When it comes to marketing your small business, where every dollar counts, it can feel a bit like throwing your money into a giant black hole, never to be seen again. However, it doesn’t have to be.
Small business owners today have never had greater access to cost-effective and trackable marketing tools. The question is, where to start?
Below, we’ve gathered five great ways you can go about marketing your small business, no matter your budget, from five experts in the field.
[bctt tweet=” @KabbageInc Consumers regularly say that email is their preferred channel for brand communications.https://bit.ly/2sTOeQ9” url=”no” ]
Victoria Treyger shares “There’s a reason email marketing ranks high on our list of recommendations for small businesses and startups: It works. Regardless of industry or organizational size, marketers across the board point to email marketing as the tactic that produces their highest return on marketing dollars invested. ExactTarget.com’s 50 Email Marketing Tips and Stats for 2014 reported that marketers received an average return on investment of $44.25 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
Not only is it effective, it’s also desired. In study after study, consumers regularly say that email is their preferred channel for brand communications. According to MarketingProfs.com, a study suggests that for nearly one-third of all consumers, email is the communication channel they prefer when it comes to marketing.”
[bctt tweet=” @ChrisDunnTV nearly two-thirds of American adults use #socialmedia now. https://bit.ly/2sTOeQ9” url=”no”]
Chris Dunn says, “According to the Pew Research Center Report of Social Media Usage: 2005-2015, nearly two-thirds of American adults use social media now. This is a near tenfold increase within the last decade.
Popular social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Snapchat. Each of these social media platforms are unique in its own right and require unique ways of engagement. Rather than try to master it all at once, choose a few you like and try to master those first.”
[bctt tweet=” @marrsipan it’d be neglectful not to mention the importance of kick-ass #content. https://bit.ly/2sTOeQ9” url=”no”]
Megan Marrs shares, “I don’t think I even need to say this, but it’d be neglectful not to mention the importance of kick-ass content. If you can create it yourself, all the better (isn’t free always better?). Even if writing isn’t your strong point, you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting someone on your team to crank out some articles for your blog. Try top 10 lists, tip collections, best practices for your industry, etc.”
#5: Marketing Your Small Business Will Create Buzz
[bctt tweet=”@SusanSolovic Today, a small business owner can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm.https://bit.ly/2sTOeQ9” url=”no”]
Susan Solovic shares, “I started my corporate career in the field of public relations and the business has changed significantly because of technology.
Today, by marketing your small business you can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm. Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out. You can respond to reporters’ queries that are looking for story ideas and resources. Some are small media opportunities, but others are major media outlets that use this service too.”
As you can see, marketing your small business doesn’t have to be daunting. The tools you need are more accessible than ever, and with these tips (along with a little creativity), you can build an effective strategy for your business.
QUESTION: Have another Tip (or question) for marketing your small business? Share with us in the comments below!
P.S. If you want to see the best results from implementing these expert tips, it’s important that you first know who who your ideal customer is, where they are, and what they will buy. Instead of using a spreadsheet, be sure to Download our FREE Customer Avatar Template Worksheet to get clear on exactly who you’re selling to.
The proven process of scaling a business is a slow and winding one, and is more involved than basic growth. As a small business owner, it can be difficult to remember that every Fortune 1000 company started just as you are. And while it may be tempting to seek out shortcuts and quick schemes that promise to speed up growth, your results will likely be as fleeting as the path was to get there.
To ensure you’re taking the right steps for long-term success, we’re highlighting six essential tools for strategically scaling your business.
Success stems from customers. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat customers, and oftentimes can also be your biggest advocates.
However, given that business growth is only sustainable with a reliable customer base, a decline in customer satisfaction can have a significantly negative impact on your growth plan. Keeping this in mind can make all the difference in the speed at which you scale your business.
For this reason, establishing a strong customer service model is essential. This allows your team to provide the service your customers have become accustomed to, while also catering to new customers.
Many small businesses, particularly ones with plans to scale, have begun implementing chatbots. This eases the workload of increased customer queries and also maintains high-quality service.
As chatbots become increasingly more advanced, more and more businesses are relying on them for the bulk of their service requests. This not only enables businesses to successfully grow their customer base (and, thus, take on larger workloads), but it also meets modern customers’ requests for on-demand service. In fact,more than half of consumers would rather talk with a chatbot, than a human, in order to save time.
