Building a thriving small business is a feat of unimaginable fortitude.Give yourself props from sticking with it this long.
Many small businesses fail within their first five years; if yours is to beat the odds, it is imperative you develop a small business marketing strategy.
Whether you are a female founder, a new franchisee, or an online entrepreneur transitioning to a brick-and-mortar location, honing your brand’s message can significantly increase your chances of success. If you are determined to not only survive, but thrive, here are a few crucial marketing strategy tips you should bear in mind.
Understand where your customers are.
Building a presence on Snapchat won’t do anything for your revenues if your target customers spend their time on Facebook.
The same goes for offline advertising. Broadcasting your wares via radio ads will do nothing for your small business if your preferred customers never listen to the radio.
By understanding the online and offline habits of your target customer base, you will be able to create a marketing strategy that suits their engagement preferences.
Develop your marketing strategy with your company’s core competencies in mind.
You wouldn’t attempt to build a brand as the master of widgets if your company doesn’t sell widgets, but provides on-demand services instead.
Be clear with yourself when developing your customer acquisition strategy; know what you do better than anyone else and create your strategy around your strengths.
If you could be known for only one thing, what would that one thing be? Think of the way your local customers would refer your business to their friends and develop your brand building with that thought in mind.
Focus efforts on your customers.
What are their needs? What problems are your customers hoping your business will solve for them? If you make your marketing strategy all about yourself and not consumers, your efforts are doomed from the start.
Build a digital marketing strategy.
Determine which tools you will use to attract customers to your company. From social media and content marketing to video production and SEO, you have myriad options at your disposal.
Determine which options will work best for your brand and create a plan of action for each option. Develop a content calendar for each method to ensure your brand outreach efforts are multi-faceted and stay on course. It is easy to become focused on one outreach method like social media networking and forget to attend to other long-term solutions like SEO and business blogging.
Understand your marketing strategy will change.
What works for your business one year may not offer the same ROI the next year. Be willing to adjust course depending upon market needs and current outreach trends. While it might be tempting to jump on the latest marketing trend and forsake all others, realize you’re in this for the long haul.
Building a profitable business isn’t about jumping from trend to trend; it’s about creating a strategy that will work for your company for years to come.
Small business owners who take the time to create a marketing strategy have a much greater chance at survival than competitors who take a lackadaisical approach to business building. If you are building a business you hope will remain profitable far into the future, honing your marketing strategy is absolutely essential.
Incorporate these five tips into your efforts and you just might beat the odds and build yourself a thriving small business.
