603-573-9289Grow Your Small Business With These Marketing Tips
Running a small business is no easy task. As a small business owner, you likely find yourself constantly searching for new ways to attract new customers to your business. Whether you’re looking for help running your pay per click advertising campaigns, or you’re looking for some ideas to engage with customers, we’ve compiled a list of small business marketing ideas to attract new customers to your business.
How To Generate More Customers
1. Optimize Your Google Business Page Presence
Your Google Business page is one of the most important pieces of the online presence for your business. It’s one very important way that Google knows who, what, and where your business is and who your customers are. If you don't claim and fully optimize your Google Business page your chances of showing up in the Google maps listings are extremely low. Adding a post to your page, asking a happy client to leave a review, maximizing the categories that you’re in, and adding new photos are some examples of ways to optimize your Google business page.
2. Run Optimized Google Ads Campaigns
For most small businesses showing up on the front page of Google is crucial to attracting more potential customers. It’s important to understand that there are only so many Google searches for the core keywords you want to be showing up for every day, so showing up when those searches happen is crucial to your success. A Google ads campaign can get your business to the top of the Google search results.
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How To Attract More Business From The Internet
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3. Launch a Facebook Ads Campaign
A large majority of Internet traffic is driven from social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. Facebook Ads campaigns for small businesses are very different from Google advertising but can be very effective when done properly. Every business is different so how you market your business on Facebook can be very different. Educational marketing may be one approach, Remarketing Ads for an Ecommerce store may be another approach, or if you’re a brick and mortar business you may do something completely different
4. Redesign Your Website
Your website should really be one of the best business generating assets for your business. It’s the “home base” of your entire Internet presence. There are a lot of important considerations to keep in mind when redesigning your small business website including, but not limited to, the platform you build on (we prefer building on WordPress but have built on other solid platforms too), the content on your site, the messaging, how easy it is to contact your business, the Search Engine Optimization foundational elements “baked into” your website, the images on your site, video on your website, and more.
Book A Free Discovery Call
Whether you’re looking to redesign your existing small business website or looking to create a new website, our team of web experts are here to help. Book a free discovery call with a member of our team today to learn more about how we can help your business grow.
5. Improve The SEO Of Your Website
Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is a way of helping to optimize how well your website ranks in the search engines like Google and Bing. Properly done small business SEO consists of three things: Technical SEO, Content, and Links. Google is always updating their algorithm on how they rank websites, so it’s important to fully understand the different factors that go into getting your business to rank on Google. While the rules change all the time, adding high quality content to your website is always a good idea. Not only will quality content improve your user experience, it also gives you the opportunity to work in keywords that Google will use to decide when and where to show your business when users search for the goods and services that you offer.
Part of properly done SEO is not only adding great content to your website but also optimizing your Google Local presence, and getting other websites to link to your website (which is like a vote of confidence in Google's eyes). SEO is a tricky minefield to navigate and, if you’re going to do it, you should do it intelligently and with guidance
6. Get Referrals From Existing Clients
Referrals are absolutely one of the best ways to get new clients. Customers referred to you tend to be higher-paying, better all-around customers for a variety of reasons. However, referrals do have a downside- you can't always count on, or predict, just how many referrals a month you will be getting.
Here are 6 tips on how to get more referrals for your small business:
- Offer exceptional service. This should be a given, but you must do a great job delivering on what you promised and always try to overdeliver. If you’re just good enough and don't really impress your customers, the chances of you receiving referrals are pretty slim.
- Giver's gain. Give referrals to get referrals. Humans tend to want to help those that help them. One of the best ways to get more referrals for your business is to go out of your way to try and help other small business owners.
- Make referrals part of your proposals and initial conversations. It’s a simple request, but very effective and it sets the expectation upfront, inviting your customer to want to refer you once the job is done.
- Have good referral timing. If a customer is pleased with your work, thank them, and state, “'I'm so glad to hear that you are happy with the work that we have done! Would you happen to know of other people like yourself who could benefit from our services?”
