SIX MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Imran Rashid Khan

Small business owners are increasingly showing concerns about effectively marketing their businesses. Small business owners should take knowledgeable actions, which may seem small now, but will prove to be a major factor in the stability and growth of their businesses.

Here are six (6) simple tips for building a better marketing strategy for your small business, one that will put your customers first and your business second to none.

1. Develop a Marketing Budget.

Customer attraction and retention are the two most pressing concerns for small business owners. While few of them spend minimal amounts on marketing their business, majority of small business owners don’t spend any money on marketing.

Small business owners should put aside a flexible budget to tackle new marketing opportunities and ideas so as to better position their business. Consumers are increasingly researching products or services to make purchases, so return-on-investment (ROI) should be the key factor by which to measure your marketing efforts. Business which spend very less or nothing on their marketing will only hurt their bottom line. Small businesses should make smart investments in marketing so they are better positioned to attract customers now and in the future.

2. Build a Website.

A website is the essential component for any business to have an online virtual presence. It is through your business website that your current and potential customers will find you and connect with you. Whether you are building you business website now, or looking to improve the one you already have keep the following things in mind:

•  Your business contact information (address, phone number, email, etc) should be promptly displayed on each page of your website, not just in your Contact or About Us page. Make sure that your business contact information is consistent and updated on all online business listing sites.
• Enlist the help of a professional website designer to build a visually appealing and easy to navigate website. Your website should be SEO optimized.
• Keep your website content current and updated so that it is relevant to those visiting your site and help in higher ranking of your site in search engine results. Update your site with promotions, offerings and introducing new products and services. Use analytical tools to find out from where your visitors are coming from, and how they are finding you. This will help you in improving the customer experience of your visitors, ensuring return visitors.

3. Make Your Website Mobile-Optimized.

Increasingly consumers are using Smartphones and tablets to search for local businesses and to shop for products and services, so ensure that your website is mobile-optimized or responsive. Ignoring this opportunity will diminish the chances for securing business from these visitors.

4. SUBSCRIBE TO LOCAL LISTINGS.

Get your business listed in the local listing, and make sure it is in the appropriate category. Make your listing accurate and complete. Ensuring that your business listing is complete and accurate plays an important role in determining whether your customers reviewing your listing can move forward with contacting you and making a purchase. Include business address, phone number, website address, email address, social media channel addresses, photos, offerings, etc. This will help your customers to get as much information as they need about your business before making a decision.

5. MANAGE TESTIMONIALS AND REVIEWS.

Before the online revolution, consumers placed their trust on word-to-mouth testimonials, same way online reviews and testimonials play an important role in driving consumers purchasing behavior. Small business owners should ensure that their customers can reach them directly through varied means. Regular monitoring should be in place of the reviews. All reviews especially the negatives one should be replied promptly in a professional way with focus to remedy the issue. After every transaction or services provided, an email should be sent to your customer asking them to leave feedback on your website or your business social media channel.

6. BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.

With the advent of online social media platforms, consumers are spending more and more time on social media not only interacting with their family and friends, but also with popular brands. Small business owners are increasingly engaging their loyal and potential customers through social media channels. Before jumping onto the bandwagon, small business owners should take in to account the following things:

• Begin by selecting which social media platform will be more appropriate for your business. Facebook and Twitter provide strong platforms to reach your customers with offerings, promotions, and the like. These platforms also have the ability to engage in one-to-one conversations with their customers answering to feedbacks, queries, and complaints. For businesses dealing in clothing, furniture, art, and other kinds of designing Pintrest can provide a platform for sharing visually their offerings. And sites like YouTube can help businesses to post ‘how-to-do’ videos.
• Once your business social media channel(s) have been created, share the information. Keep updating it with relevant information. Include compelling photos, videos, and other visual content so that your followers keep coming back and stay connected. Your business social media channel(s) are an extension of your online presence, respond to any inquiries, questions, and other comments promptly.

FINAL WORDS

Small business owners should measure results from their marketing initiatives. They should find out how well their marketing strategies have worked, and what else they can or should be doing. Develop a reporting mechanism that will enable you to see the impact of the marketing activities on your business. Soon you will start seeing the benefits of your business marketing activities at work – the ability of your business to retain and attract customers.

FIVE STEPS TO HELP SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES SUCCEED THROUGH SEO

Imran Rashid Khan

For a small business to effectively position it in search engine results is very important for their success and survival. But is it possible to influence and control search engine results?

