The best product or service of your company cannot reach its full market potential if you don’t optimize marketing strategies and implement them perfectly.
Using a wide range of marketing approaches and applying them correctly will give you a wider reach and hence a greater potential growth of your small business.
It is of great importance for every small business marketer to build consistent and viable strategies for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.
Your product's visibility and customer confidence around it should be the ultimate goal, as it will keep your business running consistently and give it new wings. Making your small business a large one requires smart planning.
Here are the top strategies you must implement.
Why is marketing strategy important for small businesses this year?
Small businesses today are thriving in fast-paced marketing, which makes it harder to develop resilient strategies that will record better growth.
The marketing team must take time to reflect on its unique marketing challenges that require careful attention.
A recent survey by HubSpot shows one of the top challenges faced by marketers is training top marketing talent.
Many small businesses hire marketers but don’t invest in training them. They need to understand the company’s clients, their buying behavior, and how to get them.
In the same report, another 27% of marketers say their main challenge is how to generate leads and traffic. Still, another 64% say they have challenges managing their website. 65% say their challenge is how to reach a global audience.
Statistics published by the Small Business Administration show the US is home to 30 million companies with a workforce of more than 60 million employees.
This shows your small business is competing with millions of other businesses. You must implement concrete marketing strategies that work.
The best marketing strategies will allow your small business to compete with bigger competitors. Your marketing team will increase sales, and you will build a strong brand.
It will be possible to overcome the challenges faced by most small businesses today. Marketing strategies will help you optimize sales.
Leverage social media marketing
One of the indispensable marketing channels today is social media. It is a popular trend used by marketers to reach targeted audiences.
They use the platforms to create brand awareness and build new audiences. Leveraging social media marketing will give you the advantage of reaching a wide global audience.
Social media marketing requires the use of quality content and visuals. Due to this, you need the best marketing software and a gadget with high memory. You must make sure you equip your marketing team with hardware that has enough hard disk space.
Its RAM must be enough to allow running applications that require more space. The team requires tools for clearing the cache when the memory is full.
You should consistently check more ideas on maintaining optimum performance of your marketing team’s computers. If the memory usage is heavy and it slows down the computer, that will hamper the entire process cycle.
A report by Earth Web shows there are currently 4.5 billion social media users in the world. This is about 50% of the total population in the world. From that figure, about 84% are between the ages of 18 and 29.
They use the platforms to connect with friends, search for information, and to shop. Another report by Power Digital Marketing breaks the figures according to users in each platform.
Build a strong email marketing team
The number of email users worldwide is growing fast. Data from Statista show there will be about 4.6 billion email users by 2025.
The report further says about 376 billion emails are sent daily. 43% of emails are opened on mobile phones. 27% of email users use a Gmail account.
Email marketing statistics show email marketing is a vital option for small businesses. Recent surveys show how email marketing can be successful.
Email marketing gives your business several advantages over your competitors. You will have the advantage of leveraging modern technologies in email marketing. Your business will get a wide range of benefits such as: -
- It is possible to build customized/personalized content that fits each customer’s needs
- You will build a strong brand awareness
- Your team will increase sales and return on investment
- Building enhanced customer relationships with your brand
- You will take advantage of customer feedback to improve service delivery
- You will build a good email and contact list
The best email marketing strategies to implement in 2022 range from the use of compelling offers to creating simple content-rich emails.
Segment your audiences and create personalized emails. Integrate your email channels with other channels and track your emails to measure success.
Related : 22 Best Email Marketing Services For Startups
Use diversification as a marketing strategy
Business success requires strategies that are unique and viable. Marketers cannot leverage the same strategies they have used year after year.
They have to create new ways to attract more customers and increase sales. Diversification is one of the methods that have proved to work. Its three main components are :
Diversifying products
This strategy requires a company to expand the existing market. It requires the use of different strategies but testing the market can be beneficial before the official launching of the product in the new market.
Product diversification strategies are broad and may include any of these tactics.
- Repricing the product to attract a new market
- Renaming the product to fit into a different culture
- Resizing to a smaller package affordable by a different demographic
- Repackaging to make it more appealing
Diversifying services
When you improve a product, you must improve services too.
