Marketing your business can often feel like a daunting task. There are so many channels and strategies to learn about that it’s difficult to know where to begin!
As a small to medium business, you understand the importance of marketing, but may not have the time, expertise, or budget to invest in sophisticated campaigns.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a wildly successful marketing strategy!
If you pay attention to the essentials, you can build your brand and grow your business even with a modest budget.
Sound good? Read on to find out the top marketing tips for small or medium businesses.
5 Top Marketing Tips To Boost Your Business
1. Get Crystal Clear On Your Ideal Client
Every successful marketing strategy begins with this foundation: you must thoroughly understand your target audience and ideal customer.
The idea of marketing is not to cast an enormous net in the hopes of catching a few fish: it’s about knowing the locations and habits of the exact fish you aim to acquire, understanding which bait to use, and leveraging that knowledge to your advantage.
Smaller businesses tend to have more specific customers than larger ones, so as you develop a marketing strategy, drill down into the details of your audience.
Who are they? Where do they live? What do they do? What do they value? How does your business help them?
This information will help you design content and messages that your customers respond to.
2. Start Building Assets You Own
Social media platforms can be fantastic for engaging and communicating with customers, but they have one major downside: you do not own these assets. You have very little control over how these channels work and are at the mercy of algorithms and enormous companies that can change the rules at any time.
By all means, invest some time into these platforms, but don’t neglect the assets that you can have 100% ownership of, such as your email list.
Building an email list is simple but powerfully effective. You can encourage people to sign up on your website, via your social platforms, or at a brick and mortar location.
You don’t need any special skills to build a list, and it doesn’t take much time. But once you have your email database set up, it can become one of your most powerful marketing assets.
3. Use The Assets You Own
A tool is only as good as the user. Building a website and growing your email list is a great start, but if you don’t actively use these assets, your marketing strategy is going to stall.
Don’t just create a website and do nothing with it: publish weekly or monthly blogs to boost SEO, build brand authority and attract new customers.
Don’t sit on your email list just because you’re afraid to annoy people: get to work on producing informative, personalised emails to engage and connect with your audience.
Remember, results may not appear overnight, but if you show up consistently using the assets you own, you’ll reap the benefits in the long run.
4. Get Reviews
Did you know that around 95% of consumers read reviews before buying anything? 72% of customers use Google reviews to find businesses, and customers spend up to 31% more on companies with excellent reviews.
These days, shoppers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from family and friends. Make it easy for your customers to review your business – on Google, Facebook, external sites like Yelp, or on your website.
One of the best marketing tips is to share your positive reviews and respond personally (and courteously!) to negative and positive reviews. This is a great way to build your brand and find new customers.
5. Communicate Well
Being visible is vital to grow your business, but you must also communicate well in your marketing activities. Don’t just be part of the online “noise”: be clear and useful.
Communicate the benefits of your business to your ideal customers. Remember to make your marketing customer-centric; you should use the word “you” far more frequently than “I” or “we.”
Communicate consistently across all platforms, and include prominent calls to action to tell your customers what you’d like them to do next.
Ready to take your marketing to the next level. These top marketing tips are a great start, but if you want to supercharge your marketing, having an expert strategy is the way to do it.
Here at The Marketing Baker, we can help you cook up the kind of strategy that produces delicious results! Book a time to chat today and take the first step towards effective marketing for your small or medium business.