The need for effective online marketing strategies for small business
Small Business needs online marketing just as much as big business. Most big businesses are able to generate good revenue from effective online marketing strategies. I am here to tell you that with effective online marketing strategies for small business a small business owner could make the difference between surviving and thriving.
I have seen actual small businesses do better in customer retention and revenue because of the attention given to the online marketing space. Below I recommend four effective strategies for small businesses looking to do online marketing.
The Four effective online marketing strategies for small business:
These strategies are easy to implement effective online marketing strategies for small business.
1 ) Identify the online strategy:
This is where a small business needs to decide what value it will offer online and how. A small business could either create a website where people get information about their product or service, or a blog where snippets of short value information is provided on a product or service (like a review).
Recommendation: A One page website is sufficient to start with before building on it as the online brand grows.
2) Identify your marketing requirements and budget:
It’s critical as a small business to understand to whom and where you will market online. Will you market through certain social media channels like Facebook or will you do others forms of marketing like building an email list of subscribers to engage with?
Deciding on a way forward will also be determined by the monthly budget; I must stress having a clear budget is ideal for a small business, especially when revenue may not always be predictable.
Recommendation: The best known marketing strategy is build a list of subscribers over time; a small business can establish a running relationship with this list through various email messages and broadcasts. If you want to know more about list building, click here
3) Track your marketing efforts:
It doesn’t matter which type of business it is, like traditional marketing, online marketing should be tracked. A small business should track conversions, cost per lead, location of online visitor (potential customer), and other demographic information. This data is critical for marketing testing and future marketing adaptability so that the results are better for a small business
Recommendation: Most platforms such as Google offer their own Analytical and tracking platform. If you are looking for a simple solution contact me for a simple recommendation.
4) Engagement & Re-marketing:
All small businesses should engage with potential customer segments by understanding where they “hang out” online. A common area is for a potential customer to be part of a forum.
Let’s say for example you offered home based baked items, then you would look at forums related to bakery and baked items. Engage with these customers by offering them insight on what makes your products unique (but this should not be a pitch as forums can ban such marketing). Always show such customers value.
Once a small business understands its different customer segments better, it can re-market its campaigns to laser target such customers. The results should speak for itself.
Recommendation: If a small business uses the list building option of marketing, Email Marketing programs such as Aweber allow a business owner to segment and re-market to specific subscribers based on actions those subscribers take in an email that your business sent. This will allow for focused marketing efforts.
Word of caution for effective online marketing strategies for small business
Effective online marketing strategies for small business are only effective once such strategies are implemented with a long term view. Expecting results in a short span of say 3 months will not be realistic. Small Business owners need to approach implementing these results knowing the long term business sustainability will be the biggest benefit.
P.S. If these recommendations were helpful to you as a small business owner, you can contact me and schedule a short Skype session to discuss further how these can be implemented.
To Your Success & Beyond,
Siddharth
Digital Entrepreneur & Mentor