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Marketing strategies are as much an art form as they are strategies. Small business owners handle marketing efforts on their own in approximately 47% of cases. And the majority of the small business owners focus on the end goal, which is growing their business, but don’t pay enough attention to how they plan to do it. Effective marketing strategies help small businesses make sure they are reaching their ideal customers effectively.
So, keep reading if you want to learn how to create effective marketing strategies to promote a small business and gain more customers; keep reading!
What is marketing?
Marketing is a broad term that encompasses the different aspects of communicating the value and benefits of your product or service to potential buyers. It is an umbrella term that covers advertising, public relations (PR), sales, and more, but it all has one common goal: To get people interested in what you have to offer.
Why do small businesses need marketing help?
Small businesses may think they are too small to need marketing help. A common misconception is that marketing is only for big corporations and that it wouldn’t be effective for a small business.
But the opposite is true.
Small businesses don’t have the budgets of prominent corporations, so they need to be extra smart with their limited resources. And because small businesses are closer to their customers than large corporations, marketing can be more effective.
Here are a few reasons why marketing is a good idea for small businesses:
Marketing is an investment
If you look at marketing this way – as an expenditure instead of an investment – you will always see it as a necessary evil. However, if you look at marketing to generate more revenue for your business, you are looking at it in the right way.
For example:
If you spend $200 per month on digital marketing. You get ten new clients from it, spending an average of $100 each. You make $1,000 in new revenue from those customers.
Marketing is the key to customer retention
Customer retention is crucial for any business, but it’s even more important for small businesses. It costs 5-6 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. So, if you can keep people coming back to your business, you don’t have to spend so much time and money on marketing.
Marketing helps you stand out from the crowd
In most businesses, you’re competing with other companies for the same customers. When you market your business, you’re essentially advertising your unique selling point (USP), which differentiates you from the competition.
Marketing strategies for small businesses
There are several marketing strategies for small businesses, some of which are more effective than others. Here are a few different marketing strategies that can help you get your message out to potential customers:
Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO is one of the best ways for small businesses to market their product or service online.
SEO is a plan to ensure that your website shows up on Google and other search engines when people look for what you have to offer.
For example: If you’re a lawyer and people are looking for lawyers, then SEO can help your website show up higher on Google’s results page. And that can help potential clients find you and make the right decision about hiring you.
Social media marketing
Social media is one of the most effective ways to market your business.
For example, if you have a bakery, Instagram is a great marketing tool to show off your latest creations. If you have a wellness business, Facebook can help people find out how you can help them.
And when you combine social media with SEO, you can make it even more effective for your business.
Email marketing
Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach out to potential customers.
You can use email marketing in several different ways:
- Send a monthly newsletter to your customers, offering them advice or suggesting products that they might find helpful. Use an email marketing service like Mail Chimp to do it.
- Offer discounts and deals to your email list. For example, if you notice that certain items sell well at different times of the year, then send email offers around those times to bring more customers into your store.
Blogging
Blogging helps you create thought leadership for your business.
If you do it right, blogging can help you attract potential customers at different buying cycle stages. For example:
At the top of the funnel, you could offer tips or advice to people who are just learning about the problem that you solve.
Mid funnel, you could offer specific advice and how-to guides related to your industry or niche.
At the bottom of the funnel, you could offer products or services that will help people solve their problems.
Public relations (PR)
Public relations helps you get positive media attention for your business.
This is one of the best ways to attract new customers and clients. For example: If a national news outlet writes an article about your business, then you can expect to see a lot of new clients as a result.
And as a result, your business becomes more valuable because of the extra exposure you get from public relations.
CSR campaigns
CSR campaigns are community involvement projects that help you connect with local people.
For example, if your business provides food for people in need, you can work with a local shelter to carry out that project.
These campaigns are great for attracting new customers because they prove that your business is doing well in the community.
And when you do this, it can strengthen your relationship with your local community. It can also help you get more positive media attention for your business when you do it right.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is one of the newer forms of online marketing.
Influencers are people who have a lot of social media followers. You can pay these influencers to talk about your product or business using influencer marketing.
Influencers have a lot of social media followers because their followers think that they’re trustworthy. And when they start talking about your product or business, then the people in their follower base are likely to take notice.
As a result, influencer marketing can be one of the most effective forms of online marketing for your business.
Referral marketing
Referral marketing is one of the best ways to bring in more customers.
When you do referral marketing, you give existing customers the chance to introduce your business to new people in exchange for a reward.
For example, if you run an accounting firm, you could offer your existing customers a coupon for free advice if they recommend your firm to their friends or family.
As a result, referral marketing encourages existing customers to spread the word on your behalf. And when they do, it can lead to more new customers for your business.
Online ads
Online advertising is a great way to reach new customers.
There are several different types of online advertising, but here are some of the more common ones:
- Social media advertising, where you pay to promote your posts on social media channels.
- Search engine advertising, where you pay to put ads on search engine result pages.
- Display advertising, where you buy banner space on other websites.
These forms of online advertising can be very effective at getting new customers for your business.
However, you need to make sure that the ads are appropriately targeted.
If you’re advertising on Facebook, make sure that your ads target people who fit into the demographics you want.
If you’re advertising on Google, make sure that your ads only target the search terms you want to target.
And if you’re advertising on Twitter, then make sure that your audience is made up of people who are likely to be interested in what you have to say.
Otherwise, your ads may not be as effective at attracting new customers for your business.
Freebies
Giving away freebies is one of the best ways to attract new customers to your business.
For example, you could give away samples of your product, you could give away coupons for products or services at a discounted price, or you could provide freebies for people who spend a certain amount of money with you.
All of these ways are great at attracting new customers for your business because they get more people interested in what your business has to offer.
Wrap Up:
Marketing is essential for any business. Successful marketing can help you get more customers, which can lead to success. It’s also crucial that you know where to advertise. If you’re not advertising in the right places, then your marketing efforts may fail.
For example, advertising on Facebook can be very effective if you choose the right demographic to advertise to.
Also, it’s important that you understand how to use social media for your marketing needs. Social media is one of the most effective places to market your business online. There are many strategies to use when marketing your business. Use these strategies to market your small business today.
