What is your biggest business challenge?

Meeting payroll, collecting receivables, balancing inventory, adequate staffing, etc. are the kinds of challenges almost every business faces continuously, but such things are just part of the business of doing business.  What I am asking is, “what is that ONE big thing that if you could nail it down it would virtually guarantee your success?”

Permit me to share my biggest business challenge

Problem needing to be solved: Getting traction online is something that every company has to deal with whether they do transactions online or merely have a website that is a glorified brochure. The problem is that your customers research every major purchase and most nonessential consumables and activities online before they commit.  If they don’t find your website, you are not getting their business.

To make matters even more challenging, these searches are now being done from smartphones; as much as 25% to 40% of the search traffic is done from a mobile phone. So, if your website is not ‘mobile-friendly’ your website may be omitted altogether from search results by the search engines.

Solving that problem is one of the things that the Flathead Guide does for our customers. By providing a mobile-ready listing that is optimized for search, we help our customers perform better in search results. In other words, people may actually see your Flathead Guide listing ranked before your primary website listing.

Additionally, once you understand how the search engines’ algorithm ranks your site, you know how important it is to have strong links from local authority websites.  The link alone from the Flathead Guide can actually help lift your primary site in search results. So, the benefit to our customers is that they get a great local link from an authority website, which gives them help in standard search results and an opportunity to appear in mobile searches.

The Flathead Guide’s biggest challenge

If every Flathead Valley business understood the intrinsic value of their Flathead Guide listing, and the link they receive from the Flathead Guide and the potential to reach more people and gain new customers, they would be lined up around the block begging to add their listing.  If that awareness was recognized by every local business, I would never need to leave the office.

As an example, last month Gardner’s RV received 14 clicks from our website – that means that 14 people chose the Flathead Guide listing and not the Garner’s RV website.  Gardner’s RV had 14 new prospective customers that they did not capture from their main website.

Your biggest business challenge is the same as mine

It doesn’t matter if your business gives away $100 bills; you still need to make people aware of their availability. You have to create mindfulness and you have to contact the people you want to reach, and those searching for your services.  Plus, if they are using a smartphone, all they need do is tap your phone number on your Flathead Guide listing to be speaking directly with you.

Advertising and promotion is necessary to build your brand, but today the world revolves around search. If you want to capture people’s attention you must be positioned better than your competitors in search results. This is one BIG challenge the Flathead Guide can help you solve.

The Flathead Guide is not advertising

It is a tactical marketing campaign for 2013 and beyond.  It sends a message to the search engines that your business has a smartphone-optimized ‘mini website’ with a photo slideshow, an unlimited text description, all your contact information, links to all your social sites and more. It is a stand-alone, search engine optimized listing of your company, products and services.

The problem with advertising

You pay your money for a one-shot advertising campaign and who reads a three-day old newspaper? Whereas your Flathead Guide listing works for you 24 x 7 x 365 and it costs less than a fast food lunch. For only $4 per month (billed annually) your listing can help your main website in search results, and drive new customers to your business.  What is the value of gaining even ONE new customer?  It is a safe bet that it far exceeds the cost of your listing in the Flathead Guide.

Don’t delay another moment!
Add your business to the Flathead Guide here.