Marketing is endless! There are so many things you can implement and achieve with marketing and to many small businesses this either seems to complicated or not necessary… erase this from your thinking this instant! Marketing in small businesses is very necessary, so I’m here to tell you the Marketing Essentials for Small Business…
Get Online Now!
No, don’t just jump onto the internet! 78 percent of the Australian population are internet users, so that’s nothing new… but what about your business as an internet user?
You need to utilise every resource you can find and use it to your advantage! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and blogging… these are now classed as the ‘norm’ for communication within society.
Did you know 47.9 percent of the Australian internet users are Facebook users, so why would you not use this to your advantage and set up a FREE facebook page and target your customers and prospects? If your target audience are 30-45 year old male mechanics that love skinny leg jeans, Facebook will let you specific target them through ads. BUT WAIT… there’s more… check out this blog to see more Facebook for Marketing tips >>
The most wonderful thing about all the social media available to you is that you can link it all together… whether you have links on your website to your social media or vice versa… You can set up links from Twitter that relate to a blog post that is on your website, which the blog post can have button links for people to Tweet or Post on Facebook… it’s like you have your own little universe on the net!
Smiling makes your business live longer
Research continually tells us that smiling will make us live longer… so can it make our business live longer too? YES, it can!
You’re probably thinking “what does smiling have to do with marketing my business?”… Marketing isn’t just about paying for advertising space to sell your product, which a lot of businesses consider marketing is. Marketing is everything a business does to facilitate a sale between your business and consumers, for example, research, media buying, public relations, sales strategy, customer support pricing, distribution, advertising and products are all apart of marketing.
One aspect of marketing a lot of businesses do not consider to factor in is smiling! Smiling brings many benefits to marketing your business… Smiling is contagious and it releases good endorphins… so if you are smiling, your customer will smile releasing a whole bunch of positive endorphins… thus, creating a positive environment for your customer to shop in.
Smiling also makes your customer feel as if you are willing to help them and that you know what you are talking about, hence making them feel comfortable in dealing with you.
If a customer receives a positive experience during their decision-making-process, they will favour your business over others and in turn hopefully buy your product or service. If a customer is satisfied this will also result in repeat purchases and positive word of mouth for your business.
So, how else can we interact and smile? You can… Smile when you are speaking with customers or prospects over the phone. Believe it or not people can pick up on a smile through the tone of someone’s voice! Also add smiley faces to your emails! Not only will you be helping yourself live longer by smiling, but you’re providing customers with a positive feeling during their experience hence resulting in sales and profit growth!
So… market your SMILE!
Communication is key to any good relationship
The good old saying… “Communication is key to any good relationship”… lets run with this… YOU need to include communication techniques within your marketing efforts to keep your customer relationships STRONG! Why? Because this will yield repeat purchases, positive word of mouth and a larger customer base (thus larger profits).
So, how can you do this? Easy! Here are a few things to consider:
- Make yourself available to clients – ensure your clients know they can contact you about issues or requests from a certain time, for example, 9am – 9pm every day of the week.
- Make your clients know they mean something to you – send your clients special vouchers, and Christmas cards, thank them for purchases, or just give them a call out of the blue to see how they are going with everything – they will love the effort!
- Keep your clients in the loop – implement email campaigns that are sent to your customers every week or month with handy tips or information on products or the business.
- Keep up with your clients – know what your client’s interests are, get personal with them, understand their needs… and deliver!
- Be a leader – let your customers know you are a savvy business owner. Have your own Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, and encourage your customers to join up too!
Looking after your customer base is just as important, even not more important than seeking new customers. Customers make your business what it is and without them, you would have no business, so implement retention strategies and use communication as a main focus.
Nothing in life is free… So why not make it?
The word free is flung loosely around these days and many people know that free ultimately means there’s some sort of catch! You need to set yourself aside from the competition and be different… here are some ways:
- Offer a free subscription for the first 20 or so subscribers
- Provide charities with free products and services – this will also boost your credibility within the community
- Offer workshops or excursions for free – people love boosting their knowledge!
- Setup a community competition such as footy tipping where everyone can participate for free but the winners receive some sort of prize
- Take your client or prospect a coffee and cake on your next visit
People love receiving something for free and it makes them feel special and differentiated from everyone else. I’m sure you could think of heaps more ideas on what you could offer, but try it… because it will help with your customer satisfaction and it will be a positive impact on your business.
So, now your brain is exploding from all this good information on Marketing Essentials for Small Business, go line up all your ducks and write down how you can get online, how you can include smiling into your customer support and sales strategy, write your retention strategy that includes communication techniques, AND see what you can offer for free!
Have you already successfully implemented these Marketing Essentials for Small Businesses? Leave us a comment below on what you did and how it worked!
Web123 can help with Marketing Essentials for your Small Business by adding Email Marketing to your website capabilities! Find out more here!