Every small business owner knows that marketing is an essential part to staying competitive and keeping your doors open, especially in the kind of economy that we have been experiencing in the last few years.
Companies that neglect, or under fund, their marketing strategies can often find themselves at a real disadvantage in the marketplace and can even find their thriving business has shriveled and died before they know it.
So What Should Be Your Main Marketing Objectives?
There are two primary objectives of any small business marketing strategy.
Overlook either aspect, and your online marketing will likely be headed down the drain.
These two objective are to attract and retain. Even the best of businesses must always be working to attract new customers. At the same time, it is less costly to retain a current customer than it is to acquire a new one, so effective efforts must be put out on both fronts.
Attracting Customers
There are many ways to attract new customers and your small business marketing plan should include at least a few different ways of accomplishing this.
As a small business owner, you should do your best to network with other businesses and community leaders. Getting involved with the community will provide very natural ways for people to get to know you and your business and you will naturally gain new customers.
In addition, you can offer to be an “expert” resource to the local media outlets so that they come to you whenever they need commentary on something that is within your field of expertise. This will get you a great deal of exposure to the community while also positioning yourself as an authority in your industry which helps in marketing your business. People will naturally seek out your business when they need something related.
More and more people use the internet these days to find the companies in their locale to do business with. A good website that is both attractive and easy to use can go along way in both attracting new customers and in retaining the customer base you already have. Use your website to the max to make the most of this important small business marketing tool.
Marketing Is All About Communicating
One of the best ways to retain your current customers is to stay in contact with them. These days, you can easily and very cheaply do this by publishing a regular newsletter that you send right to their email inbox. Offer coupons, discounts and specials that are only available to those on your email list.
Every year, you can survey your customers to gauge their level of satisfaction and to ask for ways you can improve the way you serve them. Ask for ideas to make their experience with your company better. Ask questions that helps you identify exactly who your customers are and what their priorities are when dealing with your company.
Gaining such insights will help you retain your customers and refine your small business marketing strategy to help you draw in more customers as well. If you would like some more small business marketing ideas then please feel free to contact us, there is no obligation to you and we are more than happy to help you with your marketing strategies for small business.
