If there’s one thing that eludes small businesses, it’s small business marketing.
It doesn’t help that marketing budgets have dropped to a low of 6.4% of company revenue.
No doubt you’ve put a lot of time and hard work into running your business. But without good marketing, your company might as well be invisible.
Fortunately, it’s possible to have a marketing strategy for your small business. Keep reading for 4 very important tips on how to market a small business.
1. Know Your Audience
You can’t market to an audience if you don’t know who that audience is. Who is your business’s target audience?
Your target audience refers to the consumers who most likely would buy your products. These are the people you want to see your ad campaigns and social media posts.
There are a few ways of determining your target audience:
- Analyze your existing customer base
- Carry out client interviews
- Look at social media analytics
- Create personas
You should know your target audience’s age, gender, hobbies, education level, income, and other demographics.
2. Keep It Consistent
Regardless of how you decide to market your business, you need to keep it consistent. Keep your visual branding consistent across all channels, including social media. Use the same colors, font, and logo.
If you don’t have a brand style guide, you need one. A brand style guide effectively acts as a rulebook for your brand, ensuring that your brand looks and feels the same.
Remember, your brand’s identity is your brand’s personality. Being able to communicate is essential.
3. Use a Referral Program
Marketing a small business usually means you’re doing it on a tight budget. Fortunately, word-of-mouth marketing via a referral program is a great way to get new customers.
After a client purchases from you, reach out to them after their purchase. Off them a reward or discount for a future service for referring friends and family to your business. Using a referral program saves you money on customer acquisition, as well as advertising.
4. Create Valuable Content
One of the best ways to market your small business is by taking advantage of lead nurturing strategies. Lead nurturing is the process of building a relationship with your customers, which may lead to a purchase.
One way of building trust is with content creation. A lead nurturing strategy like content creation doesn’t feel like a forced sale. Instead, it builds authority while providing value to your audience.
That Is How to Market a Small Business
A good marketing strategy is more than spending money on ads. It’s about knowing your audience, building a consistent brand, using referral programs to save money on marketing, and creating valuable content. Running a small business certainly isn’t an easy feat, but if you know how to market a small business there’s a good chance your odds of success will increase.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our site for more business and marketing tips.