- Specific is terrific. When asking for a referral, the more specific you can be the higher the likelihood of you actually receiving a referral. If you’re looking to be connected with affluent homeowners in a specific town, ask for that. If you’re seeking business relationships with a certain type of business, say it specifically. The more clear and specific you can be the better your referral results will be.
- Take great care. Keep your referral partners in the loop and thank them. When you get a referral from someone recognize it for what it is: an important gesture of trust. You absolutely must take care of that customer who was referred to you at an even higher level than normal. If you don't do a good job taking care of that referred customer you run the risk of turning off that new client and the client who referred them to you.
7. Send a Hand-Written Note
Sending a hand-written note or postcard is a nice touch. In this digital age where you can send an email or a text message, it’s even more powerful to take the time to send a hand-written note. There are lots of situations where you may want to send a hand-written note but the important thing is to make sure that it feels personal and to reference some things that you spoke about, or something that makes it feel like more than a “standard” note.
8. Pick Up The Phone
There are lots of ways you can use the phone to generate new opportunities for your business. They range from calling existing customers all the way to cold calling.
Here are some ways to use the phone to generate new opportunities for your business:
- Cold calling. Dialing for dollars is an old school way of generating new customers for your business. While more people are just opting to send an email, if you pick up the phone some magical things can happen.
- Call a new referral partner. You can introduce yourself to a prospective referral partner and see how you might be able to work together. This could be a non-competitive business where you both share the same type of customer. A strategic partnership like this could go a long way.
- Call on a prospect to set a meeting. You can call and ask a prospective customer for a discovery meeting so you can hear about their needs and see if you can work with them.
- Call an existing customer. You can call an existing customer to check in on how they’re doing and see if they have any other projects in mind. Maybe they even have a referral in mind for you.
- Call a cancelled customer. Customers sometimes have to cancel for a variety of reasons. You might consider calling a cancelled customer and trying to reactivate them.
Book A Meeting With Our Team
If you’re struggling to keep your marketing funnel full and generate more leads for your small business, give us a call. Our team of online marketing experts can help you determine which marketing channels your business could benefit from and work to get campaigns up and running to generate new leads for you. Remember, part of owning a business is surrounding yourself with people who will help your business to succeed.
9. Reply to Comments On Your Social Media
You can, and absolutely should, keep a close eye on your social media channels. Every comment could be a potential customer opportunity, you should respond to every comment and answer every question. If you don't, then you’re basically ignoring potential customers trying to communicate with you. It doesn't matter if you don't consider yourself a “Facebook person.” If you’re a business owner who chooses to have a presence on Facebook (or any other social media platform for that matter) then it’s your responsibility to monitor those channels and respond to anyone commenting there.
10. Attend a Networking Meeting
In every city, every single week there are opportunities to network with hundreds of like-minded business owners looking to grow their businesses. Some of these networking groups are paid groups, while some of them are free groups. Almost all of them you can visit for free at least a couple times before deciding if you want to join or not.
There are Rotary meetings, BNI meetings, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and even informal small group networking meetings. These meetings take place at coffee shops, libraries, restaurants, and various meeting facilities in your city.
Important point: These groups are all about building relationships. People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. The more you can proactively build relationships, help others, make friends, and deliver value the more likely it is that you may get some business as a result of those relationships.
11. Host a Live Event and Teach Something
In order to be successful in your industry, you have to prove that you are the expert in what you offer. One way to do this is to host events, whether in-person or virtual, that gives you the chance to teach something. For gym owners, this may be a free weight loss seminar, for dog trainers, this could be a puppy training event, for realtors it could be a first time home buyers seminar. Whatever your industry, there’s something that you can teach that will not only help you prove that you’re the expert, but also allow you to interact with prospective customers.
12. Record a Video and Send It To An Existing or Prospective Client
People like the multimedia nature of these videos. You can record a short video delivering some value, reporting on some positive results, and doing any kind of “show and tell” that would benefit your client. Clients love the personal touch that these videos provide and it keeps you in the front of their mind.
