It’s no surprise the digital world means a company’s ability to attract and keep customers requires a dramatic shift in strategy, tools and resources. Ed Keough, vice president of sales for FutureGuard Building Products Inc. in Auburn, Maine, told business owners they need to embrace digital advertising or be “left in the dust” during his 2018 Expo session “Acquiring New Customers in the Digital Age.”

Keough says that unlike years ago when customers used to contact a business for basic information, the internet allows them to do all sorts of preliminary research prior to contacting a business. Consumers are using new digital tools, and businesses need to respond by using new tools of their own.

Keough says recent studies show that more than 50 percent of consumers do all their research on a smart phone or tablet, which means a business better have a mobile-friendly website or risk losing 50 percent of their customers. He suggests businesses take advantage of free digital tools such as Google StoreFront and a Facebook business page. Additional digital tool suggestions include subscribing to HomeAdvisor, a fee-based contractor referral service, and using Facebook’s digital marketing services.

Keough says a business should devote at least 5-10 percent of gross sales to advertising. “This may sound expensive,” he says. “But you can’t afford not to spend it.”