The Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council is hosting a cutting edge workshop for small businesses next week in Kimberley.
Greg Bradley, of TekPro Information Solutions, is a Google Adwords expert, and will be discussing how businesses can use the service to their advantage. The half-day workshop, in Kimberley on May 21 and in Golden on May 28, is on how to make sure that your product or service stays in the front of your audience's mind.
"Whether a business knows it or not, 75 per cent of the traffic to their website is probably coming from Google," Bradley said. "Even if the business doesn't have a strong online presence, customers are still doing their research online before purchasing."
Bradley, who is based in Kimberley, has been a Google AdWords partner for more than five years.
"The reality is that there's a good chance that before a customer has ever walked through your door or contacted you, they've tried to find you online," he said. "It's shocking how many businesses have absolutely no idea whether they're successful online or not."
"Google AdWords provides a cost-effective and extremely measurable way to put your product in front of your potential customers at exactly the right time in the buying cycle," Bradley said. "It's not overly complicated but knowing the ins-and-outs of running a successful ad campaign can give small businesses a huge opportunity to accelerate their sales without a significant capital outlay."
The workshop takes place Wednesday, May 21, from 11:30 to 6 p.m., at the Kimberley Conference and Athlete Training Centre, and Wednesday, May 28, 11:30 to 6 p.m., at the Kicking Horse River Lodge in Golden.
The $40 registration fee includes lunch and a free networking session, with light appetizers, which will be held from 5-7pm.
As part of this workshop, TekPro Information Solutions is offer advertisers that purchase $100 in advertising credits during the workshop with $300 in free credits at the same time.
These workshops, delivered by the Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC) are the first in a year-long series being offered by a group of regional partners, including Community Futures East Kootenay, Fortis BC, Teck, the City of Kimberley and the Kimberley Chamber of Commerce to help support the region's small businesses.
For more information or to register, visit kric.ca or contact Tara Penner at tara.penner@kric.ca.