Having started my business career using the more traditional bricks and mortar business route, I know all too well how difficult it can be to grow sales for a small business. Sadly, today it’s even harder for local businesses to survive as more and more of us opt for the more convenient route of ordering our products online… But are there any “tactics” that small businesses can employ to entice more of us to buy your goods or services?
Mobile Marketing: Promotion for Converts
Many local businesses miss out on the “big time” because they waste too much time and valuable resources chasing new customers when the real money (and ongoing revenue) comes from marketing to existing customers. After all, people who have already bought from you will already know about the quality of your product or service, and as long as their buying experience with you was a good one, they are likely to buy from you again and even encourage others. to buy from you too… They just need a little notice or reminder that you are still open for business.
One of the easiest and most instant ways to market to existing customers is to use mobile marketing. Let’s be honest, most of us now carry our mobiles with us 24 hours a day and more text messages are opened immediately than any other form of communication.
In fact, most of us now provide a mobile phone number as our first point of contact rather than the more traditional landline contact number. Therefore, all small business owners should make sure to store these valuable mobile numbers and start using them to promote their business through cheap text messages. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to get started, there are affordable training packages that will show you step by step how to set up a mobile marketing campaign.
The best way to achieve instant results for your business using this method is to advertise a sale or promotion. Let’s be honest, we all love a bargain, so simply offering, say, a free glass of wine to customers who book a table at your restaurant on a quiet night will help attract more business. Although it will cost you a glass of wine, you will more than make up for it by filling the empty tables with paying customers.
Mobile marketing can also benefit other small businesses, including text message appointment reminders for businesses like dentists or doctors, drawing people into car showrooms via Bluetooth messaging, promoting special offers for businesses such as beauticians or spas. There are endless benefits that using mobile marketing as part of your local business marketing can offer, including that it’s cheap, fast and delivers instant results.
What is a business without a good website?
I am amazed at how many local businesses are not online yet. Given the ever-increasing popularity of the Internet, small businesses that don’t market their businesses online are missing out on tremendous earning potential and are instead passing that business on to other savvy business owners.
Creating a website for your business doesn’t have to cost a fortune… In fact, some websites even offer free templates that you can use. Then you simply need to purchase a domain name and some hosting for your website. If you don’t have the confidence or knowledge to do it yourself, there are websites that offer a way to outsource this task to others at a fairly low price, just check out the outsourcing sites that offer that type of service. You can often bid on outsourcing websites that will invite people to bid on the job. This can be a great way to get the best value for your money.
Again, there are training packages available that offer step-by-step training on the best ways to create a website for your business along with the cheapest ways to drive website traffic, including how to get to page 1 of Google.
Without a doubt, no matter what small business you own, having a good internet presence is vital to ensure consistent sales for your business.
Business Blogging: Seeing the Big Picture
It is often quite difficult to persuade small businesses to start blogging. They don’t realize that writing a blog can significantly increase their business sales; most unfortunately fail to see the big picture.
Blogging takes time, but if you are consistent, your business will begin to see spectacular results. Blogging for your business can help you connect with people, especially if you’re careful to write in a style that’s unique to you and offers valuable content. If you are careful to offer helpful advice within your blog, you will help promote yourself as an expert that people can trust, resulting in the reader buying from you instead of your competitor. No matter what business you’re in, whether you’re a dog trainer, piano teacher, store owner, or driving instructor, blogging can offer an affordable and fun way to make your business stand out.
You can then drive traffic to your business blog by sharing your blog link on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. There are also opportunities available (for a small monthly fee) for small businesses to use existing high-ranking blog sites to promote their business.
These are the 3 ways that I personally find to be the most effective for increasing your small business sales. They are methods that I have personally used successfully in all of my businesses as they are affordable and generate instant results.
