For any kind of business, effective communication is important to reach your target customers. This is achieved through marketing actions. Building a marketing campaign should result in more customers and profit. However, not all businesses have the marketing budget of large, well-known brands.
Here are some practical marketing strategies for small businesses.
Create a Marketing Plan
Planning is an important part of creating marketing strategies for small businesses. Before launching any marketing campaign, plan first, to help you identify opportunities and measure your progress.
Set goals
What does your small business want to achieve? Some examples are:
- Introduce your brand
- Find leads or opportunities
- Meet new customers
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase sales
- Introduce a new product or service
- Rebrand
- Connect with existing customers
Decide which marketing goal is appropriate for your business. Next, set metrics so that you can measure your progress. Having set goals, you can measure how successful your marketing campaign is.
Get to know your target customer
One of the most important aspects of marketing is knowing who your target audience or customer is. Who are they? How can you help them?
If you have existing customers, create a profile or customer persona from them. Identify their needs, wants, and why they buy from you.
If you don’t have customers yet, define who your target market is with this method. First, list down the benefits of your offer. Next, list down people who need your product or service based on the benefits. (See Related: How to use Word of Mouth to Grow Your Business)
Here are factors to consider when it comes to knowing your target customer:
- Demographics: Age, Location, Gender, Occupation, Marital Status, Income, Educational background
- Psychographics: Personality, Values, Habits, Behavior, Lifestyle
The benefit of knowing who your target customer is that it helps you create a basis for your marketing actions. It helps you understand how and where to reach them. This can provide greater returns for your small business.
Get Social
One of the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses is social media. Studies show that 90% of customers look for products or services online. Social media is effective in building your brand, and it allows you to engage with your customers.
Use appropriate social media channels and tools
Build your presence on social media using the same platforms your target customers would use. Some of the most popular ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Each platform has millions of users each. Facebook and YouTube have the largest audience reaching over 1 billion users each.
There are social media tools that you can use to help manage your business. These will allow you to schedule posts, post across different platforms, and review data and analytics. Tools can help you save time especially if your business will use more than one platform.
Engage your customers
Engaging with your customers allows you to develop relationships with them and promote brand loyalty. It also builds trust with your audience.
Post content that encourages your customers to engage. This can be in the form of a question that will allow them to answer or share their thoughts.
Holding online contests or giveaways is also a great marketing strategy for small businesses. You can giveaway products as gifts or gift certificates.
When your customers leave a comment, make sure to respond to them too. Add a touch of personalization to your replies instead of sending out generic responses. Your customers will appreciate it and feel like they are interacting with a real person.
Create a community
One of the most common ways of creating an online community is through Facebook groups. This will allow your customers to meet each other and interact. They can also have the space to post related questions or concerns regarding your product or service.
Through the community, you can also study your customers better. You can create polls and surveys for them to respond to. Aside from interacting, it’s a great way to listen to them to find out their needs and wants. (See Related: How to Market Your Business for Less Than $100)
Identify your competitors
Social media is a great way to research your business competitors. See what may be working for them and what isn’t. Study what kind of customers they have.
Content
Content is a great strategy to provide value to your customers. Aside from telling them about your business, talk about topics that are also related to your product or service. Share content that speaks to your target customers on your website or social media.
Use visuals
Visual elements catch attention, and studies show that it increases engagement. You can opt to use photos along with your posts. Use memes and GIFs if humor is aligned with your branding.
Create and post videos. These could be based on the product or service such as an instructional video. Behind-the-scenes clips are great to give your audience a sneak peek of your inner workings.
Posting infographics is also great to help educate your customers regarding a specific related topic or your offerings.
Create a blog
You can share helpful tips and events through a blog. Through writing informative content, having a blog can also help market yourself as an expert. It helps small businesses build their reputation.
Don’t forget to include a call-to-action
A call-to-action leads your customers to where you want them to go after reading your content. Some examples are “Buy Now”, “Subscribe Now”, “Inquire Now”, or “Book Now”. Make sure your call-to-action is visible and that your customers can easily get to it.
Local Marketing
Local marketing is powerful. Small businesses can also spread the word about their brand within their communities. They can target customers who are closest to them.
Here are some ways to do this:
- Attend public events. Get your business card or flyers ready.
- Host a local event or a class.
- Have a business card fishbowl in your store.
- Donate or volunteer in the community.
- Create a referral program.
- Advertise in public transports.
- Advertise in delivery services.
- Advertise in local newspapers or magazines.
- Use local listing services.
- Offer staff incentives.
- Partner with other local businesses.
With any kind of marketing strategy, make sure to plan ahead and set goals. Keep track of your progress and measure your results. Always remember to provide value to your customers.
