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When your business operates on a lean budget, it can feel counterintuitive to spend money building a website or a social following, but that鈥檚 exactly when you need to invest in your business.

A well-thought-out digital strategy gives your business credibility and an air of expertise. Without it, even local businesses can look out-of-touch and untrustworthy. Just when you need potential clients to trust you the most, you don鈥檛 want them to walk away because they don鈥檛 find you in search results.

Here are five reasons why digital marketing isn鈥檛 an optional expense 鈥� rather, it鈥檚 a fundamental investment in your future.

According to a study from KISSmetrics, 40 percent of visitors will leave your website if it doesn鈥檛 load in three seconds. That鈥檚 a lot of potential revenue running away from a problem that鈥檚 easy to fix. A strong, well-functioning website tells current and potential customers that you care about them and their experience with your brand.

Once upon a time, people dismissed digital with statements like 鈥渙nly teenage Millennials go to search engines first, and my business is working adults with actual incomes.鈥� No more. Millennials are now aged 18-36 鈥� working adults with potentially disposable income. They鈥檙e buying homes, looking for doctors, and investing for their future, and they demand more than traditional word-of-mouth. If they can鈥檛 find you on their devices, you simply don鈥檛 exist.

Digital is no longer just for big business, either. Four out of five users now conduct local searches. So if you鈥檙e an accountant in Anytown, a large part of your audience is looking for you online. Be there, or risk losing those future clients to your competitors.

Online reviews are the new word-of-mouth. Your reputation depends on what your customers are saying about you online. In the digital age, there is no hiding. You can either be a part of these conversations or let them happen without you 鈥� but either way, they are happening.

A recent survey indicated 98 percent of active advertisers have a Facebook presence. If you don鈥檛 want to get left behind, you need to jump into the fray. Your direct competitor could even run a search engine marketing campaign focused on your company鈥檚 name. The last thing you want is a potential customer looking for you, and finding your competitor instead.