21/11/2011 Norwich Norfolk
Small family business turns it’s back on the highstreet to embrace the online age.
Although according to the BIA study this November UK small business are embracing Social Media and Online trends the level of engagement varies average spend per business online is around £1,400 per year. The BIA report showed UK SMB’s are still using print media and classifieds to market their business.
One Norfolk family business has ceased trading as a high street store and instead switched all it’s marketing spend to online activities. Struggeling with diminishing returns on advertising and a frustrating lack of data concering response rates.
Simon Hiscoxs owner of EasyLighting.co.uk decided he would invest in Google’s AdWords system.
Teaching himself and learning from others online Simon spent much of 2009 learning a whole new vocabulary of ‘Click Through Rates’ ‘Cost Per Acquisiton’ and more.
‘At first it was frightening trying to learn all this new stuff. I gradually reduced our spending on newspaper ads and telephone directories and shifted it online.’
‘Today every £1 I spend with AdWords is worth £5 in revenue. When I take into account overheads and stock costs this leaves me with healthy profit margins.
I could never achieve this with print and radio. Where an advert per week would cost me £150 – £500 in a local paper and no idea of what the return might be.
Without adequate research and testing AdWords can equally swallow ad spend. But as Simon demonstrated the owner of an average business can become proficient at online advertsing and learn to make money.
‘Using Google AdWords I can track which search terms send visitors to my website and which adverts convert the most. visitors to sales. Once I had worked out how to add sales conversion tracking to my website I could see the actual value of every transaction.’
Eaylighting.co.uk is an ecommerce website and so is suited for the Google system. Having mastered Googles Sytem Simon is keen to turn his hand to Social Media to see how he can use FaceBook and Twitter to build awareness of his brand.
‘I have alot of work to do with the website itself and so have hired a digital marketing consultant.’
Working with Yodelay.com Simon is busy looking at ways to optimise the user experience of the website and gain more conversions.