Not long ago, starting a business used to be a daunting task. The reason being, it required entrepreneurs to be well-equipped in terms of money and human resources. But it has become the story of a bygone era now. All thanks to the latest technology. Today, if someone possesses extraordinary business acumen, he/she can pretty much get on with a small startup.
Broadly put, the ease of doing business has reached a whole new level. That is one reason why small businesses are growing at an accelerated pace. According to a widely cited figure, America alone is home to more than 30 million small businesses. And experts are expecting this number to rise in the future.
However, with more companies becoming stakeholders of market share, entrepreneurs have to keep up with the fierce competition. So, if you do not know how to stand out from the crowd, the rival companies will hold sway. That is where marketing flips into action. Marketing is the best tool that helps you to get noticed by customers.
If people are not aware of your existence, all your efforts will be nullified. Without further ado, let’s dive into practices that will seriously balloon up your marketing in 2021:
Get positive online customer reviews
What would the product look like on arrival? Will I get my package on time? For how long the respective brand has been in the market? Well, these are the questions that surface in a customer’s mind while shopping online. Until recently, people had no way to seek answers to suchlike queries apart from relying on word-of-mount. But now they have online customer reviews to address suchlike suspicions.
A fair chunk of the public puts their trust in online customer reviews as much as they trust a close friend’s recommendations. It is a common assumption that many customers are not willing to share reviews.
If you are well-versed in approaching people, you can pull off a wealth of reviews. One way to encourage people for positive reviews is to get in touch with them in-person and offer them something such as a mug, cap, t-shirt, etc. Compared to the past, it easier to order suchlike promotional products these days. For example, if you live in New Zealand, start by searching for promotional products NZ, and many options will appear on the screen.
Develop a website
The purchasing patterns of modern-day customers are quite different from past generations. One of the most significant distinctions between both is that current customers generally like scratching up a business’s surface before shopping. For example, they would dive into how seriously you are taking social responsibility, inclusivity, and so forth. A website is an excellent place to put all such information. When people have more knowledge about your business, it wards off doubts and paves the way for customer loyalty.
Now, casually setting up a website will do no good. You must take the following factors into account to avoid making a run-of-the-mill website:
- Easy navigation: Mobile users are constantly expanding across the world. Numerically speaking, more than 20 billion people are using mobile today. Since a typical mobile user would browse through your website on the go, you can’t expect him to be on top of the patience to unearth all the information about your business. That is why easy navigation has become a critical component of a mobile-friendly website. It enables visitors to explore your business with ease.
- Implement SEO tactics: SEO is the abbreviation of Search Engine Optimization. If you tastefully implement SEO strategies, you are more likely to gain organic traffic. In all likelihood, you might feel the temptation to opt for black hat SEO tricks to ditch the hard work. But they can trigger penalties, which dent your business’s reputation to a great degree. Therefore, you are off subscribing to white-hat SEO.
- Try to make the most of visuals: It is a well-established fact that humans find visuals far more engaging than plain text. So, incorporating more visuals will jack up the retention rate of a website. Though, you should pay great attention to visuals’ quality. If you put substandard photos or videos, it could scare visitors away.
Start a podcast
Podcasts have been around for quite some time. But they have never appealed to a broad consumer base ever since their inception. Going by credible stats, a whopping 144 million Americans are hooked up to podcasts regularly. One of the biggest reasons motivating people to listen to the podcast is minimizing screen time. As a businessman, you should pounce on this opportunity to fuel marketing.
Launching a podcast is a financially feasible idea because it does not require a range of equipment or a professional team. You need tools like a computer, earphones, microphone, etc., to jump-start the venture.
It is pertinent to mention that the podcast must be in line with your products and services. Of course, you can take the liberty to go slightly off-track once in a while, but it should primarily cover your business niche.
Host local events
There is no denying that companies are aggressively tapping into the digital means to grow. But some of the conventional marketing channels stay relevant to date. Hosting local events is undoubtedly one of them. Here are a few tried and trusted local events ideas you should capitalize on:
- Gardening days: Customers have high regard for businesses that pursue sustainability goals due to the increasing pollution and other environmental facets. Let your neighborhood know that you are doing every bit to restore greenery by organizing gardening days.
- Quiz nights: Quiz nights are getting increasingly popular of late. It is because a quiz competition can engage people without compromising on the fun part. To top it off, many pub owners would gladly offer space for that.
- Film screening: Who does not enjoy watching a film with a bunch of friends? Just be careful while cherry-picking a movie. It would be best to choose the latest blockbuster because people might have already watched old films, which slash the interest level.
Email marketing
Regardless of the ongoing onslaught of social media platforms, email marketing has not lost its luster. If anything, the emails’ footprint has skyrocketed over time. For some business owners, a low open-rate of emails is the elephant in the room. Guess what? You could stimulate more people to read emails by following taking measures including:
- Send emails during optimal hours
- Personalize the copy
- Offer good return on investment
- Keep it short
- Maintain a conversational tone
The final verdict
Marketing is the cornerstone to sustain and subsequently increase the bottom line for any business. In a world where marketing tips exist in abundance, one might have difficulty choosing the ones worth a shot. We have done all the hard work on your behalf and highlighted the top-notch marketing campaigns above.
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