A report by Fortune Business Insights shows that 81% of customers say their purchase decisions are determined by customer service level.
95% of customers say they develop loyalty with a brand that offers quality customer service.
75% of customers say they prefer communicating with humans instead of robots when shopping online. 61% of customers move to another company if they receive poor customer service.
Another 56% say they get frustrated when they receive automated telephone replies. These statistics show how important it is to diversify service delivery as a marketing strategy.
Adding new markets
Diversifying the market means identifying the different market segments and tapping into their potential.
Segment the market according to gender, age, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, age, and special needs. You can diversify it further and segment it according to status, family, education, earnings, lifestyle, and work.
Improve your digital marketing strategies
Print marketing still has its place in modern business, but digital marketing is overtaking it fast. Small businesses are adopting evolving marketing strategies to stay competitive.
The days when you only require a website to market are long gone. Customers are looking for content that adds value to them.
They search for products on mobile phones more than they do on desktops. They open emails on mobile devices and use social media almost exclusively on phones. NorthOne recently published statistics on digital marketing.
Different digital marketing strategies will help you dominate the business sector. Globally, there are 4.57 billion internet users, and 300 million live in the US. These strategies work for small businesses, but you must be willing to invest your time in them.
- Use website optimization for mobile
- Build visual marketing content
- Write longer marketing blogs
- Use social media ads
- Use influencers
- Understand your competitor’s strategies
Use high-quality content
Companies that use content creation as a marketing strategy have the potential to grow fast within a short period. Marketers should focus on creating content that is relevant to the company’s market niche.
The value that content adds to customers determines the relationship the customers build with the business. When they believe the content is valuable, they will also believe the products are valuable.
Statistics by Demand Metric show content marketers have the potential to increase leads 3x than any other marketing channel.
The same company reported that the cost of content marketing is 62% cheaper compared to other channels. Statistics by HubSpot show companies that use blogs as a marketing strategy receive an ROI 13x more compared to other channels.
Adopt the best strategies for creating high-quality content. Create content that is attractive to your target audience. Each type of audience is appealed to by a different type of content.
Your main aim should be to understand your audience to create content relevant to them. Make it appealing by mixing various types of media such as images, videos, PowerPoint point presentations, and slideshows.
When creating content, avoid sounding like you are pitching for products. Instead, focus on creating value by writing content that educates, entertains, and informs. Add backlinks to your website to give your audience a chance to seek further information.
The content should be written to your readers but not yourself. Address the reader in the first person. Customized and personalized content gives a greater impact compared to generalized content.
Related Topic: How to Start a Blog for your Business: Tips from the Experts
Use influencers to reach a bigger audience
Influencer marketing is a major marketing strategy used by marketers around the world. It takes advantage of product endorsements by celebrities or other influential people in society.
The brand collaborates with the influencer to create content that will increase sales, traffic, and leads. An influencer can also be someone with a high number of followers. To qualify as an influencer, an individual must have the following qualities.
- Able to affect people’s purchasing decisions: The person must be able to convince their audience to make purchase decisions.
- They must be reputable: To build brand trust, the influencer must have a good reputation.
- They must be knowledgeable about the product and have a good relationship with their audience.
Statistics by eMarketer show companies that use influencer marketing record steady growth. At least 67.9% of marketers in the US use influencer marketers. The report further says that 50% of customers say their best way to discover new products is through social media and word of mouth.
This shows how useful influencers can be. At least 52% of buying is influenced by social media, and this is where influencers post their endorsements.
The report indicates that more than 90% of customers read posts from influencers. Social media content quality should be a priority.
Invest in skills that optimize your marketing strategies
It is important to have the best marketing strategies, but if the right skills are missing, your efforts will bear minimal returns. Your marketing team may have the right educational qualifications, but they require skills that harness the best results.
The business world is highly competitive, but skills are what keep some companies on top while others struggle to rise. Skills improve efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.
Statistics by Smart Insights show that 79% of CEOs believe having the right skills is a key component in successful marketing strategies. The report further says most CEOs are worried about the lack of top skills.
