Cloud Wise Joe and Chauncey Haworth review a guide by Think with Google, relating it to the ABC’s of business and highlighting the importance of price comparisons, digital marketing, and answering your customers’ questions because if you don’t your competitor will.

Joe: Some business owners still of think of a website as a gateway for someone to contact our sales teams so that our sales team can masterfully sell them a product. The truth is that the customer is weaving their way through their buying journey and they’re transitioning, and they will contact you when they’re ready.

Statistics show that consumers are willing to switch brands even if they have bought one brand for many years. If the new brand were helpful in the buying journey, they would switch over. So essentially your value is being helpful. So don’t hold back the prices of your products assuming the customer will call you, not having the product information available is not helpful and may be the moment where you lose a potential customer, they can move on to your competitor in one click.

Customers will come to a point where they decide they can afford an Audi. Then they will come to the moment where they choose where to buy the Audi. This is the moment where you want to be found if you are selling Audis. Are you being found for what your selling?

Ten years ago the buying process would have been a done deal because I’m ready to buy that Audi, I’ve made a decision, and I’ve talked to that salesperson I’m ready to sign. Now we get to go back to the internet to make sure there isn’t a better deal before signing the papers.

A salesperson can now lose a customer in 2 seconds with the use of the internet. So you have got to ask yourself if it’s your business being found when the customer goes searching for the better deal.

Maybe the price of your product isn’t a better “deal” this still leaves a lot of opportunities to create good comparison content. If somebody is offering a little bit better of a deal, you can explain as to why you’re the product is a smarter choice, you can try to sweeten that deal with some with some extras or explain why buying from you is a wiser decision. Maybe you offer insurance or have a superior warranty.

You can create content or blog post comparisons on your site. Customers are always wondering if they are getting a good deal and there’s nothing wrong with being very clear what they are getting and how it compares to your competitors deal. Let your customer know your company has created a price comparison and ask if they would like you to email it to them or do you want to look at it online right now.

You may fall short, for instance, maybe you charge shipping that Amazon doesn’t. Maybe your service is a little more expensive, but you get to explain that you offer this that the competitor doesn’t, or your return policy is more inclusive or whatever it may be. I like to purchase knives, and if I come across two priced at $100 and $10, but the $100 knife has a policy where I can return it at any point for the rest of my life, that is the one I will choose.

Use your online collateral in the real world:  Introduce your price comparison blog post into the buying process. Make it clear. Have a sales guy talking to them to make sure that they know they are getting a great deal, and if they find a better one somewhere else. Let them know you can do price guarantees.

The point is that your customers are going through their funnel and there are decisions they’re making, and there are a series of questions. Which cars pass the test of which ones are right for me? Can I afford it? Where do I get it? Am I getting a good deal? Those are series of questions that we’re all asking no matter what it is. Ask yourself, are you available in the right places so people can find you and find this information too?

When we talk about being found we mean not just being found because you sell a certain type of thing but being found in these moments along the buying process.

Chauncey: I think the big takeaway here is that all those questions that people are asking have not necessarily been answered yet. People, especially business owners, automatically think that somebody has sat down and they’ve asked themselves all those questions over a larger span of time than all at once. People live very intermittent lives, and these questions are not happening back to back, they are happening sporadically throughout their existence.

Joe: I want to go over a portion of a dealers guidebook ‘Think With Google’ created which gives a guideline of what your digital marketing budget should be. I think this is interesting because if anybody knows, it’s Google. But I don’t know that we all think about breaking our marketing budget into brick and mortar, real media stuff versus digital media type stuff.

Google, based on this report for the automotive industry, says that they should be somewhere between 45 and 75 percent of their overall marketing budget should be for digital, and I don’t disagree with that number. Just from what I’ve seen, yes, if every company put half of their budget towards digital and half towards regular media I don’t think it would hurt them. I can’t think of an industry where that doesn’t apply. Now I’m not advocating just flat out doing that no matter what. I’m not advocating you just cut it in half. Do some research beforehand but do consider it.

Joe: I do think this guidebook by Think With Google can help when talking about the ABC’s of business. We’re talking about being found in these crucial moments or points in the buying process.

Being where your customers are and giving them what they are looking for will ensure your business success. Check out the full show at Being Found Show Episode #43

Find the Google dealers guidebook we discussed in this article :  Dealer Guidebook – Think with Google

Learn about the A.B.C’s of business:  3 Simple Rules To Succeed In Business – without spending a ton on advertising