Whether you are a start-up, your small business has stagnated, or you just want to increase your sales, there are several ways to promote your business to your target market. It is easier to get your enterprise known in the digital era and to keep on updating your clients about your products and services.
Do not wait until your sales plateau or decline to start figuring out the best marketing strategies. Let it be a continuous process, since it is one of the ways of staying ahead of your competition. Remember that you need customers to grow in any type of endeavor. However, the business world is super-competitive. Let us go through some of the simple yet effective ways in which you can achieve this.
Your Small Business Should Offer Genuine Products and Services
No matter the type of marketing you use, you may not grow as you would like. In addition, it may hurt you in the long run if you offer sub-standard goods and services. You will make your customers unhappy and when they share that with others, your business gets a bad reputation in your area sooner or later.
On the other hand, sell genuine goods and services, and you will reap in a good way from word of mouth, which is a powerful tool in the promotional channel.
Have Good Customer Service
When it comes to marketing, nothing works like perfecting the art of service delivery. There is nothing that wows a customer other than knowing they are valued and their presence honored.
By offering the best and personalized service to the existing customer, you will encourage them to repeat purchases. They are also likely to recommend your business to their friends and families.
Increase the Social Media Presence of Your Small Business
In today’s digital world, increasing your visibility in online platforms is the most effective and yet economical way to promote your business locally. Having an active social media presence on major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube can be a great step in reaching out to potential customers and still keep in touch with your existing customers.
The best way to achieve this is to set up your business profile or your page separate from your personal pages. Include a well-done description, keywords, link to your website to be able to attract potential customers.
Get a Free Small Business Listing With Google Or Bing
There has been a tremendous increase in consumers searching online for products and services. You can set up your business in Google My Business or Bing Places for Business by filling out all the fields in your profile, adding photos, address, phone numbers, and operating hours where appropriate.
A well-optimized listing will invite consumers to engage. Also, it will help you rank top in Google search results when a potential consumer in your general vicinity searches for your products or services. Customers are more likely to trust products or services that are in a well-set-up business listing.
Verify Your Information on Yelp
Whether you have signed up with Yelp or not, your local business information may be uploaded to their site because customers searched your business, rated, and reviewed it.
You must make sure that the information in your yelp profile is accurate. The address, phone number, website, and operating hours should be similar to those in the other social media platforms. It is wise to claim your business on Yelp to manage the information in your listing.
Online Reviews
Research done by Fundera shows that 74% of consumers rely on social media to guide their purchasing decision. Positive reviews on social media platforms act as a very powerful tool for marketing. They give potential customers assurance that they are getting a genuine product or service.
To improve the chances of customers leaving a review, you can send a thank-you note to the customer for doing business with you and ask them to leave a review online. The way you respond to your customers in reviews, whether negative or positive, shows your customers or potential customers how you value them.
Start Blogging
Creating successful blog posts related to your business and community improves the chances of your business being found in search engine result pages. Use keywords to create SEO-friendly blog posts. The blogs should be informative and educational to your customers or potential customers.
Blogs also help in establishing steady traffic to your website. You will achieve this by posting tips and informative content or answering frequently asked questions by consumers.
Sharing them on your social media pages will help you interact with your followers and drive traffic to your site too.
Join a Local Small Business Group
Joining an active local group in your community is a great way to expose your products and services to others. Make your presence known by joining in a healthy discussion or participating in a conversation about the products or services in your field.
Consider Giving Back To the Community
Research shows that 91% of consumers like being associated with a brand that supports charitable causes. By supporting your local community through charity, you will be helping your business by selling your brand. You can offer to provide branded event tents that bear your business’s name or logo to local events. For example, you can offer to put up tents during local ceremonies, festivals, or at the free clinics being offered by the local hospital. That way, you are putting your business right in front of the locals.
Partner With Local Influencers
Influencers have a large social media following. They are well respected, trusted, and popular in their field. Being recognized, mentioned, or featured by them can massively market your business. The influencers can be from your local community or niche-related. You can reach out to them and see if they are willing to endorse your business.
Run Online Contests
Online contests can increase your social media following. They can be done by encouraging people to post photos or videos related to the business. Then, the winner is picked according to the majority of likes. If all goes well, others will tend to follow because they have seen people they know participate. When new people follow and are interested in your promotional content, this may lead them to be your new customers.
Conclusion
Successfully promoting a business is one thing. However, maintaining a steady and strong market may take years. To convince consumers to use their hard-earned money on their products and services, the business owner must learn and understand the consumer buying behavior.
You have to earn trust from your local customers. The product or service you are offering has to be consistent. Communicate any change you make or intend to make to your customer to remain loyal to you.
The above ways of promoting your local business are pocket-friendly. As you ponder on the best method to promote your business, remember you can use several options simultaneously and market your business aggressively to get a better result in a shorter period.
