As a small business owner, you’re probably already busy and have heard a lot of marketing ideas that sound impossible (or at least very difficult to implement).
It can be challenging to come up with proven ways to improve your online presence, build your email list, socialize with prospects, and increase measurable revenue.
In this column, you’ll find 103 small business marketing ideas designed to help you grow your business by acquiring new customers or retaining existing ones.
You can actually implement these ideas yourself!
Read on for strategies you can use in your small business to create better, more content, increase your social presence, acquire and retain customers, and more.
Create content
If you’ve been following, you know you need content.
It may sound daunting, but you and your employees are capable Create powerful, relevant content Use a basic smartphone.
Here are some simple examples:
1. Photos of the staff.
2. A photo of the new team member.
3. A humorous photo of the boss or the boss.
4. New product unpacking or storage pictures.
5. Photos of satisfied clients (with proper consent of course).
6. Photo of office pet (if applicable).
7. Photos of staff enjoying seasonal holiday parties.
8. Photographs of staff in action (meetings, helping customers, stocking shelves, etc.).
9. Photos of happy customers (and captions using countless apps).
10. Pictures of new equipment (especially home service companies).
11. Photographs of staff working on-site (if on-site).
12. “Behind the Scenes” Photos.
13. Memes made with your own photos.
14. Videos for birthdays or other celebrations.
15. Video announcements of promotions, products or special events.
16. Customer testimonial videos.
17. A video with some helpful suggestions that clients may find useful.
18. Videos supporting local causes.
19. A video (30 seconds to one minute) showing the new product or service.
20. A video of the boss telling the company’s mission.
21. Video interviews with team members.
22. Combine your pictures into a video (many apps can do this).
Use social media to grow your business
With the decline of local newspapers, social media becomes more important as you may find your customers on one of these platforms.
The following tips are relevant regardless of platform.Don’t let your biases or habits dictate social media platform You use.
you probably won’t use [insert Social Media platform name]but if your customers do, your business needs to exist.
23. Post the above picture.
24. Post one of the above videos.
25. Post customer reviews.
26. Live Q&A. Be prepared for seed questions.
27. Broadcast live at events or parties that your business hosts or participates in.
28. Share good news about another local business.
29. Share posts from local charities or nonprofits for help.
30. Answer any questions or comments from customers.
31. Host customer events and publish relevant information.
32. Post “little known facts” or historical anniversaries related to your market or community.
33. Post pictures of your business as the seasons change.
34. Publish Customer Story (with permission of course).
35. Post about business challenges you encountered and overcome.
36. When local school teams or organizations are successful, post about them.
37. Turn frequently asked questions into helpful advice posts for customers.
38. Post good news about your business.
39. Celebrate new hires.
customer acquisition
Getting new clients is often about doing the little things right.
People in your community need the goods and services you sell.
Part of your job is to make it easier for them to do business with you.
Here are some items on your client acquisition checklist:
40. Request referrals in email.
41. Request comments via email or text.
42. Allow customers to send SMS inquiries.
43. Make sure customers can easily reach you (test often).
44. Run a simple paid search ad.
45. Make sure your business is on the map.
46. Exhibit at trade shows or local fairs.
47. Sponsor a team or organization (and show up often).
48. Run a Paid social events (Pay $10-$20 to promote a post or video to a local audience).
49. Start building an email list by offering something of value in return.
50. Use QR codes to guide customers to sign up and get instant coupons via SMS.
51. Start referring clients to other (non-competing) businesses.
52. Join a netgroup.
53. Attend community events and gatherings.
customer retention
Getting new customers isn’t enough to maintain a business.
Work hard to retain existing customers or you may be at a disadvantage all the way up the hill.
Here are some simple ideas to help you:
54. Send quick follow-up surveys after purchase.
55. Request comments via email or text.
56. Thank customers.
57. Follow up with customers to make sure they are satisfied.
58. Send offers (prices, sneak peeks, early access, etc.) to existing customers.
59. Host a customer appreciation event.
60. Set up a customer advisory group.
61. Send your customers a monthly email with announcements, specials, and even the occasional personal update.
62. Create a monthly account plan.
63. Know who your best customers are and offer exclusive deals.
promotion
Frankly, you need publicity to give your business a chance to succeed.
While “Dreamland” is a great movie, that approach doesn’t work in business (“if you build it, they’ll come”).
64. Add promotional links to email signatures.
65. Develop some product (or service) bundle deals to increase your average order value.
66. Test buy now, pay later for your service e-commerce website.
67. If you are a service company, offer a cash or advance payment discount.
68. Post all promotions on social media channels.
69. Test various promotional discounts, bundles, payment methods, etc.
70. Partner with other local businesses to promote your business.
71. If you’re going to do swag, make it memorable for your customers.
72. Be the voice of your business. “People do business with people they like.”
73. Support local news publications when it makes sense.
74. Make a sign for your vehicle.
75. Work with banks to provide financing for bulk purchases.
measure effectiveness
If you’ve made it this far, you might be thinking: Great! But how do I know if this works?
Here are some basic steps you can take to measure the effectiveness of your efforts:
76. Add Google Analytics to your website (or someone does).
77. Document what success looks like from a business perspective.
78. Track your progress towards your goals.
79. Understand the difference between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel metrics.
80. Track redeemed coupons.
81. Track calls, messages and emails.
82. Make sure conversion tracking is set up for your digital ads.
83. Ask clients how they heard about you.
84. Measure your foot traffic (if your business is retail).
85. Measure your average order value.
86. Measure your conversion rates (online and in-store).
87. Document any changes to your promotions and messaging and document the impact on your business.
88. Track your bottom line to ensure your ads and promotions drive profitable sales.
89. Calculate customer lifetime value.
90. Understand the cost of acquiring new customers.
91. Know your customer retention rate.
92. Understand the cost difference between retaining existing customers and acquiring new ones.
93. Test discount and non-discount type offers (bundle or buy now, pay later).
Get help with the job you need
Time is money, and sometimes you’ll find that it’s best to hire an expert who can help you market your business.
Here are some tips for doing so:
94. Ask for referrals to hire experts in digital marketing (PPC, Search Engine Optimization, email, web design. And development).
95. Get an intern to create all the pictures and videos listed in the content section.
96. If you have budget constraints, hire local freelancers.
97. For anyone you hire, you need to have a clear definition of success.
98. Ask to see relevant case studies before hiring anyone.
99. Get one Search Engine Optimization Audit Find any gaps.
100. Use online resources like Fiverr, Upwork, and 99 Designs Some your needs.
101. Hire someone who can write content for you.
102. Have an employee or someone you know edit the video. You might be surprised how well they do their job.
103. Keep a handy list of trusted resources in case you need it.
getting Started
This is the list!
103 Small Business Marketing Ideas You Can Actually Implement.
The best getting started advice I can give you is to pick a few simple ones (most likely in the content section) and get started.
Before you know it, you find your rhythm.
good luck!
More resources:
Featured Image: KucherAV/Shutterstock
