As a business, association or organization, Google Business Profile is a must-have tool for you. Google listings are now becoming a central, even essential element for your visibility. They allow you to share your information, but it is also a free tool that highlights your activities, products or services that benefit from Google visibility.

Google Business Profile is a complementary support to your website which has many advantages:

• A digital business card on the most used search engine in the world
• Multi-media visibility (search engine and maps)
• An improvement in your position in search results
• An increase in quality in-store traffic
• A better understanding of your business
• Simplified loyalty
• Legitimacy in the eyes of Internet users
• Better local visibility

It will also allow you to:

• Interact with your customers on Google for free
• Attract customers with a good business profile
• Give your customers more ways to reach you

With your free business profile, you will be able to post photos and offers to show what makes you different, but above all, give reasons to your customers to choose you every time!

Do a test with your company, “google it”.

It will be the business listings that will be presented by Google that will appear first. You may find yourself, but your information is wrong (location, opening hours, photos, description, comments). You just might not exist! The file is to be created. This Google listing will be the first to come out, so your business must have its up-to-date listing. Your customers will use this information to continue their research, make calls or visits. Being connected to web users is essential today. Regardless of the size of your business, the benefits are important for your proper development.

Google Business Profile will allow you to:

• Be spotted more easily
• Help a customer get to you
• Have feedback on your products
• Develop the relationship with the users of your services

5 reasons your small business need to use it:

• It’s free
• Help your customers locate you
• Ensure better visibility in mobile/web search results
• Measure the traffic and audience of your business profile
• Obtain the opinions of your customers

Where to start?

1. Check that your company has its file. If it is not claimed, go claim it to take control of it. Validate the information therein and see if there is a way to improve and animate it.
2. If you do not have a profile, go to create it at this address: https://www.google.ca/intl/en/business/

Google Business Profile displays information related to your business and puts your potential and current customers in direct contact with your business. It increases your visibility in order to retain your customers. Here is a tool to use without any moderation.

Who benefits from developing a digital strategy? The answer is simple: all businesses, from multinationals, to small local businesses, to the self-employed. So why is it that in 2020, 46% of Québec businesses still don’t have a website? This figure even rises to 62% for businesses with fewer than 5 employees.

Many believe that because their customers are local, they can do without this tool, or that social media can replace a website. However, in an era of labour shortages and the importance of online reputation, these companies are missing out on important business opportunities.

A website and a business page on a social media platform have different purposes, they are complementary in a successful digital strategy. Are you a small business owner still hesitating to take the plunge? Here’s why having a website is more important than ever.

Every entrepreneur has heard the expression “if you don’t show up in Google, you don’t exist.” Today’s Internet users search the engines based on a problem they want to solve by typing in keywords, specific questions and locations. If your company does not show up in the results, your competitors benefit from your absence. This is why a well-referenced website is crucial.

Social networks are part of an effective digital strategy, but you should know that they are not favoured from an SEO point of view. It is difficult to get good SEO using a Facebook page, for example. It will only come up on search engines if you type in the company name. Furthermore, companies that only have Facebook pages have little chance of reaching their customers adequately. According to the new algorithms, less than 6% of your followers will see your posts. Unless you invest in advertising, the organic reach of some social media is now extremely low.

To reach as many consumers as possible, developing a digital strategy for your business, starting with the creation of a website, is essential.

A successful website gives your business credibility; it’s the foundation of any digital strategy. Studies have even shown that the majority of consumers have less trust in companies not having a website. If an Internet user, a job applicant for example, is looking for information about your company and only finds a Facebook page, your credibility suffers! Internet users expect any serious, professional company to have an up-to-date business card on the Web, even if it is only a showcase site.

On your website, you provide consumers with clear information about your business, products or services. It also allows you to showcase your expertise and accomplishments, as well as communicate your history, values and even your employer brand via a “career” page (a must in a labour shortage). This is how you manage the perception that consumers have of your company.

Internet users have high expectations; they want to be able to find information about your services and products in a few clicks. They don’t have time to scroll down a Facebook page to find what they are looking for! They want to be able to act quickly: request a quote, make an appointment, make a reservation, view a menu, etc. These are all features that can be added to your website easily and inexpensively. An ideal digital strategy would consist of feeding your news and updates to social networks, and prioritizing your website for static information.

