14 Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

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Every day allows small businesses to earn their most profitable 24 hours yet. No business achieves record profits without significant emphasis and effort in marketing. Without marketing, fewer people know you exist, fewer people know your products, and people searching for products, services, and businesses like yours end up in a competitor’s hands.

Use these marketing strategies for small businesses to help you achieve your most profitable day, week, month, and year.

Identify Your Unique Value Proposition

Marketing messaging has to revolve around something of value—specifically, your unique value proposition. Define what sets you apart from your competitors. Focus on the benefits, features, experience, or value that your competitors lack.

Segment Your Target Audience

Your customers and target audience will fit into more than one category. To personalize marketing, segment your audience into different categories, e.g., pre-sale, immediately post-sale, a year after a sale, etc. This way, you can tailor campaigns and messaging more precisely.

Target Leads and Conversions

The totality of one’s marketing strategy should do two things: divert qualified leads to your business and maximize the number of customers you convert. Without a conversion focus, you squander leads and money from your marketing.

Use Your Best-Sellers

Take the path of least resistance in marketing. If you have products that are best-sellers and resonate with your customers, market them in-store, online, and around your brand. Use them as a gateway to more sales and brand awareness.

Digital Signage Software to Display Offers

Use digital signage software in-store to inform customers about specific product promotions, limited-quantity items, special offers, and more. Capitalize on a sense of urgency with customers in-store, who are more likely to buy or increase their purchase amount based on what they find.

Generate Brand Awareness with PPC Ads

Use paid advertising to attract attention to your small business instantly. Cut through the competition on search engines and social media by purchasing pay-per-click ads targeting your specific audience. This will get you in front of customers who are already searching for relevant products.

Social Media Is a Customer Service Channel

Your target audience is most active on social media, so it’s your best platform to reach them online. In addition to posting regularly and maintaining an active presence, social media can be used as a customer service channel. Engage with comments, respond to private messages quickly, and use it as a direct line.

Leverage Content Marketing

Author unique content – blog posts, images, infographics, and video – that you can use across social media, your website, and your digital signage software. A content marketing strategy positions your brand as an authority while supplying your audience with unique content.

Email Marketing Is Highly Effective

Email marketing reaches customers in a very direct way. With a customer’s email, you can send them targeted messaging year-round, highlighting your best deals, previewing upcoming sales, offering exclusive product promotions and discounts, and more.

Tap Into Holiday and Seasonal Excitement

Specific holidays bring out consumers in big numbers, both online and in brick-and-mortar. A day like Black Friday or a season like back-to-school shopping is an opportunity for a business to promote and market around these dates and ride the surge of economic activity to increase sales.

A first-time holiday or seasonal shopper may become a repeat customer throughout the year. Use holidays to increase year-end profits by clearing out inventory. Create goodwill in the community and seek to strengthen community connections with partnerships and donations.

Utilize Short, Engaging Video Marketing

Launch a video series to showcase your products or services. Share these on social media, your website, YouTube, and digital signage. A video is a far more powerful statement than simply text and a graphic. It is highly engaging and effective for reaching out to your audience.

Partner with Influencers in Your Target Market

If you are a small business in a medium to large city, you may have local influencers you can sponsor content for to help you reach a wider audience. These endorsements should be with influencers whose values align with your brand.

Develop a Referral Program

Encourage customers to refer family and friends to your store. Provide each with a referral code. In return for a referral, offer rewards or discounts. A referral program can be easily tracked and adjusted, and it may be a way to turn loyal customers into brand advocates without you having to do much.

Utilize a Customer Loyalty Program

Another marketing strategy for a small business is a customer loyalty program. If your business generates a lot of repeat business, a loyalty program can offer exclusive discounts and perks to encourage frequent purchases.

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About the Author: Thurman Hunter