Businesses have limited resources which can often neglect their marketing efforts. However, these 15 strategies will help you find your niche and promote yourself in a way that resonates with your target audience. Local companies must learn how to adapt to current marketing to thrive. If your sales have reached a halt or are declining, it’s time to change up your marketing plan. Even if your small company is now lucrative, you must keep ahead of the competition to continue success in the future. Examine the most recent marketing trends. Recognize customer purchasing patterns. Learn how to increase the amount of money you get from your current clients. Unfortunately, just 33% of small firms survive for ten years. The others are doomed. It would help if you didn’t end up as a tragic statistic. This was the driving force for the creation of this handbook. If your firm is new, you must do all necessary to ensure its long-term viability. Do you want more visitors to your website? Improve your traffic, leads, and income with the aid of a professional. Get started now. Local companies that have been in operation for decades could need a marketing refresh. Your 20-year-old methods are unlikely to be as effective in 2018 and beyond.
Marketing strategies for small company entrepreneurs:
1. Create a free Google listing for your business.
What’s the best way for new consumers to find you? Of course, you could depend on word-of-mouth, radio commercials, print advertisements, and direct mail if you’re an old-school marketer. Last year, though, 97 percent of shoppers looked for a local company on the Internet. Furthermore, 73 percent of buyers trust local companies because of favorable internet evaluations. As a result, you must ensure that your local company is listed on Google.
When people go online to look for anything, they usually start with Google. So when customers search for phrases connected to your company, your free Google listing makes it simple for them to discover you.
Your listing will include all of the following information:
- address
- mobile phone number
- hours
- directions
- a webpage link
You’ll be able to use photographs to help folks comprehend your business model. Customers will be able to upload pictures as well. They’ll post reviews for other people to read about your local company, which will have a significant influence on your success. Next, you must discover how to persuade your consumers to spread the word about your company. Consumers see your star rating as the most crucial aspect in deciding whether or not to purchase from your local company. Customers will utilize firms with a 4-star rating 94% of the time.
2. Begin a blog.
As you’ve just shown, consumers utilize the Internet to discover local companies. That implies that if you want to improve your chances of being listed as a top result, you must first learn the fundamentals of SEO. Approximately 47% of clicks go to the first three pages of Google search results. Therefore, blogging will be pretty beneficial to your SEO approach. Take a look at these figures:
Increased website traffic, followers, and leads will result in higher revenues in the end. Your website will be updated with further information by regularly publishing new blog entries, increasing your chances of achieving a better search position. Plus, your blog entries are a perfect location to include keywords that potential buyers could use while searching online. They’ll visit your website frequently if you’ve established a solid group of readers for your blog. The more times people visit your site, the more likely they will convert.
3. Become a member of a local organization.
Local companies must continue to participate in their communities. Joining a local organization is a fantastic way to remain in touch with neighbors and other company owners. I recommend that you enter your local Chamber of Commerce. A little yearly cost will be charged, but it is well worth it. Your brand will be exposed to other firms if you attend these meetings and events. Will any of your rivals be a member of these organizations? It’s conceivable. But there’s an even better reason for you to be present. Assume you run a t-shirt shop in your neighborhood. Another local company may be holding an event in town and want personalized shirts. If you both belong to the same regional organization, they’ll be more likely to use your services rather than purchase the shirts online. That is the entire point of joining. Companies watch out for one another and aim to help local businesses wherever possible.
4. Volunteer in your community.
Being a member of a local community also entails giving back. Don’t be bashful about volunteering if you’re generous. Consumers are interested in learning how your local company contributes to charity organizations.
