Marketing is an important element in any business, large or small, but it can certainly be the difference between success and failure in a small firm. You most likely already have a marketing plan in place, but like anything in business (and even in life), there is always room for improvement, and it is these adjustments that can truly increase your sales and make your business a great success. Read on to find out what they are.
Market Research
Although your natural inclination may be to avoid your competition, you must research what they are doing – and how they are doing it – if you are to beat them at their own game. Remember, they will be scrutinising how you run your business, so you need to know how they run theirs.
Find out what they are doing to attract consumers, as well as what you dislike about them. If you don’t like a specific element of their marketing, you’ll undoubtedly discover that some of their customers don’t like it either. This is where you can reclaim lost business from your competition.
Make sure your marketing plays to a different set of skills than theirs. Watching how your rivals advertise will give you an excellent idea of what works and what doesn’t. If they continue to run Facebook advertising, for example, you can be sure that it’s bringing them business, and therefore you should do the same. Using brand tracking will give you a much better idea of what’s happening.
Become An Expert
One certain way to convince people to buy your products or services is to establish yourself as an absolute expert in that area. You might volunteer to speak at local events, or you could give webinars and seminars. You could even teach others how to do what you do.
This may seem paradoxical, but if your company instils trust in the customer because they realise you’re doing it to help them rather than just take their money, they will continue to come to you even if you’ve given them knowledge into how things are done. Even if they don’t buy the product you are advertising, they will very certainly return to you for something else in the future. Entrepreneurs must occasionally play a long game.
Testimonials
Customer testimonials on your website or packaging are an excellent way to boost your marketing. People want to know that whatever they are purchasing is of high quality and worth their money. Testimonials will show them that your product or service is worthwhile and that there are other satisfied consumers. This will set their mind at ease, and they will be much more inclined to purchase. The wonderful thing about testimonials is that they are free – sometimes they even come without you needing to ask for them – but you can always ask past customers to provide feedback as well.
Social Media
Because social media has essentially taken over the world, you should be using it to enhance your company’s marketing. It’s simple to create a Facebook page for your business, as well as a Twitter or Instagram account. You should keep it up to date regularly and react to consumer requests and queries quickly. When you get very busy, you may need to hire someone to handle this full-time, but in the beginning, you can set out an hour or two each day to ensure that you are up to date.
