How will you build awareness for your business, attract new customers and retain existing ones while driving growth? For small business owners, it comes down to one word: Marketing.

Running a small business requires wearing many hats, and marketing director should be among them, especially if you hope to achieve long-term success. While there are many approaches to marketing and a chest of tools at your disposal, here are some ways you can leverage marketing to meet your sales goals, build strong customer relationships and help your business stand out.

Establish Your Online Presence
In our digital-first world, most customers will look up a business online before ever walking through its doors. Therefore, making sure their first impression is a positive one is essential.

• Create a Google Business profile – Take advantage of a free tool from Google to put all your essential information right at customers’ fingertips. Start with your business hours, location, phone number and website. You can also ask loyal customers to leave reviews with high-quality product images.
• Make the most of your website – Websites are a powerful way to boost your business’s credibility and capture prospective customers’ attention. Your website should look good — no broken links or pixelated photos here — while communicating valuable information about who you are and what you do. If you want to take advantage of digital marketing, your website will play a critical role. Some essential site elements include:
  • Photos and videos of your product or services.
  • Accurate and relevant information. For example, if you have special summer hours, clearly post them, but also remove this timely notice promptly once you return to your regular hours.
  • A form for customers to sign up for newsletters or request additional information, enabling you to capture their information and market to them directly in the future.
  • Mobile-friendly design, as most consumers rely on their phones.
  • Optimized site that can load content and images quicky, as a slow one can impact your Google ranking.  

Get Social
Many businesses make profiles on social media to garner valuable connections with prospective customers. Social media marketing is a fast and cost-effective way to make your business known. Here are some things to know:

• Choosing the right platform for your business – Most businesses succeed on Facebook, thanks to its community-driven model. Instagram can be great for sharing behind-the-scenes videos and photo content. Professional networking sites like LinkedIn work best for business-to-business (B2B) marketing, sharing perspectives via thought leadership pieces and similar activities.
• Creating a content calendar – Social media sites are hives of activity, so it’s important to ensure you don’t fall off anyone’s radar. Creating your posts ahead of time can help ensure you remain top-of-mind and take advantage of meaningful holidays, recognition days and more.
• Showing off your products – Testimonials, tutorials or reviews — the floor is yours to show off your product. Highlighting reviews from trusted customers and leveraging partnerships with your fellow businesses are all great ways to garner attention and increase sales.
• Craft buzz-worthy ads – Many social media platforms come with built-in advertising tools. They make it easy to target people who have visited your site before or interacted with similar brands, ensuring your campaigns are always on point. Make sure to include a compelling call-to-action (CTA), such as visiting your website to place an order.
• Maintain connections –  Social media is built on the foundation of two-way communication. Prospects and customers will engage with what you post, so ensure you’re engaging back — answer questions, show appreciation for praise and politely and effectively handle any criticism. Also, ensure you regularly check your inbox for direct messages, as it's important to reply to those communications promptly.

Make the Most of Email

Keep your marketing emails out of customers’ spam folders with these helpful tips:

• Sending out the welcome wagon – Did you earn a new subscriber? Send them a meaningful welcome message clearly communicating your brand and what you offer. If you plan on sharing opportunities for discounts, free goods and more, this is a great time to make it known.
• Celebrating your customers on special occasions – Offering savings on birthdays or anniversaries can show your customers you care while enhancing brand loyalty.
• Sharing important reminders – Abandoned cart full of goods or a deal ending soon? Marketing emails can help your audience make the most of your offers and secure sales.
• Becoming a thought leader – Weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletters are a great way to maintain regular contact with your customers while positioning your business as a valuable source of information. Also known as content marking, newsletters can be the place to host your industry or market insight, testimonials and sneak-peaks at upcoming deals or future announcements.

Services like Constant Contact®, Mailchimp and others can help support your email marketing efforts.

Marketing can help elevate your business, make valuable customer connections and grow sales. If you found this article informative and helpful, visit americanbusinesscoalition.info to learn more about how the American Business Coalition can support you.