Customers find me easily online, and that pays off!

For every starter, finding customers is the first and biggest challenge. When Covid-19 put an additional spoke in the wheel in March, things became extra challenging for the Aalst taxi entrepreneur.

Online visibility

“In the start-up phase, I had a lot of contact with Frederic and pointed him towards the possibilities offered by our digital check-up”, says Kim De Paepe, Entrepreneurs Bank adviser at BNP Paribas Fortis. “He realised straight away how important it is to be ‘visible’ online. Via our Digital Maturity Assessment, he came across ‘Google My Business’, the ideal solution for extra online visibility.”

By reservation only

“For the sort of taxi company that I run, it’s essential that customers can find and contact me”, says Frederic. “In the start-up phase, I misjudged this challenge a bit and with Covid-19 on top, it became extremely tough. With some help from acquaintances, I did find my way around Google, but that proved insufficient. When you’re 33rd in the search results, you don’t have much chance of being seen!”

Appearing first

Kim heard about Frederic’s digital challenge and pointed him in the direction of the BNP Paribas Fortis check-up. “Kim helped me enormously with this and went through the easy questionnaire with me. So I was on the right path to Google My Business. And that really improved my search results in Google. Now when you search for ‘Aalst taxi’, I appear first!”

After the first lockdown, luckily business came back for Frederic. “Until the second lockdown, I was able to work really well. Things are a bit quieter again at the moment, but fortunately I now have a number of regular customers”, says an optimistic Frederic. With the increased visibility on Google and the necessary activity on social media, he is ready to start working hard again immediately, once the crisis is over.

Giving our customers’ business a digital boost. That, too, is Positive Banking.