Marketing Cheat Sheet | Don’t Overlook These Small, Quick Steps to Powerful Marketing

Aug
Marketing Cheat Sheet | Marketing is vital for the success of any business. It doesn’t matter how amazing the product or service you are offering is if nobody knows about it. To effectively grow your small business, you’ll need to get, and then try to keep a large base of satisfied clients. Social media is without a doubt one of the most effective, and affordable ways to engage your clients and keep your brand top-of-mind, but it’s not the only way.
Marketing experts say small business can, and do learn valuable lessons from their more powerful, deep-pocketed rivals. As a small business, you may think it’s not possible to get the word out about what you do. That’s no excuse. And you don’t need tricks or gimmicks. Here are some tried and true marketing strategies that can help you market your business even on a shoestring budget.
Build A Simple & Effective Website | Marketing Cheat Sheet
The website is the central component of any business’ marketing strategy. It’s how your current and potential clients can most easily find and connect with you. Given its key role, it’s amazing that more than half of small businesses owners said their business does not have a website, according to a recent survey. However, once visitors get to your website, you need to keep them interested. Your website should be aesthetically pleasing, while at the same time promoting your unique selling points.
Ensure Your Website Is Mobile-Optimized | Marketing Cheat Sheet
Over 1.2 billion people use mobile devices to access the Internet. If that stat doesn’t convince you to make your marketing strategy mobile friendly, how about this: 60 percent of mobile shoppers use their smartphones while in a store, and another 50 percent while on their way to a store. As clients increasingly turn to smartphones and tablets to search for local business information, and to shop for products and services, it’s crucial that your website is properly optimized for those visitors.
Start A Blog | Marketing Cheat Sheet
One of the best marketing techniques for a small business is blogging. By giving your existing and potential clients informative, non-salesy content that you can publish on your blog, and share on social networks, you can quickly establish yourself as an expert in a desired field. By blogging at least twice a week, you significantly boost your website’s ability to be found on search engines. The more often you blog, the more traffic your website will get from Google, Yahoo, or Bing, as you are adding fresh content to your website.
Build An Engaging Social Media Presence | Marketing Cheat Sheet
Clients today spend a considerable amount of time on social media interacting not only with family and friends, but increasingly with brands as well. When you have a tight budget, make sure to use the web and social media as alternatives to traditional marketing tools. Many forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter don’t charge and a small business would be foolish to miss this opportunity.
Network | Marketing Cheat Sheet
Networking is a much underutilized technique, but still one of the best ways of marketing. Check out any local opportunities to meet new people. Search for groups that discuss topics of interest to you, weekly networking events, book clubs, etc. Word of mouth is still a very important tool, and who is better placed to talk about your business than you?
Build Relationships | Marketing Cheat Sheet
It is a lot less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. That’s why establishing strong relationships with your customer base is crucial. You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.
Ask For Referrals | Marketing Cheat Sheet
Your clients already know and trust you. It’s easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. The majority of people say they are willing to provide a referral if asked, but very few take the initiative to do it on their own. Referrals make it easier to get in the door with new customers. If you aren’t asking for them, you are missing opportunities.
These ten, inexpensive marketing strategies will help you engage customers, build relationships, and ultimately keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s not always about the money you have to spend on marketing, it’s about the time and effort you put into it and above all, the relevance it has for your customers.