2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
A dedicated CRM system can be a big help as you grow your customer base. It cohesively manages all of your company’s relationships and interactions with new and existing customers. This allows your team to effectively work toward improving business relationships as you grow.
Along with the increased customer connections, a CRM system can also aid in user data management and improve team collaboration—particularly between your marketing and sales teams.
Budget: Seek out cost-efficient options capable of growing with your business without breaking your initial budget.
Customization: Certain datasets are more relevant than others in the early stages of growth. So, tools that allow you to look at the bigger picture can reduce the sense of overwhelm.
Integration: Make sure the system you choose integrates well with other tools.
Customer support: Overall, SMBs have smaller teams. Therefore, a reliable support system helps get you up and running with the new technology.
HubSpot CRM is a popular free option for small businesses, thanks to its easy to use built-in interface. Since everything is deployed in the cloud, there is no need for complicated installations and/or navigational training.
Salesforce CRM is another excellent option, for it’s easy integration with external business solutions and sales assistance tools.
3. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System
Organizational software can make all the difference when it comes to achieving your business scaling goals. Generally speaking, small businesses can get away with simple record-keeping processes, and basic accounting solutions. However, as you scale, you’ll likely grow out of these preliminary tools. Therefore, an ERP can help automate and coordinate the growing number of complex business processes that your scaling business will inevitably accumulate.
Since the introduction of cloud-based systems, top quality ERP systems, once only available to large corporations, are within reach of smaller companies—both financially functionally. A modern ERP cloud solution can help streamline operations, ensuring your entire organization is working in sync, and on pace with technology.
For business scaling in particular, software that you can both, trust to update autonomously, and grow with your business, is essential. You can avoid any unnecessary complexity by choosing a solution that is specific to the cloud, as opposed to the on-premises solutions that have been rewritten to service in the cloud (for instance Infor ERP products).
Today’s industry leaders recognize the power that small businesses hold. As a result, they are increasingly targeting small and medium sized businesses with cloud-based versions of ERP software. Depending on your specific business environment and goals, there are several available options to help you meet your scaling goals.
4. Inventory Management Software
Increased volumes of business are expected when scaling. As is the amount of inventory and information you need to keep track of. Although a spreadsheet may have been suitable as a small business, the larger you scale, the more difficult effective management becomes.
Inventory management software relieves this pressure by simplifying the tracking process of whatever it is that makes your business function. Comparinginventory management software, based on their offerings, pricing, and your specific business needs, can help you make the right choice for your business.
5. Email Automation
A digital marketing strategy is fundamental in modern business success. As you scale, however, your traditional marketing efforts will likely need a reboot.
Automation is a lifesaver when it comes to scaling a business. Extending your reach without additional effort is possible through the many tools designed to help automate marketing tasks.Mailchimp, for example, is an easy-to-use platform for email automation.
To build your customer base, it’s important to put adequate effort into spreading your message. This means alerting all potential and existing customers of your latest offering, and generating new conversion whenever possible.
6. Social Media Automation
A strong social media presence is critical to successfully promoting your business. However, in the early days of your scaling, you probably don’t have a dedicated social team.
Not to worry, though. Social media automation tools have made it easier than ever. They can pre-schedule content to share across your various networks and profiles, track performance, collaborate with fellow social media users, and manage a consistent reposting schedule.
Tools likeAgoraPulse andHootsuite are very popular platforms that can help you improve your social media presence while also saving you time.
Ultimately, There is no one-size-fits-all method to scaling a business. As you go through the process, you’ll recognize what works for you, and what your business needs to achieve success.
QUESTION: Which of these tools interests you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Running your own business is hard. Running your business all alone is even harder. 😩
There’s so much advice out there it’s hard to know what to do and what to focus on first. You’re worried about following the wrong advice, or just as bad …. The right advice at the wrong time.
You can commit to working harder …. But, what if you’re working hard on the wrong things? You’ll easily waste months and even years spinning your wheels. 😭
Your friends and family don’t know what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. They don’t understand the challenges you face running your own business or how to solve the problems that keep you up at night.
Right now, you have no one to talk to who can give you meaningful support and actionable advice.
📍You need to FIND YOUR PEOPLE.
Take the first step … right here … right now.
✅ WHAT IS ONE DECISION YOU NEED TO MAKE IN YOUR BUSINESS RIGHT NOW?
