Ideas For Advertising A Small Business – As we close the door on another calendar year, it’s time to start thinking about effective marketing ideas for small businesses in 2018. One of the smartest things a small business owner can do for their business is to take the time to develop themselves. A small business marketing plan will set them apart from the competition.
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Ideas For Advertising A Small Business
Your story can be an effective marketing tool. Communicate how and why you started your business through advertising, your website, social media, and email. Create an emotional connection with your customers so they know why they should support your small business. Even when people are looking for deals, telling a story that resonates separates your business from the big retail giants.
Small Business Ideas Archives
Include some facts about small business impact in your story. Tell your customers that small businesses account for 54 percent of all sales in the United States. Also, remind people that small businesses like yours make a positive impact on their local economy, providing 55% of all jobs.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) found that more than half of online holiday shoppers bought an item recommended by a retailer. Create a gift guide that helps empower your customers and cut through the noise. Creating a gift guide doesn’t have to be long or difficult. Your gift guide can be as simple as a blog post with a gift list, description, and links. You can also hire a designer to prepare manuals for your website and print.
Take inspiration from “Oprah’s Favorites,” where Oprah showcases a variety of business items. Use this principle to add your products to the gift guides of popular influencers and bloggers. For a small commission, some bloggers are happy to help small business owners offer giveaways to their audience.
Explore the unknown by offering secret savings in your marketing campaigns. If you have an email list, send emails to your subscribers offering various discounts or giveaways. Your call to action will take subscribers to a landing page with one of your offers. You can make your mystery offers a little more technical with an app like Zembula, where your subscribers can digitally “scratch” their screen to reveal a mystery prize.
Direct Response Advertising Strategies For Small Business Marketing
If you don’t have a website or email list, take your secret offer offline. Let shoppers choose their secret offer from the store by spinning a wheel or drawing from a hat.
Give your customers a free gift after spending a certain amount of money. Encourage your email subscribers to get their freebies by asking them to print or display your in-store offer.
Use this opportunity to promote your business by offering useful branded items such as calendars or pens. Or offer a reward or loyalty system to customers who create an account in your store. This encourages customers to accumulate points when they are rewarded with prizes or coupons after reaching a certain amount of points.
Urgency causes people to act quickly. When creating a push campaign, start by announcing your ad through email, social media platforms, or even physical banners around your store. Follow the announcement with the last call bonus. This tells your customers that the offer is about to expire and they need to act fast if they want to get the best deal. Reminding buyers that time is running out increases the level of urgency and drives them to take action. It is a way to move clients from an idle state to an active state.
The 4 Ps Of Marketing And How To Use Them In Your Strategy
A 2017 BrightLocal study found that 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews more than personal recommendations, while 73 percent of consumers trust a business more than positive reviews. More people than ever are searching for reviews, and nearly all consumers have searched for a local business online at least once this year. In fact, according to the same study, 7 out of 10 users will leave feedback. As many businesses strive to stand out from their competitors, having a positive online reputation is critical to helping customers make choices.
To make it easy for your customers to leave reviews, set up a profile on multiple review sites and be proactive by thanking them for positive reviews and answering any questions they may have.
According to NRF research, six out of 10 people would be happy to receive a gift card. Build on the popularity of gift cards by creating a marketing campaign around them. Offer plastic cards and e-gifts to give shoppers more options. Your gift card marketing campaign can include a discount or free gift card when customers spend a certain amount in-store or online.
Engage shoppers by creating an in-store scavenger hunt. You don’t need to have a big store to do this. Make a short list of items you’ll find in your store and ask customers to send in photos of hidden items at checkout so you can announce the sale. A scavenger hunt is a great way to get customers interested in the area around your store. Hide some items in the back to encourage shoppers to browse the entire store. Limit your scavenger hunt to a few items and make it a short game to keep shoppers motivated.
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Direct your customers directly to store offers with floor stickers. Be creative with the type of sound you use. Use a high heel footprint if you’re a women’s boutique, or a paw print if you’re a pet store. Search online for companies that specialize in floor graphics to order your custom prints.
There is strength in numbers when competing with larger companies for sales and customer loyalty. It makes sense to network with other local small businesses to increase your marketing power. Join several businesses to share advertising costs to reach more people.
Consider promoting your products with appropriate local businesses. For example, if you own a boutique, you could partner with the coffee shop owner to offer a buy one and get one free coffee for anyone who produces a receipt from your store. In return, you offer discounts to cafe customers in your store.
Affiliates are important and should be part of your small business marketing campaign. 91% of consumers want a product or service they use to achieve a goal, so consider incorporating a giving back element into your marketing campaign. Be sure to find ways to get your customers involved in the charity.
Small Business Advertising Ideas That Won’t Break The Bank
If you’re promoting your local food bank, why not encourage your customers to drop off non-perishable items at the store? Alternatively, you can donate a percentage of your profits to a charity of your choice. Promote your fundraising goals and let your customers know what a difference a donation will make.
Hosting events in your store is a great way to build brand awareness and connect with your customers. A well-organized event is a great source of publicity and customer engagement for businesses, and it doesn’t have to break the bank to be effective. Offer inexpensive treats such as cookies and place them in strategic places, such as next to discounted items or gift cards, to attract attention. As a small business, you likely stock items that larger stores don’t carry, so put your unusual and unique pieces front and center to grab customers’ attention.
Videos of your products and services on YouTube can help promote your business and brand. Introduce new products, offer tutorials, and talk about important (and exciting) things happening in your industry. Create useful content for your audience, including videos that help them better understand your product.
HubSpot predicts that by 2019, video traffic will grow to about 80% of all internet traffic. In this digital age, advancements in video marketing can give small companies a competitive edge.
Small Business Advertising Ideas
Use social media to create sweepstakes. Use tools to help you create social media quizzes, contests, sweepstakes, and coupons. Most tools have ready-made templates that you can brand with your business colors and logo.
Ask social media users to provide their email address for a chance
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