We've compiled some highly effective techniques for promoting your brand and reaching your target audience. Incorporate these new practices to see your contacts and your business grow.
Getting the word out about your product or service can be one of the biggest challenges of owning a business. For any marketing campaign to be effective, you need to ask yourself two questions:
- Who is my target audience?
- How does my target audience typically get information?
To identify your target audience, start by creating a profile of your ideal client. Who benefits from your product or service? What need does your business or product fulfill? Once identified, you can then begin to determine how that audience gathers information. Whether online or offline, there are many ways to get in front of your target audience.
Offline Marketing
Keeping costs down is the main objective for most small business marketing campaigns, so unless you have a large advertising budget, television and radio are not the most cost-effective options. That’s where more creative offline marketing techniques like these are helpful.
Networking Groups: One great way to connect with potential clients is by joining local, industry-specific networking groups. Sometimes free, but usually low cost, these groups offer business owners the opportunity to meet hundreds of people who could become customers or who know people who could become customers. You can find these groups through the local chambers of commerce, industry associations and LinkedIn groups. Be sure to pace yourself, attending lots of events can be time-consuming and costly. Also, it’s important to make sure that you have the right tools in place to follow up with each of the contacts that you meet.
Community Events: For the business to customer (B2C) companies, you should take advantage of business expos to exhibit your products. Consider even hosting your own event to draw in potential customers. Hosting a charity event, party or even sponsoring a local sports team are all great ways to promote your brand and meet potential customers.
Word of Mouth: Having current and former satisfied customers tell their friends and family about your business is one of the best ways to gain new customers. Start by reaching out to the customers who have had the best experiences with your business to offer incentives or discounts for bringing in new referrals or writing a great review that you can share in your marketing materials.
Online Marketing
Many of the traditional marketing activities mentioned above will require the support of some online tools and techniques like these below.
Social Media: Social media sites are the number one way to connect with both your existing and potential customers online. Connect with leads acquired through offline marketing avenues by collecting business cards and contact information and immediately connecting via LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (when appropriate). To further expand your reach, take advantage of the tools that Facebook offers, such as sponsored or boosted posts.
Email Marketing: Use email marketing tools like Constant Contact or Mailchimp to build an email list from contacts garnered from events, word of mouth or social media sites. Create a newsletter and ask new contacts to opt-in before automatically adding them to your list. If they opt-in, you have a better chance of keeping that connection and fostering a more meaningful business relationship.
Web Presence: One of the first things a new customer will do is look for your website. At minimum, be sure to have a simple website that contains your location, your product or services offered and any other information that would be important for new customers to know. There are many search engine optimization tips available on the Internet, but try not to get too overwhelmed. Using a great content management platform like WordPress or SquareSpace will ensure that you have most of the basics covered. There are also plugins like Yoast SEO that can help guide you through some of the more intricate areas of search engine optimization. Search engines will soon pick up your site when people search for the product or service in and around your area.
Testimonials: If you have testimonials from current or former clients, include a testimonials page. Most people looking for a product or service will search for reviews online. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your Facebook Business page, on Google, or other industry-specific review sites, and ask customers who have had a satisfactory experience to leave a glowing review.
These are all highly effective techniques for promoting your brand and reaching your target audience. As you incorporate these new practices into your business, you will start to see your contacts and your business grow.
If you have questions on implementing these marketing tactics, reach out to us and we’ll help you get started 🙂
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