Small Business Marketing Guide: Everything New And Existing Businesses Should Know About Acquiring New Customers
What if you represent a new or small business that doesn't have the money or other resources for a comprehensive marketing plan?
In fact, you can do more with what you have. This guide will help you create a small business marketing strategy without breaking your budget.
"A business marketing strategy is a set of strategies designed to increase awareness of your business, thereby increasing sales and revenue by attracting new customers," said Jason Demers, CEO of Email Analytics.
Digimark Australia founder and CEO Steven Jenke added that people want to solve problems, have fun or share. If your product or service meets any of these needs, you will attract customers.
But your products and services can't do the talking. They need a little help, and that's where a marketing strategy comes in.
How to develop a marketing strategy for a small business
The first step in developing a small business marketing strategy is to think about your audience.
"If you want your target audience to find you, you need marketing," says Demers. "If your competitors are selling and you're not, your competitors will do all the work for you."
Your audience exists, but if you don't talk about your business, they may not know about you.
"Without marketing, you rely on serious sales," says Jaenke. "People who aren't ready, who don't know who you are and don't even know they have a problem. Marketing helps people get to know a small business and identify the problems they face and the solutions the business offers as solutions. For them, and vice versa, you feel relief, not depression.
The following steps will help you develop a basic plan that reflects your broader marketing strategy. Here's how to define your brand and engage your audience.
1. Define your brand.
Your marketing strategy will, of course, be different for companies with different brands. Usually, when you think of a brand, you think of a company name like Apple or Sony. However, it is not just a trademark. So how do you get your mark?
"Brand development is an essential first step in any marketing strategy," says Jaenke. "First you have to decide why you are in business. If people can't recognize you and why you don't have a brand, create a brand story explaining how you got into business and why you started. Tone, typography and logo are important.
2. Create brand awareness.
Once you know your brand, the next step is to let people know about it. Anyone who knows your brand can become your customer.
"Content is one of the best ways to build brand awareness," says Jaenke. "Visual, text and audio content helps companies stand out as industry experts and provide value to customers without feeling like they're being promoted."
Content is important, but just as important is reaching the right people, your target audience," says Alison Ver Halen, owner of AV Writing Services.
"Content marketing, social media marketing and networking are important, but know that there are many opportunities for all three, so don't skip the first step: define your audience and where to find them. You can be sure that your marketing efforts will introduce you to the right people.
3. Do market research.
If you're having trouble defining your audience, the first step is to do some market research.
"Market research helps you determine whether you have a viable product or service, how saturated the market is, what gaps you can fill, and ... the right price," says Jaenke. "For this, you have to implement social listening on Facebook and especially on Twitter. Join groups and find out what problems people are having. Search forums like Quora and Reddit and post your questions. Collect everything and find common ground. Frequently Asked Questions This area is a source of pain They are their point of view.
Demers says he uses a tool called Ubersuggest to research competitors and determine their strengths and capabilities.
4. Collect buyer personas.
Another useful tool for attracting potential customers and identifying the target audience is buyer personas. Creating fake clients with fake lives and hobbies may seem silly at first, but the more details you dig into, the better.
"Your market research will help with that, but what it really means is identifying the fictitious people who represent the market segments," Jaenke says. "They want to be as inclusive as possible, including beyond demographics."
"If you've started a business, you already know who your target audience is," Demers adds. But it's always a good idea to create a customer persona – a demographic description of your specific target customer. This may include age, gender, marital status, occupation, title and annual income. Be specific so that you can be properly identified. Perfect match."
Jenke provides examples of client personas based on her work:
“We have an accountant, Jim. He is a 45-year-old man who runs a fairly successful accounting firm. He has three other accountants and one beneficiary, and he has a net income of 500,000 euros. In his spare time, he collects cars on vacation. over the weekend, he grew his business to $500,000 through referrals and networking. “He collected dollars, but he couldn't beat that mark. He was looking for ways to improve. Marketing".
5. Find your target audience.
A successful business is impossible without customers, which is why specialists and experienced business owners take it seriously to know your audience.