Your website works for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If it is well designed visually and technically, it is one of your company’s most effective sales tools. With a contact form, your website can generate questions and requests outside of your business hours, which you will then respond to as soon as you open the next day. This is a good way to stand out with respect to customer service.

Since Internet users need an answer to their question quickly, focusing on a “Frequently Asked Questions” section, explanatory videos or technical data sheets, can help potential customers make a decision. Create this content once and direct customers to this information for years! You will spend more time working on revenue-generating activities and less time answering calls about your hours of operation and other basic information.

Having an active social media page is certainly part of a good digital strategy for your business, but alone it will not be enough. Investing in a website is more cost-effective than the value of missed opportunities resulting from not having one.

If you want to take your business to the next level, but are concerned that a website is too complicated or too expensive, turn to your local SADC or CAE. Their advisors can guide you through the digital transformation of your business by directing you towards simple and accessible solutions.

Source : https://statistique.quebec.ca

For or against using social media?

Even if just thinking about it gives you a headache, social media has become a must for businesses that want to stand out!

Here are some compelling statistics:

• 78% of Québec adults use one or more social media platforms;
• 33% of Québec adults use social media as their main source of information;
• 3.5 hours is the average number of hours Québec adults spend on social media every day.

It’s a safe bet that your current and potential customers are included in these statistics.

Social media has become an essential tool for any business, regardless of its size. It allows you to reach out and engage with your customers, develop your online visibility, build brand image and awareness, acquire new customers and much more. It is a powerful marketing tool provided you have an effective social media strategy.

What is a social media strategy?

A social media strategy identifies a company’s communication goals and needs in developing its online presence, interacting with present customers, while reaching out to prospective customers.

In other words, it entails planning the actions you will have to carry out on social networks to achieve your company’s marketing objectives.

Still sceptical? Here are five reasons to convince you to use social media to promote your business and communicate with your customers.

Pour être connu, il faut être vu. De nombreux clients potentiels peuvent vous découvrir sur les réseaux sociaux. Chaque fois que vous partagez du contenu engageant, c’est une opportunité de mettre de l’avant votre entreprise. Que ce soit vos produits, vos services ou votre marque employeur. Élargissez votre audience en publiant du contenu, sur Facebook et Instagram, pour commencer.

Social media is an effective marketing tool, but it is also a great way to communicate. It allows you to get and stay in touch with your customers. Comments, customer answers to questions under your posts, shares of posts and likes are all opportunities to develop a relationship with your audience and create a bond of trust and credibility.

Marketing on social media is a more affordable investment than traditional advertising channels. It only takes a few hours a week to plan quality content for your audience. A great way to increase traffic to your website or visits to your business.

Millions of people surf social media every day in Québec alone. Being on social media allows your company to understand their needs and expectations, to analyze their behaviour, to collect data and comments. All of this is done in order to create effective promotional campaigns and to meet the needs of your target clientele.

Having a presence on social media demonstrates that you care about your customers’ opinions. By giving them the opportunity to share their feedback, you show your commitment to providing quality service. Satisfied customers are your best ambassadors!

Now that you know the reasons for building a social media strategy for your business, are you ready to get started?

Your local SADC advisors will be happy to help you develop a customized marketing plan.

In today’s labour shortage, small businesses are making greater efforts to recruit, often unsuccessfully. Employer branding and HR marketing are therefore a priority in developing their market attractiveness, now, more than ever.

Given their current position of strength, candidates are now the ones who shop around for the company that best suits their needs, expectations and values. Companies of all types and sizes are turning to employer branding as a tailor-made solution to these challenges. Building a strong employer brand not only attracts the right profile of candidates, but also improves the level of engagement of current employees and helps in their retainment.

While the concepts of employer branding and HR marketing are more prevalent than ever, implementing these strategies may not be easy for many small businesses in the region. Here are 3 things you need to know to convince yourself to get started!

The employer brand is the set of elements that make up the image that the company conveys to its current and future employees. It includes the company’s identity (DNA, mission, vision, values), its reputation among its employees (internal image) and the promise made to future employees (external image).

Once you have defined your strategy, your employer brand becomes the common thread for presenting yourself in a consistent manner to enhance your image and engage your community, especially on the Web and social media.