According to research, 91 percent of consumers are eager to switch companies if it means they may support a charity cause. Furthermore, 85 percent of customers will have a more favorable impression of your local company if you donate to a charity that they care about. You may also ask your neighbors and customers for recommendations on which charity to support. According to studies, 39% of consumers want to decide which charity a company supports using a voting mechanism. Associating with a local charity is a safe bet. This will undoubtedly assist you and your company in being more connected to your neighborhood. This may be approached in a variety of ways. You might start by donating to a charity every year. You may even conduct special promotions where a portion of purchases on a particular day or week is donated to a good cause. Contributing to a charity isn’t the only option to give back to your community. Let’s assume you operate a restaurant in your neighborhood. You may cater a public high school graduation celebration. These sorts of school-sponsored celebrations are meant to keep students safe and sober on their graduation night.
5. Hold competitions.
Contests are an excellent method to generate interest in your local company. Online platforms are the ideal approach to organizing these competitions. For this method, make use of your social media platforms. Organize competitions to stimulate the creation of user-generated content. For instance, invite your followers to provide photos of your company. The winner will be determined by who receives the most likes on their picture. The goal of these competitions is to increase your social media following. When consumers see their friends and relatives commenting about your local company on social media, it increases your visibility and increases the likelihood that they will follow you as well. In addition, you’ll now be able to share promotional material with your new followers in the hopes of converting them into buyers.
6. Check out Yelp to double-check your details.
Whether you signed up for them or not, your local company will have profiles on other platforms in addition to your Google listing. Customers may have rated and reviewed your company so that you may have a Yelp profile. It would be best if you double-checked that all of your information on these platforms is correct, including your business hours, phone number, location, and website. After browsing a company on Yelp, more than 90% of customers purchase.
It will affect you if a consumer attempts to call you and the phone number is incorrect or if they come to your business believing you’re open when you’re close. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to claim your Yelp company so you can manage the information on your listing.
7. Make a client loyalty program a priority.
If you want to grow sales quickly, you should understand setting up a client loyalty program. The most significant aspect of this marketing strategy is that it generates more money without recruiting new consumers. Instead, your main goal will be to persuade your current consumers to spend more money.
Your loyalty program’s objectives should be twofold:
- Increasing the number of purchases
- raising the average buying price
You’ll be able to promote sales growth if you meet these two goals. Customers are more inclined to purchase at shops that provide customer loyalty programs, according to more than 82 percent of customers. A punch card might be used as part of your loyalty program. On the tenth visit, the consumer is given a gift or something like that. You may also build up a system that is a little more involved. Implement a loyalty program based on several spending levels to reward your highest-spending consumers. A customer profile or mobile app is the ideal method to monitor this campaign, but we’ll go over that in more depth later.
8. Make discounts available.
Customers are price-conscious. As a small company owner, you must be aware of this and alter your price appropriately. However, some of you may be afraid to give discounts because you believe it diminishes your brand’s value. Furthermore, your current pricing may not return profits if you provide reductions. If this is the case, you might think about increasing your base pricing. Then, on top of that, give discounts on the new pricing. This is more enticing to your clients psychologically. They want to believe that they are receiving a good bargain. In addition, an active discount code can boost your chances of gaining more sales if your local company has an online site.
Your company must give coupons and discounts to clients, whether you sell online, in-store, or both.
9. Make an effort to be more visible on social media.
When we spoke about organizing competitions to promote your local company, we briefly mentioned social media. First, of course, it would be best if you made an effort to be active on as many social media channels as possible. Sure, you’re probably on Facebook. That, however, is insufficient. Over half of small companies boosted their social media spending on sites like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube last year.
If you run a local B2B business, you should also include LinkedIn on your list of priorities. Just 43% of small companies post material and connect with their followers daily. That figure ought to be far higher. I’m sure you’re thinking something along those lines. It isn’t easy to run a tiny firm. You already work long days and don’t have enough time to concentrate on your social media plan. So don’t get too carried away. To help you automate the process, check out my top time-saving social media marketing tools.
