Small businesses are privately owned businesses that can be handled by a sole proprietorship or have fewer employees compared to a regular-sized business. Whether you are just starting your business or already have one running, marketing is important for your brand. Not only is marketing for promoting your products or services, but it is also critical to your business success.
Marketing small businesses
Marketing is the act of promoting your products and services including market research and advertising. Marketing helps to raise awareness for your business and create opportunities that lead to business growth. For small businesses, marketing can be a bit challenging due to less visibility, lack of budget, or time. However, different marketing strategies can help improve your business.
Different kinds of marketing strategies
Before you start marketing your product, you already know who you want to reach out to and you also need to make a choice (or choices) of marketing strategy to use for your business. Some marketing strategies for small businesses include:
- Know your audience.
- Stay focused on one goal at a time.
- Identify what works for you.
- Use free promotional tools.
- Create an online presence.
- Use email marketing/ bulk SMS.
- Networking.
- Offer discounts on products or services.
- Advertise.
High-cost marketing ideas for small businesses.
1. Facebook advertising:
A lot of businesses advertise on Facebook, it is not very expensive and can help you reach your target audience virtually. Facebook allows you to reach your audience based on location, interests, age, sex, online behaviours, and search history.
2. Content marketing:
About 18% of people who use content marketing describe it to have the greatest commercial impact on their business. Content marketing involves creating and sharing relevant content consistently to attract a specific audience and make a profit from sales. Contents can be videos, blog posts, and podcasts. To get content marketing right, you need to:
- Have quality content and relevant topics.
- Optimized for SEO and readers.
- Consistency in content creation and promotions.
3. Brand ambassador:
Using your loyal customer as your business brand ambassador will be able to get your business known through word of mouth and connect you with potential business partners or clients.
4. Influencer Marketing:
It is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies small businesses can invest in. You can do this by paying a social media influencer or another brand like yours to help promote your product or services. Just make sure that you find the right influencer with the right audience and location otherwise you will only be wasting money and time reaching people who will not make use of your products or services.
Low-cost marketing ideas for small businesses.
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Blogging:
You can make content a part of your marketing efforts by starting a blog for your small business. Small businesses use blogging to increase traffic to their website, improve online visibility and increase users engagement. It is a free and easy way to promote your business naturally.
2. Google my business account:
Creating a googol my business account for your business will make your business show up in Google searches when people search for your product or services in your area.
3. Business cards:
Business cards show that you are professional and people take your brand seriously. A business card will make you stand out among your competition, and increase the rate of customer recommendation and engagement.
4. Use social media:
Using Social media is one of the most effective ways to market your business. The platform allows you to reach a wide range of customer bases at the same time. The platform you can use for social media marketing is Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, and WhatsApp. By putting up relevant, Creative, and engaging content people will pick up interest in your business and then patronize you.
5. Flyers/posters:
This is one method of cheap advertising. You can distribute flyers in your business area and place posters in public places that highlight the services you offer, and products you sell and also provide contact information including your location.
6. Bulk SMS:
Using a bulk SMS service can help you increase your customer base. All you need to do is to use bulk SMS to advertise your business by reaching out to people within your area and making them part of your SMS marketing campaign. Apart from marketing, small-scale businesses can use bulk SMS to let customers know when there are emergencies, special offers, or send goodwill messages.
Check out a related article on the top 5 ways Small-scale businesses can use bulk SMS.
7. Referrals:
This is one of the best ways to promote your business. Good word of mouth from a customer who is satisfied with your product or service to their friends, family, or anyone who inquires about your product or service increases your business reputation and growth. A referral is a long-term advertising strategy that depends on the way you treat your customers, so ensure to always ask for feedback and if they are satisfied ask that they suggest you to others.
Now that you're aware of a variety of low-cost marketing tactics for expanding your business, you can use them to expand your customer base and enhance your profits. However, before you begin, you must first understand your audience, their behaviour, and the nature of your organization, and then use the strategy that best suits you.
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