ATLANTA — “Who you are online is just as important as who you are in person,” says Jamie Sewell, marketing consultant and former marketing director for the Coin Laundry Association (CLA).
Sewell stressed this point in an educational session at Clean 2015 titled All Things Google: Tips and Secrets to Your Best Marketing Resource.
Sewell explained that operators are marketing their store just by its very existence—from the way they maintain their store’s equipment and overall appearance to the way they interact with customers.
“[There are] lots of little things that you’re doing day-to-day [that] you’re communicating [to show] you care about your business and that you care about your customers,” she says.
But how do you translate and promote that experience online?
There are approximately 181 Google Tools available that can help small-business owners such as self-service laundry operators market their business, according to Sewell.
‘DETAILED STATISTICS’
Google Analytics is a service that “generates detailed statistics about a website’s traffic,” she says.
The tool tracks aspects about a consumer’s visit to your laundry’s website, including which search engine they used to get there, a user’s age or gender, and which pages on your website are the most-visited.
Knowledge of these metrics is important, according to Sewell, so that operators can better understand the information their potential customer is searching for.
“If you have insight into what’s happening with your presence online, you’re going to be able to make better decisions about what’s happening in your store, and also your marketing [efforts],” she says.
‘BE SPECIFIC’
No matter which online tool an operator chooses to market his/her laundry online, Sewell stressed the importance of using “strong keywords” when describing the business.
“It’s really important to make sure that you use strong keywords in your descriptions in Google My Business, on your Facebook page, on your website—anywhere you’ve got information about your business,” she says.
Sewell advises operators to add specific indicators to the keywords they use in their laundry’s business description online.
The keyword “wash-dry-fold,” for example, can be customized by tagging it with the laundry’s specific city or location: “wash-dry-fold Chicago.”
“Whatever area you’re specializing in, be specific,” Sewell says.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sewell explains that it’s key for operators to use just one account when managing Google Tools.
“I’ve seen some cases where members will create different e-mail accounts for each of their locations, or I’ve seen members create one [for each Google Tool],” she says. “It causes a lot of problems.”
When managing one’s online presence, Sewell advises operators to put themselves in the shoes of their customers and to analyze where their business ranks in a Google search.
The bottom line, according to Sewell: “Google cares about getting the right information to the right customers and enhancing user experience.”
“When you shape your online presence around your customers’ needs, Google will reward you,” she says.
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