Whether your business provides products or services to your clients, you won’t survivie or thrive without customers or clients. So how do you go about acquiring new customers? Will the promotion require a huge budget?
The good news is, there are both traditional and contemporary, digital methods of promotions, and those that cost very little to significant sums. So you’re sure to find the right method(s) for you. Below we’ll break down promotion methods into sub-sections, explaining the methods and required budgets.
There’s no two ways about it, when you’re looking to have your website ‘found’ online, Google is the show-stopper search engine. It has over 90% of the market share for search engines. So, whilst you shouldn’t ignore other search engines, it makes sense to focus your attentions on Google’s ranking algorithm. Another important thing to note is that the Googe algorithm is updated regularly – so you must keep yourself informed of any changes.
Many of the activities you can undertake to rank higher organically on Google are free, or low cost. With the purpose of promotion being to be seen by potential customers, Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) is a great promotional method for your business, and worth the time investment to do it properly.
If you are a local business, you can sign up to Google Business Profile – a free service allowing you to promote your business, website, contact details and opening hours. You’re also able to respond to reviews from existing customers and publish business updates. Your profile is shown in its full form on the search results page, but you’ll find a trimmed version of it on the Google Maps page too. With a fully completed Google Business Profile, your promotion will be visible in a number of areas across Google.
Of course if you have the budget, and unique enough target keywords to make it viable, you can also use Google Paid Ads to promote your business. Your listing will appear at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and you’ll be charged each time your listing is clicked (known as ‘Pay Per Click’, or PPC). How much you are charged depends on the popularity of the term.
Social media channels
Social media is becoming ever-more important in business marketing. Such a vast proportion of the population use social media in one form or another. So it’s important to identify which channels your potential customers may be active on, and have a presence there.
The most popular channels are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, but if you make a lot of videos, it may be worth creating a YouTube channel too.
If you have a lot of visual, inspirational or lifestyle images to promote your business, Pinterest may be a channel worth investigating. By no means, though, do you have to be present across ALL social media channels.
As well as posting content to your own social pages, which customers who find you will see, you can also seek out your clients. Facebook, for example, doesn’t only have profile pages – there are also numerous groups and community pages. With some searching in the Facebook search bar you’ll be able to find, and join, groups to all you to reach customers you may otherwise be unable to. You can also monitor other users’ posts as you may be able to give your expertise, opinion, or business link in answer to their questions.
On most social media channels you are able to link to your website, and in some cases you can host a version of your shop (if applicable) on the site. This has the potential of an additional income stream for you, and the details of this, if relevant for your business, should be looked in to.
Digital marketing communications
Some marketers feel that email marketing has had its day, but in actual fact, 77% of people prefer to receive permission-based marketing via email than other methods (LocalIQ).
It’s a reasonably low-cost method of communicating with large numbers of customers in one hit.
Where customers have signed up to your email mailing list, they are engaged in the products and services you have to offer. That makes the return on investment for this method of promotion likely to be significantly higher than marketing activity aimed at the general population.
You can also make use online directories to promote your business, usually at no cost. There are hundreds of online directories, so you should start with the larger ones, and those that are specific to your business sector. Some of the larger directories include Bing, Yelp, Yellow Pages and Better Business Bureau. The smaller directories often feed from larger directories, so by completing the required information for these main directories you could be represented on smaller directories.
It’s important to complete the profiles on each directory listing as fully as possible, to give your customers as much information about the business as you can, and keep it updated. It’s also important to make sure the information listed on all directories is the same. So, if your business changes name, for example, it will need to be updated across all directories, else this can work against you with Google rankings.
Traditional marketing
Despite the move to digital promotional methods, traditional marketing is still effective. Print adverts and flyers are great ways to get your business noticed. Afterall, the marketing rule of 7 suggests that a customer will see your messaging or branding seven times before making the decision to purchase. It’s important, however, to ensure you use a method of tracking the success of the print media. This can be through a QR code to your website, for example, or a discount code that is unique to the copy.
If you’re targeting a specific audience subset, trade and consumer shows may be worth the financial outlay. Depending on the level of niche of the show, you’ll be able to promote yourself to an entirely engaged audience. The shows, and other networking events, give an opportunity to conduct some market research with your customer, and will increase awareness of your brand.
Even if your funds don’t stretch to exhibiting at large trade or consumer events, you could attend as a visitor and still have the opportunity to network with other businesses in your market, and speak directly to your consumer – just don’t forget your business cards or flyers!
Referrals, testimonials and case studies
Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing as a formidable promotion method. An existing customer telling their friends and family about the service they received from you, or leaving a review or testimonial on your Google Business Profile, website or third-party review site, has a higher level of trustworthiness than anything you could say about your own business.
If you have solved a particularly difficult problem for a customer, or you’re proud of a specific project, use it as a case study to show potential customers. This can be presented on your website, as a blog post, a downloadable document, or even as a printed sheet to give to prospective customers.
As well as your budget, the other important factor to know and understand before undertaking any marketing activity is who your customer is. This will help you focus your marketing (and your budget!) in the right places. Scattergun marketing without strategy, and without reason to target activity, is an inefficient use of your time and money.
Struggling to find the right direction for your marketing? Contact us by calling us on 07799 036936 or email info@westwindsmarketing.co.uk to have a chat about your marketing strategy!