9 Tactics to Boost your Small Business Marketing Strategy

Before developing your tactics, you need to have a good understanding of the current status of your business and the environment in which it operates. This can be achieved through marketing tools such as a SWOT analysis or a PESTLE analysis. Without this information, your tactics lack grounding and are more likely to be unsuccessful.

No tactic will be effective if it is not designed for your audience. Know who your audience is, their demographic, their behaviours, and what motivates them. Understanding what problems your business solves for them, their needs, and what motivates them will be at the core of your strategy. This presents you with an opportunity.

Identify your unique selling proposition and the value your customers obtain from you. Understanding your strengths will be the greatest asset to your small business marketing strategy. Don’t forget to look at what your competitors are doing well and learn from it. Identify clear gaps that are missing in the market. Embrace oncoming trends before your competition does.

From here you can establish your goals and objectives, keeping in mind the resources and budget you have to dedicate to reaching those goals. Ultimately, small business marketing services will help you identify the most feasible tactics for your business. Otherwise, it is time to reflect on your current position.

Once you evaluate your business and the surrounding industry, it is time to consider your small business marketing tactics. 

1. Re-evaluate your branding

Whether you already have clear branding or you haven’t considered it at all, there is always room for improvement. A small business marketing strategy is incomplete without consideration of the brand.  Firstly, you must establish your brand identity and brand voice. This should be derived from your company values, mission and goals. Effective branding will allow existing and potential customers to more easily identify you among competitors.

Strong branding will have a positive flow-on effect on the rest of your business: your name, logo, colours, and imagery will all be aligned. Tangible branding can be seen in elements like store design, uniform, website design, advertising, and emails, while intangible branding can be seen online through your brand personality, voice, and values. To get the full branding effect, your employees must align with your branding vision.

2. Increase your SEO

Increasing your search engine optimisation will help potential customers discover your brand. Being highly ranked on Google betters your chance of being clicked on first. Small business marketing services are well equipped in expanding your SEO. Alternatively, here are some ways of improving your SEO:

• Use keywords on your website, including on product description pages, FAQ pages, and blog posts
• Create a Google ‘My Business’ account
• Motivate customers to write reviews online
• Include your location

3. Update your website

A website is an invaluable touchpoint for your small business marketing. It can be a first impression for customers and increase your business’ reliability. A website doesn’t need to be complicated to be good; the clearer and simpler a website appear; the easier visitors can find what information they are looking for. Here are some aspects to consider for your website improvement:

• Easy navigation
• Technically stable
• Fast loading
• Display contact information
• Links to social media pages
• Relevant and original content
• Mobile-friendliness
• SEO
• Live chat 

4. Pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a type of internet marketing where advertisers pay a fee each time an ad of theirs is clicked. As a part of your small business marketing strategy, you can bid on certain keywords so they can show up on the top of the Google results page. The better your PPC pages are, the more likely Google will reward you by selecting your site, and over time, they will charge you less for PPC. To get the most out of your PPC, focus on:

• Keyword relevance
• Landing page quality
• Quality score
• Being creative

5. Stay active on social media

You have only done half the job by simply having a social media page; once established, it is vital to remain active on your platforms. Try to use as many relevant platforms as possible; this will help to increase your reach. Here are some ways to stay active on social media.

• Respond to as many comments as possible
• Like comments
• Respond to mentions (for example, on Instagram stories)
• Utilize the different features on each platform (for example, on Instagram, use posts, stories, polls, reels, lives, etc)

6. Embrace Content Marketing

Content marketing includes providing content such as blogs, videos, articles, e-books, entertainment, and webinars. Content marketing helps increase sales, make cost savings, and better customers who have more loyalty. The low cost of content marketing makes it perfect for a small business marketing strategy. Providing good information helps to keep people interested in your brand and demonstrate thought leadership in your field. Furthermore, content marketing helps to boost your SEO. Content marketing is only most effective after you consider what your customers care most to hear about.

7. Reward and acknowledge your loyal customers 

Your loyal customers deserve to be acknowledged for their commitment to your business. They are your brand advocates who share their delight with your business to their family and friends – and word-of-mouth is a very strong marketing tool. It is much easier to keep a loyal customer than it is to look for new customers. Some ways you can stimulate brand loyalty include:

• Keep providing customers with exceptional service
• Communicate to customers regularly
• Send out an after-sale follow up
• Deliver on promises: never over-promise and under-deliver

8. Expand your network

By having a strong network of friends, fellow peers and mentors, you are exposed to a plethora of valuable information. One of the greatest ways is to learn is from the actions of others: both their successes and from their mistakes. Friends can spread positive word of mouth, and other small business owners can have conversations with you about the latest developments in the industry.

9. Review and evaluate

No marketing strategy is complete without a review. Whether it’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly, it is vital to evaluate all of your tactics and strategies. Was it unsuccessful because you didn’t have adequate resources? Or maybe you needed a small business marketing service to help implement that strategy.

Put together all the feedback and complaints you have received over a period of time. From the customer’s perspective, what were some of the setbacks of the period? Consider retraining and remotivating staff based on your customer’s needs. 

Developing the best small business marketing strategy can be a matter of trial and error. The most feasible way to ensure your marketing strategy is a success is to know exactly where you stand, what your values are, what your resources are and what your goals are. When in doubt, seek the advice of an experienced small business marketing service. Just remember never to neglect a marketing strategy, it is vital to your business’ success!

Image Source: Shutterstock ID 264529766