Well, you would probably think that I’m either crazy (which I promise you I am not, at least not that crazy!) or that I am trying to trick you. The truth is I am kind of tricking you (ever so slightly!) because it´s not exactly a person per se. But it is a ‘salesperson’, or seller, and does get the job done, and that’s what’s important, right?
During last year, there was not one business left on earth that didn’t understand that without an online presence there is practically no perspective of any substantial growth or, sometimes, no hope for survival. In many cases, with the ever-changing restrictions in the different countries, the old saying ‘if you are not online, you don’t exist’ became the harsh reality to which businesses had to adapt.
And they did. They’ve created Social Media profiles, maybe even figured out how to create a simple website, started receiving orders through Messenger or WhatsApp, organised a delivery system or an ‘order and pick up’ system, etc. They’ve already come quite a long way. It’s a pity though that the reason for our beautiful evolution had to be a deadly virus and global pandemic, rather than our own desire to evolve, to become better, but this is something for another day.
That’s why now, probably more than ever, businesses want to see the result of their work – they want leads, they want orders, they want sales – if for nothing else, because most of us need to keep paying salaries to other people. So, it is very normal that every cent becomes accounted for, that we think twice before investing into anything, or, most likely, that we postpone investments for better times ahead and concentrate on just surviving. This is why when someone suggests “well, you finally have a presence online, you have a website, you need to start doing Google Ads”, the most common immediate response is “Google Ads?! That’s way too expensive! No way, I can’t afford it, especially now that we are barely surviving! Are you out of your mind?!”
But indulge me and let’s analyse the possibility of Google Ads becoming a part of your strategy in a more detailed way. Yes, if somebody asks you to consider investing € 150 per month in ads, you may feel that this is too much. Ok, let's see – € 150 per month is approx. € 5 per day. Some people spend more on coffee and pastries every day. Or here is your motivation to finally quit smoking!
Funny girl, right?! OK, but seriously now, € 150 per month might still feel like a lot, or might actually be too limited of a budget for your niche and you need, for example, at least € 300 per month to be able to effectively compete. € 300 per month?! “This keeps getting better and better” – I hear you say! No way, right?
Well, it depends on how you approach it. On one hand, you are ‘losing’ 300 Euros, but what are you getting in return? You are basically getting a new salesperson on your team! This salesperson works for you 24/7, appears to your customers exactly at the time they need your service or product, never asks for vacations, doesn’t get sick, doesn’t need a high salary, nor allowances, other ‘subsídios’, ‘segurança social’ or taxes. And, on top of that, it can work at the same time in different markets, even those that you’ve never tested before – Europe, Americas, Asia, you name it – your new salesperson can work everywhere at the same time – without ever going on a break – promoting your business to people that are searching and looking to buy exactly your type of goods or services at the precise moment they need it. And all that for a ‘salary’ of € 300 per month (no additional taxes or fees!). Now, it doesn’t feel so expensive anymore, does it?
But it doesn’t stop here! It can get even better, just keep following my line of thought!
If you do everything correctly, implementing Google Ads will start bringing you results – leads and sales. With time, you will be able to optimise everything, so that your investment in ads gets paid solely from the additional sales you are getting. So, now your ‘salesperson’ is basically paying itself to work for you. Nice, right?!
But now you’re asking how will you know what to do? Well, in short, in order to get good results from any type of online advertising you need to have two elements: an optimised well-oiled ad campaign and a good landing page i.e. a specific page on your website, or an independent webpage created just for advertising purposes that is prepared and optimised for getting the result. If you have just one element and are missing the other, the magic most likely will not happen.
So what is it exactly that you need to do? Either invest your time to learn how to do it yourself or hire a professional. “MORE COSTS?!”, you say. Well, yes, but three things to have in mind:
1 – hiring a professional allows you to spend every cent that you invest more effectively, to grow your success rate, and to lower your cost per lead or sale;
2 – hiring a professional means you will not accidentally max out your credit card because you’ve made a mistake in the implementation;
3 – even if add your investment in the ads to the cost of a retainer with a professional, you will, in many cases, be paying way less than what you would pay in total if you were to hire a new salesperson.
At the same time, hiring a marketing agency to handle your Google Ads, will mean that you’ve effectively hired more than two people: a salesperson (Google Ads) and a marketing department (the agency). All that for a cost that is sometimes lower than minimum wage. If you think like that it doesn’t feel so expensive anymore, right?
But let’s not stop here. There is more magic to be uncovered!
So, at this point, you’ve already hired an agency and are running ads, you are getting sales, getting profit, you are happy. What would you want to have more? More time to enjoy your life probably. So now, if your product or service permits it, you may want to invest in a better selling website – the kind you cannot leave without buying something – and into some type of ‘automatic sales system’. It can be an online shop or an automatic sales funnel through e-mail, anything that allows your customers to pay online and get your product.
Let me give you an example. You are a teacher, and during these COVID times, you’ve recorded video lessons. You get those videos edited and well-organised into a logical sequence, so now you basically have a course on your hands. You can create a simple online shop that sells only this: access to your video course. You promote it with Google Ads (or any other ads that you find effective), and… you relax and enjoy life because ‘your work’ is done! Your Google Ads ‘salesperson’ will find the right customers and your website (basically another ‘salesperson’) will further ‘sell’ to them: they will buy online and get the product (access to videos) immediately and automatically. You don’t need to actively do anything more but get the money. And voilà you have more time to do something else! If you have other work/ project, here is how you´ve just created a second stream of passive income. If you do not have another work/ project, you’ve just automated the one you have, so now you can start with that venture you’ve always wanted, but never had time to build. Or maybe you just want to relax and travel more (hopefully in a near future).
Building these automated streams of income will also allow you to be better protected in the next time of crisis (losing a sales channel – physical/ direct – will not mean losing all income). And after the crisis passes your automated sales machine will stay with you for as long as you need it.
So, honestly, in today’s era of the World Wide Web, the sky is the limit. Of course, you should go one step at a time in order to not overwhelm yourself – put your website in order, create one Google Ads campaign, then another. Step by step.
And yes, it is always necessary to invest something (money or learning time) to get results, but this is true for everything in life. So, just publishing your website, sitting back and waiting for the big results because the internet is ‘where everyone is’ and ‘you are going to be noticed eventually’, will not work. To just exist is not enough; you need to sell to your customers just as you do in the real offline life. And to begin doing so, start by hiring one of the most effective and ill-paid ‘salesperson’ there is – Google Ads.
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at yourdigitalclarity.com.
