Marketing is important to every business’ survival, whether it’s for the local business up the street or the mega-corporation that spreads across all continents. Unfortunately, for the former, marketing is often put on the back burner, as a small-business owner has so many other things to deal with.
- Learn from your competitors
As a small business, you should start by looking at what your direct competitors are doing in the area. Find out how they are attracting customers and, more importantly, what is and isn’t working for them. It’s time to start or revisit your competitor research. If you’re opening a location-based business, like a restaurant, that competitor research might involve visiting other venues in-person to judge quality, service, aesthetics and other factors through which you want to differentiate your own business. This is also a great time to introduce yourself to other local business owners.
On the other hand, if you have an ecommerce business, you will be conducting a lot of research online.
Make sure to document your findings; you can create a chart to show your strengths and weaknesses alongside your competitors. For instance, you might find that you are the only restaurant in the area who isn’t offering a loyalty programme to attract customers, it is time to jump on that bandwagon.
- Build a strong online presence
An important part of marketing today is developing an online presence. You might think your local restaurant has no benefit of being online, as customers are usually local. To the contrary, you will be able to attract new customers in the area and beyond by being present online. It’s important to remember that one-third of all mobile searches are related to location and 78 per cent of local mobile searches result in offline purchases. You want people to find you online when they are looking for a business in the area, whether that’s on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
From your competitor research, you already have an idea of how other businesses in the area are presenting themselves online. Now dig a little deeper, asking questions like: Which businesses show up in Google? Which keywords are often targeted? What social media platforms are they using? What type of online content are they sharing? Take inspiration from your competitors and improve upon their efforts in order to stand out.
- Collect reviews and testimonials
An important piece of your online presence is online reviews. Reviews are crucial when it comes to ranking in local searches and acquiring new customers. Research shows that 72 per cent say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. What’s more, 92 per cent of consumers say that they will use a local business if it has at least a 4-star rating.
Having positive reviews to your business name is an incredibly strong tool, so part of your marketing strategy should be directed toward collecting reviews from current clients. Pick one or multiple platforms that you want to direct people to (e.g. Yelp, Google My Business, Tripadvisor, Facebook). It is important to actively ask your customers to leave reviews on these platforms, as people often need a little nudge to share their opinion. You can ask this in-person, through your website or with the help of a mobile app. Prompt customers at the right time, after they have enjoyed their meal or received their order in the mail. Lastly, don’t be discouraged by negative or mediocre reviews; these are valuable insights into what you can do it improve your business.
- Get press coverage
You don’t have to do all the marketing yourself; in fact, one way to get the word out about your business is with local press coverage. We are not talking about getting covered by Forbes or The New York Times, but starting with the media outlets in your area who are always looking to cover local news.
Share your story with different media outlets. Many small businesses have heartfelt origin stories, so craft up a narrative that shows who you are and what your business’ mission is. You want to be able to supplement this great story with amazing visuals. Professional photos will help you get featured in news stories – you can also repurpose these photos for your social media profiles! Depending on your industry, you can also put yourself in front of reporters by sending out samples of your product. The most important thing is to make a memorable connection with a few writers and journalists to secure your time in the spotlight.
- Make your customers say “wow”
You don’t need to do all the marketing yourself, turn your best customers into brand advocates who will market for you. In fact, word-of-mouth is 10 times as effective as traditional forms of marketing and advertising. So how do you generate that word-of-mouth marketing? You need to exceed your customers’ expectations!
To summarise, do your research and identify what’s working in your sector, build your presence and reach online, encourage reviews of your products of service, harness local press and add value to what you offer to drive word of mouth reviews.