The answer to that million dollar question is yes. There are simple yet effective ways to not only boost but to improve the visibility of your small business. You can even improve the ratings and reviews of your business through the efforts of social media. 

Take a look at the five (5) steps and the actions to be taken for small businesses to extend their outreach and influence the search engine results with positive content and coverage.

BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WEBSITE 

• Your website is the first point of contact and the most valuable online asset, so it is essential to take steps to make it optimized and accurate so it appears high within the search results. Your business website is the home on the virtual world, from where the interaction with your business starts and ends. Your business website is the most important place for existing and potential customers to learn about your business before deciding on whether to move forward with a purchase your product or use your service.

• Select a domain name that reflects your business and if possible its location. For example, one of the beauty salons in New York uses the domain "simplybeautifulnyc.com", which includes its business name, type, and location.

• Your website should be built around giving its visitors a user-friendly experience, having a visually appealing colour scheme, attractive visual content and easy to use navigation.

• Add keywords on page titles that identify your business, its services, and its location. For example, “simplybeautiful – full service beauty salon – New York.” Incorporate your business's name, address, and phone number in not only your homepage or contact page, but also in each individual webpage of your website.

• In addition to highlighting your offerings, make sure to include as much possible information of your vicinity. For example, note what section of the town you are in, nearest important or famous landmark. This information will boost your search visibility as a local business.

• Ensure that your business website is Mobile-Friendly.

MAKE AVAILABLE AND UPDATE YOUR BUSINESS LISTINGS ON LOCAL WEBSITES

One of the most effective ways to boost your SEO is to ensure the availability of correct information of your business in your local business listings sites. The information should be accurate, consistent, and accessible.

• When your business is not listed or the information listed is incomplete, outdated or appears differently in different places, then there is a risk of negative impact of your business ratings in search engine results. Not only that it will make it difficult for potential customers to find your business.

• Ensure that your business is listed in your local business listings and the business information like name, phone, and address are consistent and correct.

• Ensure to include photos, videos, website URL, and other key information in your listing to make it more attractive and informative to your potential customers.

• While enlisting your business make sure it is in the appropriate category.

• If your business has multiple locations, mention each location on your website. Create separate listings of each location to boost visibility of your location and business.

ENSURE AN APPROPRIATE LINK STRATEGY

Links from your website to other related websites, and vice versa, play a vital role in optimising your business visibility in search engine results. This action helps in creating credibility of your business.

• Use social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and other media channels to share your website link. Encourage your friends and family to pass along the information as well.

• Add links to your website in your emails and other stationary items.

• Sponsor local events, or provide discounts on special /seasonal occasions. Ask your other local businesses to provide links to your business and return the favour. However make sure your linking strategy is authentic and relevant to your business. Do not spam your business URL, on websites, blog comments or forums.

ENCOURAGE AND RESPOND TO ONLINE REVIEWS.

Reviews not only help to build your business visibility in local search engine results but, also play a critical role in driving consumer’s purchasing decisions, so respond to them whether they are positive or negative.

• Encourage the customers to leave ratings and reviews. Provide them with variety of sites to post reviews so the spread is varied. Whether it is a simple email or a call out on your website. The more positive, authentic review the better your business will appear.

• Be proactive about responding to all types of customer reviews. If the post is positive, thank the customer for their feedback and encourage them to use your services/product again. If the post is negative, appreciate the feedback and ask the customer to get in contact with you about their concerns so you can attend to their problems.

ENGAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Social media plays a noteworthy role in local business visibility in search results. The more proactive your social media strategy, the higher likelihood your pages will attract followers and optimise your ratings within a search.

• Engage your customers via Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pintrest, and other popular social networks on regular basis. Begin by selecting which social media platform will be more appropriate for your business. The more you engage the more followers you will have, which in turn will make your page appear higher in searches. Use posts and updates to link to your business website to drive traffic.

• Start a blog, which will provide a steady stream of new and relevant content for your existing and potential customers. This will not only raise your site’s SEO results but also drive traffic to your site.

• Engage your customers with updates on new products/services, promotions, and discounts. Respond promptly and directly to questions, concerns or feedback.

In the end, pay attention to your success and adjust your approach as necessary. Keep close track of your progress, and monitor what is working, and what is not. Follow these steps and take control of your marketing strategy.