"Many small business owners struggle to find their target audience," says Jenke. This is because they are limiting their options by narrowing their focus. It's important to remember that choosing your target audience doesn't slow down your marketing, it only focuses your attention. [Read related article: Not everyone is your customer, that's okay ]
But what if you haven't opened yet and don't have any customers? This is a natural place to start a business.
"If you don't have a customer yet, look at your main competitors: what customers are they targeting?" said Ver Halen. Who follows them on social media? Grab some of their social media followers and see what others are following and posting on social media to discover not only potential customers, but their hobbies, interests, and similarities. "
6. Create a website.
Even if you do not intend to sell products online, it is important to have a website. When potential customers discover a new business (new or new in general), they visit this business, explore social media and websites. A business website is a great and easy way to convey legitimacy to your audience.
"I recommend that small businesses build their websites with WordPress," says Demers. "You can use a popular WordPress theme like Divi and hire a webmaster through a site like Upwork to build and maintain the website."
Jenke takes a different approach. However, WordPress or a similar platform should be your last resort.
"People often get caught up and trapped," says Jenke. “Companies that offer this service make it easy to use and the monthly fees are reasonable, but the prices are still high and the end result is usually not unique or attractive. Instead, we recommend hiring a professional client-facing web designer. experience on site
But paying for a WordPress subscription is a great option if you don't have the budget to develop your own web apps, he says.
"It gives you a page builder similar to a drag-and-drop company, but the code is cleaner, the output is more unique, and it's free when you pay the annual div fee," says Jaenke. . "You will also have a website."
7. Calculate your marketing budget.
You can do all your shopping at home, but this may not be the best option. Consider hiring a consultant or outsourcing your marketing efforts to a small marketing agency.
"It's probably best to hire a consultant for at least one consultation to see what a good budget fits your goals," says Demers. “Budgets can vary greatly depending on your industry, competition, product or service. So talk to a specialist about your goals to get an idea of the budget”.
In theory, you can spend as much as you want on marketing, but Jenke says the amount you spend plays a role in your marketing strategy.
"In general, if a company makes $5 million or less, they should market 5% of their revenue, and if they make more than $5 million, we spend 8%," he said. “If a small business makes only $100,000 a year, the marketing budget is $5,000 a year, or $416.67 a month. This narrows the focus to a specific area of the market that may not be a viable option at this price point. no, of course you can get foreign currency within the country.' , you cannot hire employees within the company.
8. Choose a marketing channel.
Marketing channels are another way to reach your target audience. Email is one of the digital marketing channels like Facebook. Each platform you use to reach your audience segment is a separate channel.
"Most business owners prioritize Facebook, which is a great channel to target," Jenke said. "Many people still use it every day, they don't go anywhere, and they are constantly updating the options available to business owners."
What's best for your business, says Jaenke, is to decide where your customers spend their time—maybe they're connected to family and friends on Facebook, but they're looking for answers on Reddit. They might check their email once a week, but Instagram every hour.
9. Start blogging.
Once you know your audience and have your website and marketing channels set up, the next step is engagement. You want to interact and provide value to your customers before they spend money. Your blog is a great tool in this regard. This allows you to teach something and create an interaction that fosters an honest relationship between you and your customers. As your online presence grows, you'll find that your blog can become the centerpiece of your SEO and engagement efforts.
10. Configure your equipment online.
If blogging is the first step in your engagement, the rest are online media tools. Yelp pages allow customers to leave instant reviews and you can respond well to them. Your Google Business Page has the same power. Your social media tools will be more effective because they enable an ongoing conversation between you and your customers. If you've ever used Twitter to get the attention of a company, you know how important social media is. Get all your tools to increase engagement online and grow your brand.
11. Run ads.
There's a reason advertising is one of the biggest industries in the world. Advertising can be your first contact with customers. After that, you can continue to build relationships with clients and other things, but advertising will keep your name on people's minds. This is how the door will open, so make sure you're ready.
12. Invest in awareness.
Advertising is a great way to get popular, but modern marketing offers many other ways to achieve your goals. You can pay for awareness through social media platforms or SMS marketing services. If you have a Facebook business page, Facebook offers a paid opportunity to promote your page to a wider audience.