Another report by Bright Edge shows that out of 51% of web traffic, 40% of generated earnings come from organic traffic.
This shows how the right skills can improve marketing strategies. Several key marketing skills help improve your marketing strategies.
Invest in advertising
Organic traffic is beneficial to a company, but it takes longer to build. Due to competition, you should use strategies that bring revenue to your business within the shortest time possible.
Different advertising platforms have different offers and benefits to a company. The platform you choose depends on your target audience and is effective.
You should keep increasing your advertising budget as the business generates more revenue from advertising. Ads on each platform have a different composition and are aimed to engage the target audience distinctly.
The ads are created to influence buying behavior for the benefit of the company. Digital technology has changed customer behavior and media habits. Your marketing team must understand the type of ads to post in each type of media to optimize its effect.
- A report by Forbes shows people share video ads 1,200% more than any other type of ad content. This is one of the main reasons why most marketing teams use videos to market.
- Statistics by Power Traffick show small businesses earn $3 from every $1.60 they spend on marketing ads. This is almost a 50% ROI which shows how effective advertising can be to a business.
- Statista reports that between 2022 to 2024, the total amount of money spent on advertising will increase to more than $645 billion.
- The report further says more than 60% of YouTube views are made on mobile devices. Companies should target creating mobile-optimized marketing videos.
Know the strategies that work for your audience
A wide range of marketing strategies is available to companies. Nevertheless, not every strategy works for different types of businesses. You may not know which strategy will work for you at the beginning.
You need to try out multiple strategies and find out which one works best for your audience. There are different ways to help you know the best strategy for your business.
- Divide your audience into segments: You may create segments based on age, income, buying behavior, or religion.
- Understand the behavior of your audience: Consumers behave differently based on various factors such as culture, technological influence, and affiliations.
- Know your competitors: Every business has many competitors around it. It is important to know who they are, who they are targeting, and how they are marketing.
- Understand your niche: Your niche is what makes you stand out.
- Take advantage of data: Do not forget to use data to your advantage. Analyze it to get ideas.
To help you understand how different strategies work for different companies, it is necessary to look at the latest available statistics.
Make use of modern marketing tools
Brands are migrating to digital technology, and marketing teams must make use of technology.
Modern marketing tools help optimize marketing strategies for small businesses. Technology in marketing helps companies to grow and create stronger relationships.
They help a company make maximum use of the channels available for optimized revenue generation.
Before you decide which tool to use, research to understand the benefits of each. Understand how each tool works and compare reviews by other users. Different marketing tools are available in the market.
Marketing automation software
These types of tools help marketers automatically track customer behavior on the internet.
The tools help them follow the customer journey so that they can suggest the best products to buy. Product suggestions can be sent to them through email, social media, or push ads.
Content marketing software
Every marketing strategy adopted requires content to succeed.
The software helps with content production, distribution, and analysis to generate reports on the effectiveness of each strategy. Each different type of tool has multiple features that make the user experience better.
Sales Force Automation Software
Visibility in the market creates opportunities for a business. However, the owner must know how to tap into the opportunities.
CRM tool helps you to track your customer behavior, close deals, and manage the entire sales process effectively. The tool leverages more than 2,500 integrations and applications for a personalized experience and functionality.
Web platform
All types of marketing content posted on multiple channels direct traffic to your website. Marketing happens in multiple channels, but purchasing happens on your website.
When customers search for your company, they should find a user-friendly website. Apart from your website, invest in other web platforms to increase your presence. Some of the platforms allow you to post more than 100,000 in your online store.
Social marketing platform
Every marketing content that you create must get to the right people. Targeting the right people leads to an increase in sales.
The tools help analyze your audience and track community engagement. They help you know when to engage audiences in real-time and the things happening online.
Conclusion
Small business owners create products that fill a gap in the market. Without the right marketing strategies, the product can never reach its full revenue potential. Businesses today operate in a fast-paced marketing environment.
Those that make it are the ones that optimize their marketing strategies and understand the purpose of using the right approaches.
The small business owner should focus on building a fully skilled marketing team. They should take advantage of marketing tools and use modern digital technology in marketing.