Owning your own business is hard work. Whether you’re small or medium sized there’s a good chance that you’ll be needed to cover every role in the business.
In addition you’ll find that there is an impressive amount of paperwork, marketing and networking to do; all of which are essential to the ongoing success of your business.
Looking after your existing customers is very important; especially if, like in the auto repairs market; they can provide you with repeat business.
But, this isn’t enough to guarantee your turnover or help you to grow. For this you need to develop good marketing ideas and techniques.
Unfortunately if you’re not an expert in marketing this can be a challenge; after all, where do you start? That’s where these 5 ideas and tips will come in; once you get started you’ll be surprised at how easy the ideas start to build up!
- Get Leads
No one wants to cold call people or to be cold called. However, contacting potential customers is essential to ensure your future success.
Fortunately you can do this through professional lead agents. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for leads in the pest control marketing sector or are offering pet grooming services; you can get specialized leads which have already been checked for you.
At least then when you call to generate business you’re calling someone who is interested in what you’re offering.
But, don’t forget the power of introductory offers. You may not be the only one cold calling; you need to show them a financial reason to choose you and, if possible, a social reason.
- Understand Your Market
When creating your own marketing schemes it is essential to know your market. There is little point creating an advertisement that shows young people partying when you’re trying to sell hearing aids.
You need to be aware of who is likely to purchase your product and where they are situated.
This will allow you to target your audience in ways that relate to their daily lives. Knowing your audience will also allow you to target them at the right time; too soon and they’re not interested, too late and they’ve already used a different firm!
For example if you’re selling snow chains you need to target areas that actually have snow. You’ll also need to make sure they and your marketing material are ready before the season. Offering your product half way through the winter months will probably mean most people have already purchased their chains.
- Clean Your Data
It is essential to create a database of your customers; this will allow you to remind them when a service is due. It will also allow you to see which people have stopped using your service.
You can then implement a simple plan to offer a specific incentive in an attempt to win the customer back.
If this doesn’t work then you need to remove the details from your database. This is important as your marketing campaigns will be based on the data you hold; it allows you to define your current customer base; appeal to them and look for other demographics which could be targeted.
If your data is inaccurate your entire marketing plans can be misdirected; wasting your time and money for little; or even no gain.
- Use Social Media
Recent research shows that while Facebook and YouTube still dominate the social media scene, many younger people are using Snapchat and other similar apps.
You must develop social media campaigns in order to attract customers. Again you’ll need to know your audience to ensure you target the right social media sites.
Social media marketing requires you to create a business persona and build links with other users; you’re not direct selling. Instead you’re selling through the power of your reputation. Add fun pictures of happy customers at your premises or using your goods. This will allow others to share and people to believe in your product and service.
Selling your goods or services will then take care of itself.
When looking at social media don’t forget that the power of the written word is still important. Articles that rate highly in search engines will help direct people to your site and increase your business potential.
- Use Email
You probably get far too many emails every day; most people do.
But, this is still one of the most effective and preferred methods of communicating. The trick is to ensure your emails are short and snappy. The subject line must tell the reader what they’re getting and your email must be optimized to view on the mobile; this is now the most common way of accessing messages and the web.
Don’t forget to put an obvious call to action in the message and make sure it’s easy for the recipient to do.
With a little research you can develop great marketing ideas and really push your business forward.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
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