AN ONLINE marketing expert and businesswoman from Petersfield is on a mission to help local companies engage more with their customers and boost their bottom line.
In 2018, an industry survey by Salesforce revealed that 88 per cent of people now research online before buying anything.
The internet has opened up a global market for all businesses.
However, according to Small Business UK, a majority of local businesses around Petersfield are not making full use of their websites.
They are also not taking advantage of the variety of online shopping functionality offered by retail giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Amazon.
Online marketing expert Emma Louise Smith, who runs Moxie Business Marketing in Petersfield, said: “This is a wasted opportunity for local entrepreneurs.
“Just because they aren’t a Silicon Valley giant doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the same benefits from the internet.
“The worst thing is there are customers out there who would love to interact more with them and build a loyal relationship, but they’re frustrated by the lack of businesses around Petersfield with any sort of presence online.”
Emma is collaborating with Basingstoke-based agency Fruitful Marketing? to offer a series of training sessions to the Hampshire business community.
Together they want to help small and medium-sized enterprises realise success from their own marketing strategies – by using social media and online advertising mediums such as Google Ads, and optimising their websites.
Emma said: “We’ve pitched each lesson to be bite-sized, stand-alone and focused on getting results.
“We want smaller businesses to be able to compete in digital marketing through their websites and social media, levelling the playing field a little.”
The workshops will be held at the Causeway Business Centre in Petersfield from 9.15am to 1.15pm.
They are: Instagram for Business (February 13), Google my Business (March 12), Online advertising (April 23), Maximising website ROI (May 14) and Google Analytics foundation course (June 16).
For more information and booking details visit www.fruitful-moxie.eventbrite.com
Moxie Business Marketing helps businesses build and maintain customer relationships through email, social media and public relations campaigns.
It can give consultancy advice, strategic planning assistance and support in busy periods, or run an end-to-end project. It aims to provide campaigns that are timely, use the most appropriate marketing medium and are within budget.