Why an Answers-Based Digital Marketing Strategy Must be on Your Radar

In the world of multi-location marketing, what informs your localized marketing strategy? Do you do research ahead of time to see which tactics will resonate best with your target audience? Do you keep your efforts the same year after year? The more thought and planning you put into your localized marketing efforts, the better. That’s where an answers-based digital marketing strategy comes in. If you’re not already familiar, an answers-based marketing strategy is a marketing strategy that provides consumers or potential consumers with answers to commonly asked questions without them having to ask. Throughout this blog, we’ll dive deeper into why an answers-based digital marketing strategy is a must for your business and explain how to develop it. 

What is an Answers-Based Marketing Strategy and Why It’s Important 

While we’ve already defined an answers-based marketing strategy, providing some examples may help you better understand. For instance, if your multi-location business knows that many consumers are asking about vegetarian options at your restaurant brand, you can proactively share that your local businesses have various vegetarian options. Whether it’s through local social, promoted in images in your local listings, or highlighted on your local pages, there are many ways your business can share information consumers are looking for. 

So why is an answers-based marketing strategy necessary? Now more than ever, consumers crave convenience. They want to find the information they are looking for in an instant without having to do a lot of additional research. With an answers-based marketing strategy, you’re feeding customers the information they’re looking for without them even realizing it. If potential customers can find all of the information they want and need about your business, it will help differentiate you from competitors.  

Where to Find the Questions Consumers Are Asking About Your Business 

In order to develop a solid answers-based digital marketing strategy, your multi-location business must first understand what consumers want to know about your business. There are several areas your business can leverage to better understand what questions consumers have specific to your company and your industry. Here are a few:

Google Q&A

Google Q&A is one of the easiest ways to analyze what consumers want to know about your business. With Google Q&A, you can find the most frequently asked questions and ensure the answers are included in your marketing efforts. For instance, are consumers asking about your prices, whether or not you have a curbside pickup or questions about accessibility? Once you determine which questions consumers are asking, you can decide which are worth proactively answering in your marketing efforts. It’s also important to note that your multi-location business should provide answers to the questions asked in Google Q&A directly. If your business doesn’t respond to the questions, it allows someone else to do so, leaving room for misinformation.

Ratings and Reviews 

Ratings and reviews are other great tactics for preparing an answers-based digital marketing strategy. While the tactics mentioned above are used to understand what potential customers want to know about your business, ratings, and reviews can provide insight into what previous customers have experienced. Leveraging your ratings and reviews to understand any shortcomings your business may have can help prevent any future disappointment. For example, suppose your local nail salon has received various reviews emphasizing long wait times. In that case, your business can include a CTA to book an appointment on your local listings and promote social content that encourages customers to book an appointment. 

On the other hand, things about your business may pleasantly surprise customers, which your business can then share in your marketing efforts. An excellent example of this would be your company receiving multiple positive reviews about the indoor pool at your local gym. If this isn’t already being highlighted in your marketing efforts, it’s time to reconsider. 

Many multi-location businesses are wary of reputation management efforts that involve scaling across 100s or 1,000s of business locations. Again, SOCi is here to help. SOCi’s streamlined reputation management software is built specifically for multi-location marketers. Maximize the insights you receive from your online reviews with SOCi. With Reputation Insights, you can identify and manage emerging sentiment trends from online reviews while analyzing shifts in online reputation over time — for both your business and your competition.

How to Incorporate an Answers-Based Strategy into Your Marketing Efforts

Once you find the most commonly asked questions about your multi-location business by using the tactics above, you can begin incorporating the answers into your localized marketing strategy. To start, pick the top three or five questions, and determine how to incorporate them into your marketing efforts. The key here is to get creative! Is there a fun video your business can create answering the most frequently asked questions? While creativity is essential, it’s also critical for your business to share this information on as many channels as possible. The more opportunities a potential customer has to find crucial information about your business, the better. 

Don’t let the stress of managing your localized marketing efforts across all of your business locations prevent you from dominating the competition. SOCi is here to help. From our previously mentioned tools that can help you find the information needed for your answers-based marketing strategy to other localized marketing tools that can help you on the execution side, SOCi has you covered. For more insight into how SOCi can help you create a winning answers-based marketing strategy and give you the power needed to crush your goals, request a demo today!