by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset
It’s a scary time for everyone during Covid-19. We all know this pandemic has forced a lot of business owners to go out of business. 😢😧
If you are blessed to be among the lucky group who are NOT facing going out of business here’s a short video that shares 5 free effective ways to build your digital presence, so you can boost more visibility for your business during and after covid.
We are also offering free help, guidance, feedback, support for business owners on Tuesdays from 12noon-1pm EST on Zoom through the end of April.
Just comment below “Business Owner Public Service” and we’ll message you the link to join.
by Yoon Cannon | General, Attract More Customers
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.
Also, be sure to check out our previous article on Easy Local Business Marketing Ideas to Boost Sales.
#1: Marketing Your Small Business With Email
[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.”
Read More: 6 Ways to Market Your Small Business for Less Than $100
#2: Socialize on Social Media
[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.”
Read More: 8 Powerful Ways to Market Your Business on a Limited Budget.
#3: Create Compelling Content
[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.”
Read More: 22 Low-Budget Marketing Ideas For Small Businesses
#4: Write Guest Posts
[bctt tweet=” @ianblair44 Guest posting is one of the most effective ways to promote your brand online. https://bit.ly/2sTOeQ9” url=”no”]
Ian Blair says: “Guest posting is one of the most effective ways to promote your brand online.
Guest posting is where you can write an article for another website that they then publish and promote to their audience.
While guest posting will rarely drive any significant amount of actual traffic, it can be very valuable for a number of reasons:
- Establish yourself and your brand as an authority in the space of marketing your small business
- Get backlinks to your website from popular, high-ranking websites
- Get your brand directly in front of your targets when marketing your small business
- Network with influencers in your niche (potential joint venture partners)
- Link to people who will then link to you in their own guest posts”
Read More: How To Promote Your Business: 20 Proven Strategies
#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.”
Read More: 10 Ways to Market Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget.
Also: How to Generate More Leads from 7 Marketing Tactics You’re Already Doing
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.
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
There is a great misconception that spectacular company branding is reserved for large companies that achieve instant recognition from a single image. Although your business may not sell soda in red cans in over 200 countries worldwide, branding is a vital part of your business’s success. In fact, developing and implementing an effective branding strategy is essential for businesses of any size that want to stick it to their competitors and increase their client base.
Here are four steps to help you develop a winning branding strategy:
Step 1) Evaluate your business and consider your competition. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What aspect of your business are you most proud of? Now think about your competitors. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do you stack up compared to the competition? Determine what makes your business stand out.
Step 2) Uncover your clients’ perceptions of your business. You may consider your business’s knack for understanding and addressing the needs and goals of your individual clients to be a strength of your business, but do your clients agree? Understanding your clients’ assessment of your business is crucial to the development of an effective branding strategy. Market research will allow you to gain insight into your clients’ perceptions and to begin to develop a strategy that addresses these views. Take advantage of social media – the use of Facebook, Twitter, and other online social exchange sites can be an excellent method of obtaining customer feedback. Offer incentives to clients who respond to surveys on Facebook and tweet questions about your business to encourage discussion of your business’s strengths and opportunities.
Step 3) Develop a branding strategy. Compare your evaluation of the business to client evaluations. Did you both agree that your business’s employees develop relationships with clients that help the business to understand its clients’ needs and to assist clients in achieving their personal goals? Congratulations – you’ve just found your WOW factor! You have exposed your business’s competitive edge and discovered that your clients are taking notice. Now consider your WOW factor in relation to your overall strategic goals. Create a branding strategy that is aligned with the business’s strategic goals and that enhances your WOW factor. Be sure that the personality of your business and images used in branding are congruent.
Step 4) Communicate your brand. You have already defined your business’s brand, so now it’s time to convey the brand message to your clients. Your brand is communicated to clients through personal contact as well as through media and advertising, and ensuring that the business is portrayed consistently throughout all forms of interaction with clients is the key to successful brand implementation.
By developing a branding strategy centered on consistent representation of the business’s WOW factor, businesses of any size can effectively influence public perception of their brand and become memorable in the marketplace.
If marketing feels like you’re stumbling through this process, you’re not alone! Most business owners are great at their business, but not necessarily great at marketing their businesses. If you’re ready to win the game of marketing once and for all, then take a look at my marketing training program here: https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/business-marketing-training
QUESTION: What does developing a brand mean to you? Please share your comments below.
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
Note From Yoon
I was having my coffee early this morning on my front porch and noticed the fog lifting from my view of Buckingham mountain. It was so breath taking I had to go inside and grab my phone so I could take a picture to share with you. I only looked down for a few minutes to crop the photo. By the time I looked back up that fog already disappeared.
It reminded me of how true the statement, “You have to strike while the iron’s hot”. This made me think about the discipline of follow up. If you want to attract more clients, you need to strike while the iron’s hot. The problem with that however, is half the time, we don’t always know when our potential prospects are ready. Here’s a brief blog I wrote on creating a follow up system, so you don’t miss those hot opportunities. I invite you to share you comments and questions about how you can create effective, simple follow up systems that work. Enjoy!
Blessings ~
What’s Your Follow Up System?
Imagine, missing out on a great new account all because when your prospect was ready, she’d forgotten about you. Picture this scenario, you’re a financial advisor, you meet prospects every week but you don’t have a system for keeping in touch.Six months ago you met this particular prospect at a networking function. You exchanged cards and maybe you even sent a “nice to meet you” email the following day. But you never reached out to her again.
Four months later, she met another financial advisor who’d followed up with an informative article. A few weeks after that, he’d sent an email and offered a short phone consultation. Your prospect became his prospect. Has this ever happened to you?
Follow up is the most important component in building your networks and getting more referrals. Marcia Yudkin of the Marketing Minute says most of her referrals are for people she recently interacted with. So, keep in touch.
How often? Each contact will be different but every 1-3 months is about right for many potential clients. And don’t always ask for work. Forward a relevant article you think they may be interested in, let them know if you’ve added another skill set to your repertoire, be helpful. Keep it short and related. This tactic is simple once you get into the habit and helps to build your relationship. When they need your services, you’ll be top of mind.
It can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years to turn some leads into clients. Nurture them along the way by being a resource. If these ideas sound too big to implement there are some great ways to systematize your follow up process and even scale it to large numbers of prospects versus following up with every individual. You can learn these systems.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or need help with your follow up marketing plan, I’m just a phone call away. You can reach me at 215-292-4947. Call today to set up your free 30 min Discovery Session and lay the foundation to take your business to the next level!
QUESTION: What follow up did you do that turned into a client success story? Share your comments here
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
