Getting the marketing right for your business is crucial if you want to grow and thrive, yet it can be something that many business owners are concerned about, so much so that in some cases, they don’t do anything about it at all, perhaps hoping that word of mouth will help them. Although word of mouth is indeed an excellent way to gain more custom, it can’t be relied on by itself – you should explore many other avenues.

Producing an effective marketing strategy is definitely hard work, but once it is complete, it will boost your business hugely and will certainly be worth the effort you put into it. Here are some great ideas about which strategies might work for the marketing of your business.

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Email Marketing

Many of your customers are going to spend a lot of time in front of their laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other devices. So by sending out an email that targets them directly and offers them information about your company, you can be sure that they will see it. Even if they click delete, they will still have your company name and logo in their minds (even if they don’t realise). Although, if you get your message right and offer excellent incentives to use your company, those emails are unlikely to get deleted after all.

Email marketing works because it can be directly targeted to the perfect individuals who will buy your product or services. You could even offer the people who sign up for your newsletter a percentage off your goods or a free gift the next time they buy something. Make them feel as though they are getting something special just for them, and they will be more likely to sign up.

Be careful not to give too much away, however; the email marketing campaign has to work and cause people to spend money with you as well, otherwise you are giving away profits with no benefit. This is why monitoring your business, and your marketing will come in useful.

Start A Blog

Starting a blog sounds daunting, especially if you’re not a confident writer or don’t have much time. However, a blog can be a brilliant want to gain more customers, so it is worth trying if possible. To save time, you could even create a blog from your customers’ queries and questions. Since you would be answering the question anyway (because this is good customer service and will help your reputation as a good company to deal with), responding in the form of a blog post that others can see, share, and get value from will be highly beneficial.

A blog is a great way of keeping in touch with your clients and potential customers as well, as long as you remember to respond to comments. A well-written blog will bring them to your website, and from there, they may well explore other pages, including your services. Hopefully, they will even get in touch about some work. At the very least, they will have spent time on your site reading your blog, and the longer visitors spend on your website, the better you will rank in Google.

To gain even more exposure and to ensure that you always have something new to add to your blog, you might also want to think about asking people to write guest posts for you. You could do this in the form of an interview, or you could simply ask a supplier (for example) to write about their product and how it is used in your business. It could be anything, and as long as it adds value to the information available about your company, it will be a success.

Use Social Media

Social media is a business owner’s friend when it is used right. Most of the time, advertising through social media can be done for free (it is possible to boost posts, for example, by paying, but this is not always necessary), and as long as you – or a member of your team – keeps on top of what is happening then it can be extremely successful.

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are ideal ways for customers to contact your business quickly and efficiently, so make sure that you always respond (either publicly or privately) and answer any queries or allay and fears that they might have. Equally, if the post is something positive such as a good review or a compliment about your service, respond to that as well – it shows you are humble and grateful, which can make you more approachable in a customer’s mind.

You can even host competitions through your social media pages which makes the interaction even more positive, and if you can create a post that is shared by many people and that even goes viral, then that’s even better because your reach will be increased hugely.

Have An App

Many people depend on and love their mobile phones. The typical smartphone user spends roughly five hours a day on their device. Having a business app on a smartphone that is used so often will ensure that you are always in front of your clients. If you make the app really helpful, part of that five-hour time will be spent with you. As a result of your app, you’ll be the first brand people think of when they need what you’re selling, and you’ll be able to sell more of it and do it more quickly and simply than ever before.

Direct marketing is best done via mobile apps. You don’t have to worry about creating new marketing channels for your customers since they have all the information you want them to know. There are a variety of ways you can utilize your app, such as advertising a special deal, highlighting certain goods, or reminding customers of key events for which they might need to purchase a present, to promote your business. You can even choose to host your community online in this way, creating a feeling of togetherness that people will undoubtedly warm to.

Using an app, your customers have access to all the information they need at their fingertips, and they can also choose how much advertising they see by opting whether or not to use it.

Encourage Reviews

Getting reviews can be an excellent way of adding to your marketing strategy. Many people will look for reviews online before they commit to buying something from a company, especially a new one. Therefore, gaining as many reviews as you can is always a useful thing to do. These reviews will need to be authentic to make the most significant impact, so you will need to encourage people who have used your business in the past to leave a review for you.

Some will write reviews without prompting because they have really enjoyed your service or been impressed with your products. Some will need to be reminded, however. You can print a reminder on a receipt or invoice, post a call to action on your social media pages, or mention that you would like a review in your email newsletter. A quick reminder might be all it takes to get someone to write a review for you.

SEO

The most effective marketing technique for small companies is search engine optimization (SEO), in addition to a well-designed website. SEO is the practice of making your website and content more accessible to search engines and customers alike.

To get more visitors and customers, it’s usually best to have a high Google search engine ranking. Customers looking for your services are more likely to discover you in search engine results if they use local search, which accounts for roughly 35 percent of all traffic. SEO will help you achieve this.

B xx

Disclosure this is a collaborative post