Small Business Marketing Ideas To Help You Grow 2022
Content Table:
grow your small business.
As a small business owner,
Whether you need to find new customers or retain existing ones, here are a few ideas to help you grow your small business.
As a small business owner, you may already be busy and have heard a lot of marketing ideas that seem impossible (or, at least, very difficult) to implement.
It can be difficult to come up with proven ways to improve your online presence, build an email list, engage potential customers in the community, and drive measurable income.
In this column, you will find several small business marketing ideas designed to help you grow your business by gaining new customers or retaining existing ones.
And you can actually make these ideas yourself!
Keep reading for strategies you can use in your small business to create better content, grow your social presence, gain and retain customers, and more.
Content creation.
If you’re paying attention, you know you need content.
It may sound intimidating, but you and your staff have the power to create powerful and relevant content with a basic smartphone.
Here are some simple examples:
- Photo of staff members.
- A photo of a new team member.
- Picture the owner or boss making a joke.
- Picture of new product unboxed or stored.
- A photo of a happy customer (with proper permission, of course).
- Photo of office pet (if applicable).
- Picture a staff member enjoying a seasonal holiday gathering.
- Photograph of staff members in action (meeting, customer assistance, stocking shelves, etc.).
- A photo of a happy customer (along with a caption using unlimited apps that can do this).
- Photograph the new equipment (especially if it’s a home service company).
- Photo of staff working on site (if outside).
- “Behind the scenes” photo.
- Memes made from your photos.
- Video of a birthday or other type of celebration.
- Promotional, product, or special announcement video.
- Customer testimonial video.
- A video with practical advice that the client can find useful.
- Video supporting a local cause.
- Video showcasing new products or services (30 seconds to one minute).
- Video of the owner talking about the company’s mission.
- Video interview with team members.
- Group your photos into a video (many apps can do this).
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Big business can happen in small towns. Small towns offer a unique opportunity for market concentration, as well as the challenge of limited population. Finding small town business ideas that stick is all about filling a current need with a great product or service.
To start a business in a small town, you will need to do some background research on the local market, as well as the specific geography of the physical location. In a small town, you rely heavily on a small group of businesses, so choosing the right location is important to improve store traffic. Even if your business plan is based on a service, it is still a good idea to have a solid understanding of the size of your market.
Once you have an idea of the customer market in your city, you can base it on different small town business ideas, and finally decide which one you think will work best. Once you know more about the resources and other businesses in your area, you can talk to other business owners and evaluate the costs and requirements of starting a small town business. For inspiration, we’ve compiled this list of 35 small-town business ideas that every community needs. You can use this list to start your research, or perhaps, to find the perfect idea for your small town business.
Using Social Media to Grow Your Business.
As local newspapers have declined,
Using Social Media to Grow Your Business.
As local newspapers have declined, social media has become more important because you are more likely to find your customers in one of the sites.
The tips below apply regardless of location. Don’t let your biases or habits determine which social media sites you use.
You may not use [insert social media name], but your business needs a presence if your customers do.
- Paste the images described above.
- Upload one of the videos described above.
- Post customer reviews.
- Go live with the Q&A. Prepare the seed questions.
- Go directly to an event or party that your business is hosting or participating in.
- Share the good news with other local businesses.
- Share a post about a local charity or non-profit that is looking for help.
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Know How to Advertise
- Respond to any questions or comments from customers.
- Create a customer event and post it.
- Post “little known facts” or historical anniversaries relevant to your market or community.
- Post a picture of your business as the seasons change.
- Post customer stories (with permission, of course).
- Post a business challenge you faced and overcame.
- When your local school team or organization is having success, cheer them on.
- Turn a frequently asked question into a helpful advice post for your customers.
- Embrace the good news of the business.
- Celebrate new hires.
Customer Access.
Getting new customers is often about doing the little things right.
People in your community need the products and services you sell.
Part of your job is to make it easy for them to do business with you.
Below are a few items for a customer acquisition checklist:
- Ask for an email referral.
