As a small business owner, it’s essential to have an effective marketing plan in order to boost your visibility. Whether you’re working as a sole proprietor or part of a larger corporation, some innovative tactics have proven successful for other businesses.
Local marketing is a strategy that targets local audiences near your business. It’s especially useful for small businesses with physical locations, like restaurants or boutique retail shops.
1. Connect with Local Businesses
One of the most successful marketing tactics for small businesses is connecting with local businesses. Whether you’re trying to draw in customers or potential employees, this tactic can have numerous advantages.
Connecting with local businesses is essential for building a lasting relationship in your community. Doing so can give your business an edge in the local market, boost customer acquisition rates and spread positive word-of-mouth advertising about it.
Customers who shop at a locally-owned business are contributing to the local economy. As such, these businesses often take time out of their day to support community events, sports teams and charities.
Furthermore, they tend to outsource services or products to other local businesses if needed. Not only does this support their community, but it can also save them money in the long-run by cutting down on transportation expenses.
2. Use Infographics to Attract Clients
One of the most successful marketing tactics for small businesses is using infographics to attract clients. Not only are they highly shareable, but they can also present complex information in a straightforward and enjoyable manner.
Infographics not only look professional, but they can also strengthen your company’s credibility. Be sure to attribute sources and include insightful statistics.
An effective way to do this is by creating an infographic that tells your company’s brand story. Do this by using proprietary colors, typeface, layout and logo.
Before creating your next infographic, it’s essential to take into account who the target audience is and their level of understanding. Doing this will enable you to determine which types of infographics will work best for capturing this group’s attention.
3. Create Personalized Emails
One of the most successful marketing tactics for small businesses is creating personalized emails. It’s an effective way to foster loyalty, increase engagement and boost sales.
To make these emails more personalized, utilize customer personas to gain insight into your target customers’ needs and interests. For instance, GasBuddy, a real-time fuel price finding app, sends out emails that let customers know how much they’re saving each time they fill up their car with gas.
Monica Vinader, for instance, uses marketing automation to send birthday offers to their subscribers. By recording customers’ birthdates during checkout, they can automatically send out birthday offers that keep customers engaged and boost revenue.
Make your emails more personalized by adding custom fields to the campaigns and altering wording based on this data. Dropbox for instance can add a recipient’s company name to the subject line of their emails – this has been known to increase open rates by up to 26%! That’s an incredible boost for any business!
4. Promote Your Business Online
Promoting your business, whether you operate a physical location or online, is essential for its success. This is especially pertinent for local businesses since they tend to be closely connected to their community.
Promoting your business online is the best way to reach customers and sell products whenever they please. To achieve this goal, set up a website and get listed in popular directories like Yelp or Bing.
Another effective way to promote your business is through press coverage. Being featured in the local news can give your establishment free publicity and attract thousands of potential customers to either online or physical locations.
