Tips For Marketing Your Small Business
Marketing can be the bane of any and all new entrepreneurs. It can be expensive and if not done carefully can be money spent without yielding any results. It is a tricky landscape and involves a lot of trial and error. The unfortunate news is that it never stops, marketing is something you can never not do and on top of it all, you have to constantly evolve with the times. Marketing strategies can become obsolete in seconds as something new controls the attention of millions.
It is all about being smart and fast. Working on remaining relevant and getting your brand name out there. We are going to discuss how you can market your small business.
One: Brand Identity
Before you even start you need to work on your brand identity. Your logo, slogan and things of that nature. These should have been done already when you did your business plan (Click Here for more on Business Plans). Knowing the types of colors associated with your business will come in handy when creating a company image. If you need complete, encompassing digital marketing plan for your medical practices, designed by professional medical marketers you can associate with oncology marketing experts from PracticeBloom.
Two: Social Media
Get involved on social media. We live in the 21st century where technology has become the forefront of marketing. Gone are the days where print marketing material was effective. There is a multitude of apps that can be useful for your business. You need to do research on your demographic to know which apps to focus on.
- Younger Generation frequent Instagram
- Older Generation frequent Facebook
- A mixture of both frequent Twitter
The most popular and actively used platform is Instagram. It is a powerful and free tool for businesses to use. Post consistently, find a theme that works for you using the colors that are used for the business. These platforms have analytics that breaks down all the important areas for you into well-presented stats. There are paid ad options that can be used as well in these apps.
Three: Make Your Presence Known in the Community
As a business, get involved in the community. Find a Little-league team and slap your name on the gear, sponsor them and every week your logo is running the field with them. On top of it all, you gain a positive reputation as being a pillar of the community. Your business becomes important to the town and people are more likely to shop at you instead of the competitor because you showed them where your heart belongs.
Four: Specials
Specials are not only needed when trying to get rid of overstocked items or items on their way out.
Five: Loyalty Programs
Keep customers coming back with the aspect of the more they frequent the store the more they stand the chance of freebies. For example, a coffee shop gives you a tenth coffee free. You have just bought a cup of coffee that has a 200% markup, that free coffee cost them nothing to give away. Find a way to be smart about rewards not to put yourself in a position where you end up losing money from the freebie. A popular method is loyalty cards.
Six: Customer Service and The Effects of Word of Mouth
Nothing gets you customers like referrals. People are always looking for the best place to go for something. If we love a place and something they offer we love to stick with, we are creatures of habits like that. Serving customers with a smile on your face mean something to them. You create a calm and warm environment that customers want to be in. Customer service can be a pain but when done right you will keep people coming for more. Due to the rise of technology and social media, sharing experiences at establishments has become a thing anyone can do in a matter of seconds. As an entrepreneur, you need to understand how quickly one’s opinions can spread, if they hate the business it creates a negative word of mouth that could potentially drive customers away.
There are so many ways to create positive experiences for these customers. You will find them coming back for even the smallest convenience because they have decided to stand by you and your business model.