Let’s Chat About Professional Video For Your Small Business
Video is quickly becoming one of the most powerful marketing tools for small business owners. Whether you’re looking for a compelling sales videos or to record client testimonials, video is a great option. To learn more about how our professional video services can help your business grow, book a time to chat.
13. Host a Webinar
This is similar to teaching a live class but completely virtual. You can create a live webinar people sign up for and attend with a service like Zoom.us. Come up with a topic your potential customers may like, put together a presentation, set a date, promote it on Facebook using Facebook Ads, spread the word on your LinkedIn profile, and promote it in any way that you can to get people to sign up. Webinars can be a great way to grow your email list and establish yourself, and your business, as the experts in your field.
14. Creating An Email Newsletter
A great way to stay top of mind with prospective customers is by routinely sending an email newsletter to your audience. Building up an email list and sending out a regular email newsletter with training, education, helpful tips, new ideas, and more can help drive more business your way.
7 Ways To Grow An Email Newsletter:
- Have a pop up on your website
- Add an in-line email newsletter sign up form to your website.
- Offer a lead magnet on your website or a landing page. This could be a white paper, a free report, a checklist, a webinar, or even a video that your prospective customer may want to get their hands on in exchange for their name and email address.
- Run a giveaway contest
- Run Facebook Ads to a Newsletter sign up landing page
- Manually add subscribers to your email list.
- Add customers to your email newsletter at checkout.
15. Volunteer or Donate To a Local Non-Profit
Just being associated with some of those nonprofits, meeting other volunteers, etc. can lead to generating more leads for your small business. Even one key relationship you make from helping out may lead to a lot of new business plus it’s a great way to give back to your community.
16. Post a Video on Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn has made a comeback and has become a very productive social media network for business to business connections. If connecting with other business owners makes sense for your business then connect with them on LinkedIn and post great content to your profile (like a video showcasing your knowledge, sharing a helpful tip, or showing off a recent project you participated in). You never know who will see it and what may come from it.
17. Host a Facebook Live On Your Facebook Business Page
A Facebook Live is a streaming video cast from your phone or computer. It’s a great way to engage with prospective customers in your geographic area. You can teach something to your audience, you can live stream an event you’re hosting at your business, you can share a case study, a walkthrough of a new project you just finished and more.
Here are some tips on how to make your Facebook Live an effective one:
- Plan your Facebook Live broadcast
- Be natural and be yourself
- Write a compelling description of your video
- Tag your business and tag your geography.
- Periodically get new-comers up to speed on what you have already covered
- Engage with your audience
18. Give Out a Unique Coupon
People love coupons and they can be a great way to attract new customers to your business. Whether you’re offering a percentage off, free shipping, or a service at a reduced price, it’s a great way to get a prospective customer to reach out. Plus, you can require that they register their email with you to get the coupon, which will help you grow your email marketing list.
19. Give Out Practical Swag
Everyone has gone to some sort of event where they’ve been given a “swag bag.” In this bag, there’s usually different sorts of branded items that can be put to good use. If you give out items that people will actually use such as pens, notepads, lens cleaners, etc., they’re more likely to actually use the items and think of your business when they do.
20. Follow Up With Your Prospects
The money is in the follow up. If someone reaches out to you once, you reach out to them and don't hear back, you should absolutely not give up on that prospective client. You should keep track of those leads, when you followed up with them last, the notes from those conversations, and if they turned into a client or not. The amount of leads business owners waste because they never follow up more than once is staggering.
Action And Activity Create New Business Potential
The more activity you have growing on, the more ways you’re able to generate leads for your business. You should never stop working to keep your marketing funnel full and keep new customers coming to your business. With a multichannel marketing approach for your small business, you’ll see your business driven to success.
Time To Meet With Kyle Battis
Kyle Battis has been involved in advertising and marketing since 1999. He has a background in Website Design, Direct Marketing, Online Media Buying commanding $150,000 per Month Ad budgets, Live Presentations, and he has extensive experience designing Marketing Campaigns that make money for small businesses.
603-573-9289
