Not every small business has a marketing budget like the bigger companies. More often than not, entrepreneurs don’t even have a lot of extra time to get the word out on their goods and services.
These basic small business marketing strategies for novices have been designed to fill that gap.
Basic Marketing Strategies
Optimize Your Content
Keywords attract clients. They need to be placed in strategic locations in the text on your website. Make sure they work with the topics your customers are searching for.
Advertise Online
Facebook Ads and Google Ads work great. These are cheaper than print, television and radio and they appeal to a wider audience.
Develop a Call to Action
Tell people exactly what you want them to do when they visit your site. The right Call To Action coverts visitors to sales.
Write a Blog
You can share specials and planned events on a blog. These are a great way to market in your own voice.
Publish a Book
Writing a book and self publishing it positions you as an expert in the field. Many business people even sell these on their websites.
Streamline Your Brand
A cohesive brand resonates more with customers. Understanding your audience and tailoring your branding to their preferences can enhance their connection to your business.
- Audience Research: Use surveys and feedback tools to understand your target demographic’s preferences.
- Consistent Messaging: Ensure your brand message remains consistent across all platforms.
- Visual Identity: Colors, logos, and design elements should be recognizable and consistent.
- Emotional Connection: Understand the emotional triggers of your audience and align your branding to evoke these feelings.
- Value Proposition: Clearly communicate what sets your product or service apart from competitors.
Define Your Competition
This is the best way to make sure what you offer is different than your rivals in the same market. Doing a little research is invaluable.
Start Tweeting
Social media is free. It’s one of the best basic marketing strategies available. Posting on Twitter helps you to engage with you target market.
Create an Email Campaign
Putting together an email marketing campaign gets you out in front of your target audience. Everyone on your list will see your email message from in their inbox.
Use Facebook Ads
These help you to get out in front of a big audience. You can target these to a specific market for optimal effect.
Give Stuff Away
Free access to a report or blog is a value added way to turn visitors into clients. Whether you’re online or in a brick and mortar store, free stuff attracts customers.
Drop Your Price
Competing in today’s marketplace requires agility, especially when it comes to pricing. By adjusting your prices, you can potentially outpace competitors and increase sales volume. However, ensure that the reduced price doesn’t compromise the perceived value of your product or service.
- Competitive Analysis: Regularly check competitors’ prices to ensure your product remains competitively priced.
- Volume vs. Margin: Sometimes selling more at a lower price can lead to greater overall profits than selling less at a higher price.
- Promotions: Limited-time offers can attract new customers without permanently dropping your price.
- Bundle Offers: Provide value-added packages, combining multiple products/services at a reduced price.
- Loyalty Discounts: Offer discounts to loyal customers as a way of saying thank you and ensuring repeat business.
Create a Newsletter
In a world saturated with digital content, newsletters offer a personal touch, acting as a direct line of communication between brands and their audience.
They serve as a curated capsule, updating subscribers about the latest products, services, and company happenings. Beyond just being informational tools, they help in fostering a sense of community among readers.
Platforms like MailChimp have made the process of creating and disseminating newsletters smoother than ever. With their user-friendly interface and customizable templates, even beginners can craft professional-looking newsletters, ensuring that their brand’s message is delivered right to the inboxes of their target audience.
Include Images
Visual content is paramount in today’s digital landscape. A compelling image not only captures a reader’s attention but can also convey complex messages in a matter of seconds.
Whether it’s for blog posts, social media, or website content, integrating high-quality images can significantly elevate the overall impact of your marketing materials.
Thankfully, resources like Pixabay offer a vast collection of royalty-free images, ensuring that marketers have access to engaging visuals without the burden of licensing fees.
Run Contests
Interactive marketing strategies, like contests, quizzes, or games, have proven their worth time and again. They’re not just fun activities; they’re powerful tools to ignite engagement, boost brand awareness, and collect valuable customer data.
When prospects participate in a contest, they’re more likely to share it with their network, thereby amplifying its reach. Moreover, such engagements provide an opportunity to gather email addresses or other contact details, facilitating the growth of a brand’s mailing list.
