Too many businesses in today’s economy think that a pretty website and a Facebook feed full of memes is an effective marketing strategy. The reality is that a site is no help unless anyone knows it’s there, and social media, while great for branding, is notoriously poor for driving sales. The keys to success in business are standing out from the crowd and getting back to the almost lost art of creating and nurturing healthy, personal relationships with existing and potential clients. Here’s how to do it.
A Personal Touch
When was the last time you thanked a significant client for their business, wished them a happy birthday, or, even sat down and worked out who your most valuable clients were? It’s easy to take for granted that your most loyal customers will be with you forever; however, it can change in an instant. You can reaffirm your place in the market as a caring company with quality corporate gifts. Nothing says “I appreciate you” with more tact than a branded business gift sent out to customers at the perfect time.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you want to give your business a new edge in the marketplace, then it might be time to look at search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a relatively new phenomenon, but it’s a crucial one for any business – big or small – looking to stand out from the crowd.
It involves both on-page and off-page components, working with keywords, formatting, blogging, and navigation to provide a seamless transition from a search engine to your website. If you don’t have SEO, you could be missing out on thousands of potential new sales online.
Loyalty Campaigns
As most business owners will know, it can be challenging to get a new customer to walk through your doors. Then, when you do, it’s even more challenging to keep them coming back. If you want to grow your chances of repeat business and a loyal customer base, then try rewarding your customers for coming back. Introduce a loyalty campaign, something that will offer incentives for people to keep coming back and spending money. The success rate of selling to a brand new customer is around five percent, but it skyrockets to as high as 70 percent for a returning one.
Networking
If you operate a small business in town, and it’s relatively new, then there’s a good chance that not many people know who you are and what you do. While you can go ahead and spend thousands on radio and print advertising, you can spend time as opposed to money for a better response. Sometimes, all it takes is to join a group of professionals, or attend local events, to get your name out there and let people know what you offer. However, networking and network marketing is not something you should stop doing as soon as you think people know who you are. It’s a process that can benefit you at every stage of business.
Corporate Sponsorship
If you don’t want to spend money on conventional marketing strategies, then why not have a little fun and opt for corporate sponsorship instead? Sponsorship can benefit your business in more ways than one. You get public kudos for helping an event to go ahead, but you also get excellent brand recognition.
Revitalizing your business’s marketing strategy is not a process that happens overnight. It can take time, effort, and out-of-the-box ideas to transform your business. However, as Pablo Picasso so appropriately put it, “Action is the foundational key to all success.”
