Promoting Ideas For Small Business – As we close the door on another calendar year, it’s time to start thinking about effective marketing ideas for small business owners in 2018. One of the smartest things a small business owner can do for his or her business is to take the time to create a small business marketing plan that will set them apart from the competition.
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Your story can be an effective marketing tool. Get the word out on flyers, your website, social media and emails about how and why you started your business. Build an emotional connection with your customers, so they know why they should support your small business. Although people are looking for a bargain, telling a story that resonates (along with a good deal) separates your business from the retail giants.
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Include some facts about the impact of small business in your story. Tell your customers that small businesses account for 54% of all sales in the US. Also remind people that small businesses like yours have a positive effect on their local economy as they provide 55% of all jobs.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) found that more than half of online holiday shoppers bought something recommended by a retailer. Create a gift guide to give your customers options and help cut through the noise. Designing a gift guide doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult. Your gift guide can be as simple as a blog post with a list of gifts, descriptions and links. You can also hire a designer to create a gift guide for your website and for print.
Take inspiration from ‘Oprah’s Favorite Things’ where Oprah showcases items from different businesses. Use this principle to add your products to the gift guides of influencers and popular bloggers. For a small commission, some bloggers are happy to help small businesses promote their giveaways to their audiences.
Tap into the curiosity of the unknown by offering a mystery saver in your marketing campaign. If you have an email list, send an email to your subscribers offering different discounts or gifts. Your call to action should take your subscribers to a landing page with one of your offers. You can get a little more technical with your mystery offers by using a tool like Zembula, where your subscribers digitally ‘scratch’ their screen to reveal a mystery prize.
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Take your puzzle offer offline if you don’t have a website or email list. Let customers choose their mystery offer in store by spinning a wheel or drawing from a hat.
Offer your customers a free gift after they spend a specified amount. Encourage foot traffic from your email subscribers by asking them to press or show the offer on their mobile phones in-store to redeem their free gift.
Use this opportunity to promote your business by offering useful branded items, such as calendars or pens. Alternatively, offer a reward or loyalty system for customers who create an account with your store. This will encourage customers to rack up the points if they are rewarded with a prize or a coupon once they reach a certain number of points.
Urgency causes people to act quickly. When creating an urgent campaign, start by announcing the promotion through email, social media platforms and even through physical banners around your store. Follow up the announcement with a final call promotion. This tells your customers that the offer is about to expire and they need to act fast if they want to get the best deal. Reminding customers that time is running out increases the urgency level and compels them to take action. It is a method of moving customers out of an idle stage and into a state of action.
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A 2017 BrightLocal study revealed that 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and 73 percent of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more. More people are looking for reviews than ever before and almost every consumer has searched for a local business online at least once this year. In fact, according to data from the same study, 7 out of 10 consumers will leave a review if asked to do so. Many businesses struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors, so a positive online reputation is essential to help customers make a choice.
Set up profiles on multiple review sites to make it easy for your customers to leave reviews and always make sure you stay actively involved by thanking the positive reviews and answering any questions asked.
An NRF survey found that six out of 10 respondents would be happy to receive gift vouchers. Capitalize on the popularity of cards as a gift of choice by creating a marketing campaign around gift cards. Offer both plastic and e-gift cards to give shoppers more options. Your gift card marketing campaign can include a percentage discount or a free gift card when customers spend over a certain amount in-store or online.
Get customers to interact in the store by setting up a scavenger hunt. You don’t have to own a big store for it to work. Give customers a short list of things to find in your store and ask them to present photos of the hidden items at checkout to claim their discount. A scavenger hunt is a great way to get customers to look around your store. Hide some items in the back to encourage customers to browse the entire store. Limit the scavenger hunt to a few items and make it a short game so customers don’t lose their enthusiasm.
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Direct your customers straight to your in-store offers using stickers on the floor. Get creative with the type of footprints you use. If you are a woman’s boutique, use high heeled footprints or use paw prints if you own a pet store. Search online for companies that specialize in floor graphics to order your custom footprints.
There is strength in numbers when competing against big companies for sales and customer loyalty. It makes sense to network with other local small businesses to increase your marketing power. Team up with a few businesses to spread the cost of advertising to reach more people.
Consider cross-promoting your products with compatible local businesses. An example is if you own a boutique, you could work with a coffee shop owner to offer ‘buy one get one free’ coffee to anyone who produces a receipt from your shop. In return, you offer the coffee shop’s customers a discount at your shop.
Partnerships are important and should form part of your small business marketing campaign. Since 91% of consumers want products and services they use to support a cause, consider incorporating an element of giving back into your marketing campaign. Be sure to find a way to include your customers in your charitable efforts.
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If you’re promoting your local food bank, why not encourage your customers to drop off non-perishables in-store? On the other hand, you can choose to set aside a percentage of your profits for your chosen charity. Advertise your fundraising target and inform your customers about the difference their donations will make.
Hosting an event at your store is a great way to promote brand awareness and connect with your customers. A well-executed event is a great source of publicity and customer acquisition for businesses – and it doesn’t have to break the bank to be effective. Offer inexpensive treats, such as cookies, and place your cookies in strategic places – such as near discounted items or gift cards – to catch the eye. As a small business, you’re likely to stock things that the big stores don’t carry, so make your unusual and unique pieces front and center to grab customers’ attention.
Videos of your product or service on YouTube can help promote your business and brand. Showcase new products, offer tutorials, and talk about relevant (and interesting) things going on in your industry. Create content that is useful to your audience, such as instructional videos to better understand your product.
HubSpot predicts that video traffic will increase to approximately 80 percent of all internet traffic by 2019. In this digital age, advances in video marketing will give smaller companies a competitive edge.
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Use social media to create sweepstakes. Use tools that help create quizzes, contests, sweepstakes and coupons on social media. Most tools have ready-made templates that you can brand with your business colors and logo.
Ask social media users to provide their email address for the chance
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