By offering attractive prizes or incentives, businesses can create a buzz around their brand, fostering a sense of excitement and anticipation among both existing and potential customers.
Write Industry Articles
Establishing yourself as an expert in your industry is one of the best basic marketing strategies. Writing a series of articles for a trade publication positions you as an expert and these can be serialized as blog posts for optimal effect.
Do a Podcast
Getting out in front of an audience by using your voice adds the personal touch that can make a sale. If you’re stuck at first you can start by just reading out your blog posts.
Organize a Webinar
These are another great way to personalize basic marketing strategies. A webinar that details how your product works is a great idea.
Launch a Website
Regardless of the goods or services you’re selling, having a website is a prerequisite. Find a developer that can implement you vision.
Test Campaigns
Monitoring the performance of your marketing campaigns, especially on platforms like social media, is essential for understanding what resonates with your audience.
- Engagement Metrics: Monitor likes, shares, and comments to gauge audience interaction.
- Conversion Tracking: Use tools to track how many clicks result in sales or desired actions.
- A/B Testing: Try different ad formats, headlines, or visuals to see what yields the best results.
- Feedback Loop: Encourage comments and suggestions to directly gather audience opinions on campaigns.
- Ad Spending: Monitor the ROI on your campaigns to ensure you’re getting value for money.
Issue Press Releases
Whether you want to get the word out on events or new products, press releases work great. Make sure the topics are newsy and not too advertorial.
Broadcast on YouTube
YouTube, being the world’s second-largest search engine, offers an unparalleled platform for businesses to reach global audiences. By incorporating video into your marketing strategy, you tap into a medium that’s both engaging and widely consumed.
Creating instructional videos, for instance, not only establishes your brand as an industry authority but also provides tangible value to your viewers. When these videos are embedded on your website, they can significantly enhance user engagement, drive traffic, and convert prospects into loyal customers.
Use Integrated Marketing
Integrated marketing is the art of creating a cohesive message across various platforms to amplify your reach. Especially in today’s interconnected world, leveraging a live event and announcing it on social media can be a game-changer.
instance, broadcasting a live feed of your event on platforms like Facebook or Instagram can significantly boost your brand’s visibility. It provides real-time engagement opportunities, allowing audiences from different parts of the world to be a part of the experience, thereby multiplying your exposure exponentially.
Limit Some Offers
While the world of marketing continually evolves with new trends and technologies, some traditional strategies stand the test of time. Limited-time offers are one such tactic.
By creating a sense of urgency and scarcity around your products or services, you invoke a psychological trigger in potential customers. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be a powerful motivator, prompting customers to make quicker purchasing decisions.
By strategically limiting the availability or duration of certain offers, businesses can drive sales and create a buzz around their products or services.
Stress Customer Service
Give the people what they want. Stressing customer service creates a great reputation and buzz around your products.
Basic Marketing Strategies Checklist
| Marketing Strategies | Checklist |
|---|---|
| Optimize Your Content | |
| Advertise Online | |
| Develop a Call to Action | |
| Write a Blog | |
| Publish a Book | |
| Streamline Your Brand | |
| Audience Research | |
| Consistent Messaging | |
| Visual Identity | |
| Emotional Connection | |
| Value Proposition | |
| Define Your Competition | |
| Start Tweeting | |
| Create an Email Campaign | |
| Use Facebook Ads | |
| Give Stuff Away | |
| Drop Your Price | |
| Competitive Analysis | |
| Volume vs. Margin | |
| Promotions | |
| Bundle Offers | |
| Loyalty Discounts | |
| Create a Newsletter | |
| Include Images | |
| Run Contests | |
| Write Industry Articles | |
| Do a Podcast | |
| Organize a Webinar | |
| Launch a Website | |
| Test Campaigns | |
| Engagement Metrics | |
| Conversion Tracking | |
| A/B Testing | |
| Feedback Loop | |
| Ad Spending | |
| Issue Press Releases | |
| Broadcast on YouTube | |
| Use Integrated Marketing | |
| Limit Some Offers | |
| Stress Customer Service |
Business Owners Photo via Shutterstock
This article, "25 Basic Marketing Strategies for Beginners" was first published on Small Business Trends