If you’re one of the many companies that are feeling the labour shortage, defining and communicating your employer brand are an integral part of an effective HR marketing strategy.

As mentioned above, defining your employer brand is the foundation of a successful HR marketing strategy. Why? Because it reveals your company’s culture, values and actions. By revealing your company’s culture, values and actions, you will distinguish yourself from your competitors in the eyes of the talent you are seeking.

In order to identify your employer brand, ask yourself the following questions:

• What words do your employees use when talking about your company
• What makes them happy when they’re at work?
• Why have your employees chosen your company over another?
• What makes an employee decide to stay with your team over a long period of time?
• What sets you apart in terms of human resources? What benefits do you offer (vacation, training, work environment, diversity policy, etc.)?
• Is your company involved in your community?
• What are the values that drive you to offer more to your employees and your community?

Once well established, your employer brand will be much easier to promote.

Why focusing on HR marketing and employer brand outreach is a strategy that small businesses can take on is that it consists mostly of online content and social media. While the “career” section of your website will be the place to convey the “static” key messages of your employer brand, your social media channels will allow you to give life to your brand on a daily basis with posts related to:

• The company’s culture (the company’s values, the actions and activities that stem from them, the work environment, the tone, the team members).
• Company news (awards, distinctions, new contracts, new employees, retirements)
• Employee recognition (individual achievements, work anniversaries, the impact of team members)
• News external to the company but related to your activities (Earth Day, Volunteer Week, World Mental Health Day, etc.)

In addition to being free, social media allow you to reach a large pool of people and to broadcast more “personal” content, i.e. content that reveals the people behind the company.

Short on time and social media are not part of your expertise? Don’t hesitate to contact your local SADC or CAE! Their advisors will guide you to the appropriate resources.

Automating certain tasks in business by using technology to speed up key processes can be much simpler to implement than we might think. It doesn’t necessarily mean using ultra-sophisticated and expensive artificial intelligence.

Many tasks can be automated in order to save time, and ultimately money, be more efficient, and help to counter the current labour shortage. Although automation requires an investment, the medium and long-term benefits are well worth the cost. Here are several tasks that can be easily automated within your company.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a system that consolidates all communications (emails, calls, meetings), documents, quotes, invoices, and tasks associated with each customer into one place. A CRM replaces the many applications, databases and spreadsheets that companies use to track customers and business partner data. The entire team can access this data at the opportune moment to close a sale or provide better service. The result: better organization, more efficient teams, optimized time management and increased profits.

Accounting software increases your efficiency given its ability to automate basic calculations and administrative procedures related to all financial aspects of your business. It can prepare invoices and employee payrolls, automatically schedule payments and reminders to suppliers, track cash flow, manage inventory, etc. In short, it can automate all the transactions within the account book. Automatic data entry also avoids manual entry errors and generates accurate and compatible financial reports.

Whether it is for service companies wishing to facilitate appointment scheduling with their customers or for those wishing to limit the exchange of emails in planning meetings, appointment scheduling is a simple and efficient software solution. Connected to your personal calendar, these applications such as Calendly, Microsoft Bookings or Go Appointments, allow your customers and collaborators to choose a time slot from your availabilities. You can also choose to automatically assign a Zoom or Teams link to meetings. Links to these applications can be made available directly on your website or in your email signature, so that your customers can schedule meetings with you in seconds.

In small businesses, the animation and management of different social networks can quickly become a headache for a single person. Collaboration and automation platforms like Later and Hootsuite allow for teamwork and information sharing. With this, you can schedule posts in a calendar ahead of time and you can share access to that account with the rest of your social media team. You can connect multiple networks to it, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. This makes it much easier to share the work and plan ahead.

Finally, go over your monthly and annual subscriptions to make them automatically renewable. Some purchases or rentals are necessary for your business and must be renewed anyway, such as your domain names, your website hosting, some software, etc. By activating automatic renewal, you will save time. Sometimes you can even save money by choosing a longer renewal period (e.g. every five years instead of every year). This is especially relevant for long-term leases, such as your website’s domain name (URL).

Simply put, automating your business can begin with small tasks, when combined, will save you time and money. Your actions will be more efficient and better targeted, and help you better manage your business.