10 point marketing strategy, which every small business owner has to check
Then came the not the easiest time for representatives of small business. Each owner must decide daily dozens of hot issues – from problems with suppliers to communicate with the tax. So often marketing company left unattended or receiving time and money as a residual. What should we spend so scarce time small business owners in 2017?
- Strategy and Marketing Plan
Enough to rely on luck or inspiration. Marketing today – not so much work as a clear scientific approach. And the sooner you become a formally its relationship with marketing as a strategy and plan, the more effectively can spend their money. The main goal of digital-marketing – increasing revenues (through attracting more new customers and increase repeat purchases). Without a detailed plan, you risk wasting money on chaotic activity that does not bring you closer to your goal. The minimum option – to impose their own annual targets and action plan to distribute between responsible and more tightly control performance. The best option – to turn to a professional consultant who will make under your close supervision of this basic work and help implement all conceived in place processes.
- Company site
No matter how annoying, but websites, business cards are no longer in fashion. The main task of the modern site – increase sales. For this, it is necessary to work out with the development of Landing, whose main task is to collect leads and turn them into customers. Minimum program, right now, go to your site from your mobile and see how it looks. If the screen looks at you something very clear, though, and made a couple of years ago – the plan changes are for the near future. Remember that even the best developer sites do not “candy” without clear objectives and your participation. Preparing content for the site, just think of SEO, search engine optimization.
- Social networks
Among US small businesses plan to 70% this year to use social media to promote their products and services. Thus 56% of small business owners also plan to increase the budget in 2017 “for Zuckerberg.” So do not be afraid that Facebook – this is a short-term trend, which is about fail. If you are already present in social networks, it is time to start fighting, not just hang pictures occasionally. For this, you need good content plan (which has come out of our paragraph 1, and not vice versa), specific goals and a person who will answer for their own salary. Not flatter yourself of power stations organic coverage. If you already third year page does not become more 30/300/3000 fans, you should find an experienced SMM-marketing that will help you in this case.
- Content marketing
Remember the last time you updated your “News” section or blog? Meanwhile, I am sure you have something to say to consumers. Do not be ashamed of telling customers about their successes, and perhaps of defeat. Formulate an emotional connection with customers that they will not be so easy to break. Tell stories, inspiring live with them. Take time and assistant that helps you write, to draw and place correctly whatever you want to say. Quality content helps you to attract, train and retain their customers, they do not neglect it or a minute longer.
- Video content
Stop waiting for better times, because each of us already have a smartphone with a camera that captures video quality is quite decent. People love to watch, but it is important to make life easier its customers. Try it today, remove a small video Introduce your customers to your staff, show them your office, and show how you actually help solve their problems. Take your product, talk about him personally shoot experience and customer feedback. Try it and you will realize that it is not as scary as it seems. Who knows, you or someone on your staff will open the talent and one day become a star of YouTube.
- Customer Base
Consider the condition you keep one of the most valuable assets – their customer base. What information do you have about customers? How do you use it? Here lies the many opportunities that sin not to use highly world. If all contacts are hiding in your own mailbox or excel, then maybe it is time to organize everything. Regarding new customers – should think about what processes change, so you can get the minimum necessary information about them, which then effectively use to repeat purchases or recommendations.
- E-mail marketing
This point is closely related to the previous example and shows good performance. Subscriptions – one of the cheapest ways to communicate with customers and get the desired result. At least so says 68% of US companies that provided the item first among other marketing activities on ROI (return on investment) (data Gigaom Research, 2015). In this case, it is important not quantity but quality, because everyone can become spam, and prepare really interesting and useful letter is not so simple (see point №5 – Content).
- Quality control services
Today, customers complain easily, this one at least has its own profile on Facebook as well as the maximum – will leave ugly marks on thematic resources, your FB page on the site and who knows where else. However, it is important to hear first if customer dissatisfied with something, and quickly remove this negative. This is much easier than to collect negative reviews across the network. To do this you have to offer a very simple way that each customer could easily and quickly leave feedback after every interaction with the company. It can be a call, email or any other method of receiving operational information directly from the client.
- Benefit
In our material, age so nice when someone offers you something useful for free, right? Why not to give potential customers something useful, that it quickly become yours? For example, offer to download some cool stuff from your site after a short registration (book, manual, infographics, or open access to training videos and so on). This makes many foreign companies, but few American too. You can get one from the client plus conventional lead and its contact details as a bonus (be sure to use it immediately in paragraph 7 and thank registration).
- Corporate Social Responsibility
You can do something useful not only for potential customer’s purely mundane reasons. Earn a long-term advantage in the eyes of the general audience (its stakeholders) through good and useful things. CSR should not be confused with charity, so it is necessary to plan on what direction the company will direct its efforts. It will be great if the CSR program will be based on your preferences and experience, which will never be superfluous to recall. As we say – “do not praise myself…”
The digital future is very close, so I strongly advise not to delay the implementation of at least some of the above points. Choose what caused you the greatest response and – go! In this case, as in all others, the main thing – to start. So begins the process, look for associates and assistants, and enjoy the fact that you are on the wave!