‘I see marketing not only as a vital skill for small business success, but more importantly, as a vehicle to create art and connect deeply with and serve others to make the world a better place’ - Marie Forleo
Marketing is a critical aspect to the success of all businesses around the globe. It opens doors, provides access, increases profits, and expands reach. It invites people into the company’s fold, shares a message, acts as a voice, and exposes consumers to the reasons to click purchase, like, follow, and join a greater community. Without it, your company’s voice is lost in the noise.
If you have a small business, you have a marketing plan - but does it work? Are you seeing the results you’d like to see? What else can you do to perk up that plan, increase revenue and get your name on all of those proverbial billboards? There’s no one right way to market your business, but there are aspects that work better than others, tools that alleviate hassles, and skills that transcend the everyday marketing experience.
Here are five marketing lessons to practice regularly and get you inspired:
Make that marketing strategy work for you
As part of any business plan, a marketing strategy is necessary. Tweak the one you start with along the journey - let that strategy grow and change as your business does the same. Simple ideas like dedicating resources to customer service, setting goals and shooting to surpass them, and always working to identify new opportunities are tried and true facets. Today, we boost our businesses with tech - allowing thousands to see our precious mission statement with the click of a button and creating streams of passive income can keep us going through those slow months of the year. Save time and headaches for yourself by also automating tasks, building out an email list, and utilizing tech services so you can put your efforts into what makes your business yours and continue to separate yourself from the competition.
Develop your audience
Today our voices are amplified through our online presence. Word of mouth, transparency, accessibility, and following best practices helps to intensify those voices and develop an audience. Consider the following: Does your business leave a smile on the faces of customers? Does your business have a specific customer loyalty program? Do you offer free trials, demos or other workshops to bring in new consumers? Rewarding returning customers makes them more likely to share their story with others. Sticking to your mission, being present, and asking for feedback from customers shares your desire to provide the best product/service out there and continues to help grow that audience.
Build strategic partnerships
We all benefit from having people around us. Whether it’s the idea of building a bigger table, opening up to others, gathering a team or joining organizations to broaden our horizons - we all need other people. The same can be said about businesses, both small and large. Creating strategic partnerships helps to swiftly reach a wider audience of customers. Consider the brands that link themselves with global sensations like Game of Thrones or The Ronald McDonald House and quickly get their name out to a whole new audience. Perhaps it’s setting up a referral system to help establish your brands with new customers, perhaps it's joining forces with other companies that share your greater interests or those that work to serve a broader community. Monitoring trends in a specific industry and leveraging the giant global platforms like those of shared economy and e-commerce can develop quicker than you think.
Embrace community
We join meet-up groups, travel to all-inclusive resorts, and go on group tours with strangers. We stand around the water cooler and chat about our day, join groups on social media to communicate our story with others, and go to retreats with others who share our interests. How can your small business embrace a broader community? We can meet our customers at that virtual watering hole and be a part of that virtual water cooler conversation. Engage with investors and members, be part of networking sites, keep showing up with authentic content on social media, and encourage feedback and suggestions. Launch training, run promotions, lead workshops, and offer some free awesomeness to cultivate a conversation with that community of yours. When you think, ‘how can we help people on their journey’ you'll continue to both build and embrace that broader community.
Establish your brand
Your unique voice, your unique product and your unique perspective helps to establish your brand. Consider what the products you offer and what services you provide that can help your business stand out from the crowd. You can build your brand without the hard sell. You can pay attention to the behavior of your customers, you can 'be reliable', present and create memorable slogans that immediately remind people of your business. When you treat customers as a priority, practice transparency and authenticity, and constantly work to be better at what you do both you and your customers benefit. Find your voice, stick to your mission and your brand will soar towards the top of the charts.
Use the tools available to you to lift your marketing game. These tools, these skills, these facets of communication can elevate your already successful strategies and add new ones to your repertoire. Which ones will you adhere to?