to
shop on their terms
• Safety-conscious: Both in terms of shopping
experience and data security

15. EMPRUNTE MON
TOUTOU
● An app for matching dogs with dog
walkers
● Introduced a free service for the
elderly and disabled during Covid-19
pandemic
● This helps reinforce the brand’s
values, while helping out vulnerable
customers
● The digital world enables this agile
approach

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Geppetto’s is a small toy store that has
accelerated its digitalisation in response to 2020’s
difficulties.
It has:
• Rebuilt its website UX, including a new
ecommerce experience.
• Introduced new purchase options, including
curbside pick-up and click & collect.
• Developed new ‘personalised’ products to
cater to new demand.
This has led to:
• 700% increase in online sales over the
Black Friday period, vs. 2019

17. DIGITAL
CHANNELS

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Website/App
Content
Analytics
Digital PR
E-commerce
Mobile
Search
Social
Video

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WHICH SHOULD YOU
FOCUS ON?
Follow these steps:
• Research your audience
• Set out your business goals
• Define your budget
• Test different channels
• Activate your strategy

20. SEARCH

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of all internet journeys
start with a search
engine
#1 #2Search engine
worldwide
3bn+ searches on
Google every day
Search engine
worldwide
500mn+ searches on
YouTube every day

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23. digitalmarketinginstitute.com 23https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
OPTIMISING FOR SPEED

24. digitalmarketinginstitute.com 24https://answerthepublic.com/
Answer The Public is a tool that will
help you find your customers’ most
common questions on Google.
You can then use these topics to
create new content for your website
and attract more traffic.
In the Covid/post-Covid world,
brands that are helpful and
supportive will win new customers.

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CREATING CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CONTENT

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GOOGLE SHOPPING TO OFFER FREE LISTINGS

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SEARCH: FIVE TIPS
1. Focus on speed: Google gives preference to
faster mobile sites in search results
2. Research audience pain points: People use
search for everything, from initial research to
comparison and purchase
3. Create useful content: Detail the steps you are
taking to make shopping safe
4. Make use of local: Set up a Google My Business
profile and add photos/videos/reviews
5. Consider e-commerce search: Optimise for
Google Shopping, as well as Amazon

28. SOCIAL

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381M
The average social
media user scrolls
through 385M of
content every day
Facebook

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SOCIAL MEDIA: LOW-COST CREATIVE CONTENT

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LEARN FROM YOUR REPORTS
Social media offers a host of content
formats and metrics.
Pinpoint the audience behaviours that
matter to you, then measure progress
against these targets. For example,
Instagram Stories or Facebook image
grids may attract more engagement.
Then, adapt your strategy and monitor
progress.

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https://business.instagram.com/shopping
SOCIAL COMMERCE IN 2021
Social commerce will be big business in 2021. Platforms
have started to offer instant checkout and tools to create
editorial content.
These offer an opportunity to be featured in promotions
led by Facebook/Instagram.
The social networks are keen to champion small
business success through social commerce - you can
use this to your advantage.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE ON MESSENGER
No-code customer service bots can be
integrated into Messenger.
They can handle everything from customer
enquiries to returns requests.
This can supplement the efforts of staff and
help scale the business.

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SOCIAL: FIVE TIPS
1. Connect social to your website: Install the free Facebook
Pixel for better tracking across your owned platforms
2. Define your business’ metrics: Social media offers a number
of ‘vanity metrics’. Look at the behaviours that matter to your
business and measure these instead
3. Use new content technologies: Free/cheap tools like Canva
will enable any brand to create professional content
4. Get involved with social commerce: Connect product
catalogues to your business page and set up instant
checkout
5. Engage your community: Reviews and feedback will help
reassure other customers about your shopping experience.
You can encourage this by being responsive to customer
queries.

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Q&A

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THANK YOU