10. Form a strategic alliance with a local influencer.
Working with local influencers might help you take your social media marketing plan to the next level. These are community members who have a large social following. To expand your reach, you may pay them to advertise your local company via their distribution networks. The most significant aspect of this method is that it is reasonably priced. Each article will most likely cost you just a few hundred dollars at most, and you may even pay them less if you provide them with some freebies. In addition, influencers have extraordinarily high levels of interaction with their followers, and their audiences rely on their advice.
11. Create a referral program for your customers.
One of my favorite methods to get new clients without making any effort is implementing a customer referral program. The goal of this technique is to have your existing customers do all of the hard work. It’s a strategy that focuses on customer retention and customer acquisition, the two most critical retail drivers.
You must provide an incentive to both parties for your referral program to be effective. For each recommendation, reward your current consumers. This motivates them to go out there and recommend as many individuals as possible to your local company. On the other hand, the new consumer will need some inducement to entice them through the door. They’ll start suggesting new consumers if they’re happy with their buy. This might become a very lucrative cycle for your company. This is because 86 percent of customers claim their close friends affect their purchasing choices. So said, recommendations are practical.
12. Increase the number of people on your email list.
Don’t overlook the power of email marketing. While it isn’t the newest or most glamorous marketing strategy, it is one of the most successful. According to a study, 81 percent of small company owners believe email marketing helps them get new customers. And 80% of them claim to have had success utilizing email marketing to retain clients. This is a very lucrative method. Your local firm may anticipate a $44 return on investment for every $1 invested in email marketing. Targeted, segmented, and triggered campaigns will account for 77% of your email ROI. However, if you don’t have any subscribers, your email approach will be ineffective. If you keep on top of your marketing, the rest will take care of itself. Focus your efforts on attracting additional clients to join your list.
13. Create a mobile application.
I can guarantee that your clients utilize mobile devices, regardless of what sort of company you have or what sector you’re in. If you have the finances, you should develop a mobile app for your local company. Because applications account for the bulk of mobile time, this is true.
According to studies, 63 percent of customers prefer an app over a mobile website since it is more convenient. Apps are also preferred by 57 percent of customers because they are speedier than mobile websites. You may not believe a local business app is required right now, but it will be in the future. Even if you aren’t ready to begin this procedure right now, you should plan to do so soon. When your app becomes life, it will assist you in customizing the consumer experience. In addition, you may utilize your app to help with your client loyalty and referral programs, as I mentioned previously. If you currently have a live app or are in the process of creating one, check out my advice on how to make your small business mobile app more profitable.
14. Create a Google Alerts account.
Google Alerts can let you keep track of what’s being said about your company on the Internet. Every time your local company or other keywords are published on the Internet, you will get a report through email. This will keep you up to date on the newest news, whether it’s good or bad. For example, let’s imagine a blogger makes a negative comment about your company on the Internet. Instead of learning about the post weeks later, you’ll be able to view it and act on it straight now. On the other hand, if a local news outlet publishes a nice piece about your company, you may post it on your website and social media channels.
15. Make your customer service better.
Your local company must deliver exceptional customer service:
How can vital customer service benefit your company? As I previously said, potential consumers will research your company using various methods and platforms. They’ll read internet reviews, look at social media, and ask their friends and family for recommendations. If you can deliver excellent customer service, it will reflect how you are seen online. Consequently, your existing customers will return, and new consumers will come through your doors as well.
Conclusion
You can’t afford to lag behind your competitors as a small firm. Examine your current marketing initiatives and determine if they deliver your desired outcomes. It may be time to change up your marketing plan. Use this guide as a resource to advertise your local company if you’re seeking innovative methods. I don’t expect you to execute all of these methods in a single day. However, look through the list and prioritize some of these strategies depending on your company’s requirements. Do you want more visitors to your website? Improve your traffic, leads, and income with the aid of a professional. Get started now.
Frequently Asked Question
What are some strategies you can use for marketing a business?
A: Marketing strategies are a set of tactics used to increase the visibility and awareness of your brand or product. A business might use marketing strategies such as advertising, public relations, and direct marketing to reach various target markets.
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