As the world becomes increasingly digital, the way a potential customer can come across a business ranges from flyers through a letter box to a review posted online.

While new offerings like social media and Google AdWords provide innovative ways to get in front of consumers, a business owner must be constantly aware of how and where their company is visible.

That’s what we’re helping to address throughout our new digital guide. In partnership with Yell, one of the UK’s largest providers of digital marketing services for SMEs, we sat down with four businesses from a wide variety of industries to see what has, and hasn’t, worked. Make sure to have a read using the link at the bottom of this article.

The leaders at the helm of Larsson & Jennings, Custom Planet, CBS and Toxic Fox all have valuable experience in the online sales and marketing space that they’ve shared, looking at topics such as pay-per-click advertising and return on investment.

One of the biggest benefits to come from the rapid innovation seen in the online sales and marketing space in recent years has been the barriers to entry dropping. The variety of tools and services available allow smaller businesses to compete with larger rivals in a much more effective way.

Getting your content marketing, retargeting or mobile-optimised website right can speed up customer acquisition exponentially. No longer is an independent clothing store reliant on people walking past it, while a family-run architecture firm can bolster a new project pipeline previously only populated by referrals.

However, research has shown that a lack of knowledge and reluctance to free up budget is holding small and medium-sized businesses back from fully embracing the benefits of a tailored online sales and marketing strategy. De-risking the process applies for all manner of business issues, such as fundraising or recruitment, so it’s no surprise the same can be said for digital investments.

What we hope you take out of the digital guide is some insight into how fellow entrepreneurs and business builders have embraced the process. Each of them have shared valuable advice, and through Yell we have a partner whose expert knowledge and range of digital marketing services help businesses find and connect with new customers.

The fact, according to Yell, only 42 per cent of British SMEs have a mobile-optimised website shows the scale of the issue. Consumers have never been more demanding than they are today, and are only too happy to be turned off by a company’s online presence (or lack thereof) and take their business elsewhere.

Make sure you’re not one of those burying their head in the sand. A few simple and a affordable steps could just leave your competitors floundering.

DIGITAL GUIDE: Securing visibility for your business in the competitive online space