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. By sharing a decision you’ve been delaying to make or a challenge that’s got you stuck … not only could you receive some 💡great ideas 💡 to help you … you’re also helping so many others who are facing the same challenge in their business.
As you know, one of my goals with this blog is to help you find new, better and more efficient ways to increase website traffic, build your email list and improve conversions and sales of your products and services
That’s why I’m always on the lookout for great new tools and resources that can help accelerate your results.
A while back my friend Cary Richards over at Infostack produced an amazing bundle of resources called: “The Traffic Secrets Super Stack,”
It was hugely popular but there was one problem.
It was only available for a week and a bunch of people missed out on it…
Well… I’ve got good news today!
The response was so great that they have decided to bring it back and make it available for another few days.
“The Traffic Secrets Super Stack” is a hand-curated collection of over 25 premium eCourses, video training, memberships and workbooks that include information like:
How to grow your email list to 10,000+ subscribers
Master Facebook advertising so you can crush your next marketing campaign
Behind the scenes of YouTube traffic
How to get referral traffic from influential people in your niche
Social media hacks (how to use platforms like Instagram to grow your reach, influence, and profit)
How to use cold email to get results (without burning bridges or looking like an amateur)
And much more.
Now, typically, you’d have to spend over $3,000 + to get your hands on everything packed inside the Traffic Secrets Super Stack…
But this week, (for a limited time) you can get everything for over 98% off.
But don’t hesitate, because after next Monday the stack goes away probably for good this time.
As you know, I very rarely make offers to my blog.
I only share things that I feel are a tremendous value that you can’t miss.
When I learned about “The Traffic Secrets Super Stack”, I knew immediately it was a winner. Seeing the final lineup of ebooks, e-courses, and more – it’s clear that this bundle is well worth the insanely low price you pay to get access.
So that’s why I’m sharing it with you.
My hope is that you’ll take a look, and, if it feels like the right fit for you, you’ll take action before this amazing deal expires.
P.S. I forgot to mention: there’s absolutely no risk to check out this deal. You see, the guys over at Infostack have a best-in-class, 60-day, no questions asked, money refund guarantee. That means you can get instant access to everything in this bundle today, and take the next 60-days to decide if it’s the right fit for you.
SEO can seem like a minefield. Part of the problem is that there is a lag between the time that you implement changes and the time that you see the results of those changes. You could do everything right today, and still not see positive results for two to three months.
That can be quite disheartening, but it’s the way the system works. The best you can do is to understand what ranking factors carry the most weight and then aim to create content that will help you score with the search engines.
The good news is that these tips will work for any other search engine.
Quality of Content
Publishing top-quality content is something that Google told us to do a long time ago. And it makes sense. If you’re putting out great content all the time, it’ll be considered valuable by your audience. It’s more likely to get it shared than anything else.
High-quality content will make your audience stay on your site for longer because it gives them the answers that they were looking for. The longer someone stays on your page, the better it looks in the eyes of the search engines.
Click-Through Rate
This is how many people click through to your site from the search results. To get more people to click through, make sure that the meta description has been well-written. It should be relevant to what’s on the page so that people know exactly what they’re clicking through.
It’s tempting to use a clickbait title, but that strategy backfires quite quickly as it’s bound to lead to an increase in the bounce rate.
Bounce Rate
A high bounce rate will kill your site’s traffic fast. If people click through your site and then bounce off quickly, search engines will see this as a sign that the site didn’t have the answers they were looking for.
A good tip is to link through to a related, interesting piece of content on your site. This keeps the audience longer on the site and encourages them to explore it further. If the content is, say 3,000 words or longer, can you break it up into two parts? This would mean that the person has to click through to at least one other page.
It’s the principle that those sites with slideshows count on. Those are highly annoying, so we don’t recommend making the person click through to another page more than once or twice per article.
Backlink Profile
One ranking factor is how many quality sites have linked through to yours. There are a lot of ways to go about link-building. If you’re creating outstanding content, though, other sites will naturally want to link through to you.
Never buy backlinks or offer a link-for-link trade. If you get caught, and the chances are good that you will be, the search engines will penalize you.
Final Notes
Those are the main link factors used to suss out great content. Present excellent content every time, and you’re bound to see your organic traffic rise. If you’ve got top-notch content and your pages load fast, therefore you’ve won half the battle already.
