Marketing ideas small business
When business is slow, you are just starting out or you want to grow what marketing ideas for small business are available?
First of all, we need to determine paid and unpaid marketing and what is equally important is a return on investment.
We can all flash the cash and hope for a return but the real world in small business is not quite like that.
You won’t have a lot of cash so what can you do?
Social media
It’s free, it’s easy and it can return business your way. The problem is you have to be consistent and you have to post regularly.
I was in a seminar the other day and the presenter, a very eminent lady said to the crowd, ” if you have not posted for a month take the site down”
This is not all that silly. I look at business facebooks often and the first thing I do is look at the date of the last post.
This tells me about the business and if they just have a Facebook because it sounded like a good idea.
Instagram, twitter Facebook all one rule, post to them or get out of the park.
Do up a three-month plan with subjects and dates and importantly who will do it and stick with it.
Don’t discount to get business.
I should say use selective discounting to get business. It is fine to have a loss leader or a bargain bin as tools to drag in customers. With constant price reductions, you change the shopper habits. They shop only when the price is right.
My local PetBarn is a great example, or in fact two of them. Every now and then they will give a discount voucher usually worth $20 to shop within the week. Now my cat food is worth about $40 so a 50% discount is a good deal. I now just wait until one offers an incentive, worked for many months for me.
My local Fruit and veggie shop is in a cluster of people who sell coffee, take away stuff. Six outlets within a short distance vying for the same customers. Average price $4.00 a small coffee up to about $5.50 for a large with extra for fancy milk etc.
This is not his main business, only a drawcard line so he dropped the price to $3.00 a coffee any size any time. What do you think the result was?
A bloody line of buyers all day making my wait time longer than I would like. Losers on the coffee but has more than made up with other products. The two specific coffee only shops are hurting but what can they do.more ….
Loyalty rewards in small business
This is not new but it is important. Bring them in and keep them by making them special. You have seen Coffee cards and chain store plastic they are used because they work.
Banners and flags for small business
OK, a bit of cost here but attention seeking material will get people looking and hope to draw them in, Your local sign co will have lots of ideas for you and bargain well.
Presentation days for special products
Get a presenter to do a How-To on something you wish to sell. Invite people in and draw them into the web of intrigue where they must end up buying the product and some others as well.
Don’t spend a ton of money, they don’t want fancy they want to be informed entertained and sold to. So forget the free drinks and Canapes give them excitement, fulfil their dreams, solve a problem they have and they are all yours forever.
Email newsletters
Cost next to nothing but like Social Media you need to be consistent. You need to entertain and inform and leave them to want to buy. How often? minimum once a month. Working on your list provides lots of opportunities for proving many customer benefits.
Enthusiasm shows in the small business
We love to be around people that are happy and enthusiastic, it makes us feel good and open our wallets instead of finding the closest exit.
Leave your troubles behind the door and project positive vibes and a winning
presentation of all that cross the door.
Don’t stand around worrying
The only one you affect is you. Do something constructive, make a plan, brainstorm some ideas be active, write a blog post, change your website, send an email, post on Facebook, do some training to learn new things about a product or idea that you can share with customers.
In conclusion, you must remember that you are not alone, many businesses out there are suffering just like you just don’t be one of the complainers be one of the achievers.
Peter Hanley