- Ask for an email or text review.
- Allow customers to send inquiries via text message.
- Make sure it’s easy for customers to contact you (test often).
- Make easy money search ads.
- Make sure your business is on the map.
- Exhibit at a local trade show or fair.
- Sponsor a team or organization (which comes up frequently).
- Create a paid social media campaign (pay $10 – $20 to promote an article or video to a local audience).
- Start building an email list by offering something valuable in return.
- Use QR codes to lead customers to sign up to receive instant coupons via SMS.
- Start referring customers to other (non-competing) businesses.
- Join a networking group.
- Attend social events and gatherings.
Customer Retention.
Getting new customers is not enough to sustain the business.
Getting new customers is not enough to sustain the business.
Work hard to retain your current customers or you may have trouble getting on board.
Here are a few simple ideas you can give your leg:
- Send a quick follow-up survey after the sale.
- Ask for a review by email or text.
- Send a thank you note to the client.
- Follow up with customers to make sure they are happy.
- Send offers (price, privacy, early, etc.) to existing customers.
- Have a customer appreciation event.
- Create a customer advisory group.
- Send a monthly email to your client with announcements, specials, and even the occasional personal update.
- Create a client of the month program.
- Find out who your best customers are and offer special offers.
Development.
To be clear, you need to get the word out to give your business a chance to succeed.
While “Field of Dreams” is a great movie, the method does not work in business (“If you build it, they will come”).
- Add promotional links to email signatures.
- Do bundle deals on some products (or services) to increase your average order value.
- Try buy now, pay later on your ecommerce website.
- If you are a service company, offer cash or early payment discounts.
- Announce all promotions on social media channels.
- Test different promotional discounts, bundles, payment methods, etc.
- Partner with other local businesses to promote yours.
- If you’re going to make swag, make it memorable for your customers.
- Be the face of your business. “People do business with people they love.”
- Support your local news publications when it makes sense.
- Get a sign to put on your car.
- Partner with a bank to finance major purchases.
Estimating Effectiveness
If you’ve made it this far, you’re thinking: Great! But how do I know if any of these are working?
Below are some basic things you can do to measure the effectiveness of your efforts:
- Add Google Analytics to your website (or have someone do it).
- Write down what success looks like from a business perspective.
- Track your progress toward your goals.
- Know the difference between the top and bottom of the funnel meter.
- Track redeemed coupons.
- Monitor incoming calls, messages, and emails.
- Make sure conversion tracking is set up for your digital advertising.
- Ask customers how they heard about you.
- Measure your foot traffic (if your business is retail).
- Measure your average order.
- Measure your conversion rate (online and physical stores).
- Record any changes in your promotion and messaging and know the business impact.
- Track your downline to make sure your ads and promotions are driving profitable sales.
- Calculate customer lifetime value.
- Find out how much it costs to get a new customer.
- Know your customer base.
- Know the difference between the cost of retaining an existing customer and acquiring a new one.
- Test discount vs. Non-discount type of offer (bundle or buy now, pay later).
Getting Help with the Job You Need
Time is money, and you’ll find that sometimes, it’s better to hire an expert to help you market your business.
Below are some tips to do this:
- Ask for a referral to hire digital marketing expertise (PPC, SEO, email, web design and development).
- Get an exercise to create all the images and videos described in the content section.
- Hire a local freelancer if you have budget constraints.
- Clarify your definition of success to everyone you hire.
- Ask to see relevant studies before hiring anyone.
- Do an SEO audit to identify any gaps.
- Use online resources like Fiverr, Upwork, and 99 Designs for some of your needs.
- Hire someone who can write for you.
- Ask an employee or someone you know to edit videos. You might be surprised how well they work.
- Have a handy list of resources to rely on when you need them.
Someone is just starting
That’s the list!
That’s the list!
Here are some small business marketing ideas that you can actually implement.
The best advice I can give you to get started is to pick a few simple ones (mostly the content section) that you have.
Before you know it, you find your rhythm.
Good luck!
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