13. Basic SEO.
Search engine optimization is one of the best marketing methods available. The idea is that your website will rise to the top of relevant Google searches when you engage with your audience in a meaningful way. No link in the world beats page rank in Google search. Search engine optimization is both an art and a science. It takes an investment of time and money, but when you get solid organic results with SEO, it will last for a long time. In addition, the customers who come to you as a result of your SEO efforts will become valuable customers who trust you.
Marketing channel example
Email address
Email is an important part of digital marketing as it allows you to intentionally communicate with those who have signed up to receive communications from you, whether it's newsletters, offers or general information. However, it's easy to mislead people with emails, so design your emails so that people know your company is sending them.
"The world of the internet can be beautiful, weird, violent, scary, any other adjective you can think of," says Andy Wood, digital marketing expert and founder of the Evil Marketers Club. “It really is a world where you can find anything you can imagine, but unfortunately, there are very few scammers, scammers and scammers out there. When you communicate online, you need to convince your audience that you are who you say you are. You own what you say you have, and you can say what you say you give.
Jenke says email converts better than any other form of marketing. "In many cases, you [actually] have warm relationships because you have an email address. We use traditional marketing and digital marketing to create a two-pronged approach."
social networks
With so many social media platforms available and popping up every day, it's important to know which one is best for your business.
"It's important to focus your efforts and choose one, maybe two, social media platforms for communication," says Jaenke. "If you go beyond that by not delegating tasks to anyone, you'll be too scattered and your message will get lost in the ad or out of place."
On the other hand, Lori Wilkins, founder of Call Out, is an advocate of merging as many social platforms as possible. He says that your Facebook page, Instagram page, Twitter profile and YouTube channel are important for expanding your audience. Let's take a closer look at each of these platforms.
Facebook pages are a great way to connect with your customers in real time. When you post something, people are ready to comment, raise concerns, and start a discussion. As a business owner, you can jump right into this topic and talk to your customers about topics that interest them. Share ideas, photos and news about your business to create a more personal connection with your audience.
If you're using an Instagram page to promote your business, it's important to be consistent with your posting habits, think about grid layouts and layouts, and organize your images so you don't struggle with content. Get ready to let your customers know that you care about how you present your business and direct them to a quality Instagram page. This increases the number of people who want to follow and interact with your content. Instagram allows for influencer marketing, which can be very beneficial for the right type of industry.
YouTube
If you have the kind of business that makes great videos, YouTube is it. Videos of activities like carpet cleaning, car detailing, and soap making have gone viral because they're so fun to watch and the end result is worth seeing. Check out other business channels in your industry to evaluate how they're performing on the platform and decide if it's worth it.
Twitter is attractive to businesses because, unlike Instagram, its primary purpose is not photos, and unlike Facebook, its purpose is not always to start a conversation. But many companies have found success on Twitter through intelligent responses to customers and competitors; Think of the fast food chains fighting for the quality of their burgers. Twitter is a little more informal than Facebook and allows you to take quick notes about your work. You can include links to your website or other resources in these notes.
Pay per click (PPC)
Pay per click is a marketing method that allows you to place targeted advertising on the pages that your customers are most likely to visit. Clicking on these ads will direct clients to your website, and you only pay a small fee per click. If you are trying to reach a new target audience or you have a large client base, this could be a good channel for learning. In essence, this is the opposite of organic traffic, but it can significantly increase your business due to the number of search engines you use.
Online communication
As your brand grows and becomes famous, other companies and private individuals will want to collaborate with you in marketing campaigns and events. Для малого бизнес, guest blogs, videos of YouTube partners and similar cooperation are popular methods of strengthening mutual understanding and support. Every time you collaborate with another online representative, you get valuable links that point to you and strengthen your online authority. Networking — one of the most economical and effective marketing channels. However, this does not work alone. It works best in combination with other channels, especially with the last one in this list.
Website
You might be interested in why we kept the last one when it seems so obvious. The reason is that some companies do not use their websites enough. Websites are often the first thing business owners create for marketing, and the first thing clients see in their brand. But in most cases, websites are not optimized for traffic and new clients. Best (SEO)
Examples of marketing strategies
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التسويق مجال لك العديد الشركات المنشأة املاً له لكن ا ليس الًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا اخرًا لشركات الصغيرة ائمًا. Use the tips given in the marketing guide for small businesses to get started.
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