Starting a business can be a little overwhelming. There is so much to do! And even when you´ve been on the market for a while, there are still more things to be done.
Marketing is an important area of any business, which is why you should always focus your efforts on maintaining and growing it. Here are some ideas and tips every small business should keep in mind.
Know your audience.
Your business exists to satisfy another person’s wants and needs. Regardless of the products or services that you offer, you must know your customers and your audience, so that you market products and services correctly and effectively.
Consider who your audience is, what they do, and what you can offer to them. Also, know what their motivations are when making a purchase decision, and what that process looks like.
Segmentation is generally based on these factors:
- Demographics: gender, age, income, occupation, and other markers.
- Behavior: attitude, product or service usage, purchasing tendencies.
- Lifestyle: choices, needs, likes, dislikes, personality traits, and values.
Create a
Buyer Persona to better understand your ideal customer. The objective is to create a profile that synthesizes the main characteristics of your business’ potential clients so that you can create strategies that impact your audience and are able to satisfy their demands.
Some information you need to include when creating your Buyer Persona includes:
- Personal information (demographic data).
- Goals and challenges.
- Professional information.
- Geographic data.
- Values and fears.
- Negative information you may want to consider. (If they´re difficult, if their purchase cycle is long, etc.)
Identify your value proposition
You need to stand out from your competitors so that your prospective buyers become real customers. In order to stand out, you need to know and emphasize your value proposition, which is whatever factor that will differentiate you from others in the industry.
Think about what makes your business special. It can be the product itself, the service, or the experience you offer. Ask yourself what skills and knowledge you have, or how your customers can benefit by purchasing your products or services.
Once you identify it, make sure that your audience knows about it. You can advertise, use your social media outlets, or any other tools that your audience is using.
Develop your business brand
Having a business with no personality will not benefit you. You need to connect with your audience through your brand. This doesn´t mean only having an effective logo and slogan. A brand needs personality: is it playful, professional, or cute? Make sure you convey it throughout your business: employees, communication outlets, advertising, and relationships.
Goals and objectives
If you don´t know what you want to achieve through your marketing efforts, everything will be all over the place, including your sales numbers, audience, and brand. It is important to establish your marketing goals in order to have a plan and a path to follow.
Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. Do you want to promote new products or services, or grow your digital presence? You can target new customers or retain existing ones. Are you looking to build brand awareness or increase profit?
There are many objectives within the marketing world. You just need to think about what your business needs in the moment and in the future.
Social Media
Now is the best time to use social media to help you get noticed, engage with potential customers, build your brand, grow your audience, and more. It is true that you can advertise on social media, but you can also achieve many things through organic posts and interactions.
You should use the social media channels that your audience is most likely to be using so that your efforts are rewarded. That way you’ll be able to reach more people and improve your overall engagement.
Invest in ads
Ads can be helpful for a lot of objectives online (traffic, awareness, conversions). You can use social media ads or Google Ads, but whatever you choose to use, you need to know your target audience.
Monitor and review
After all your marketing efforts, it is important to regularly monitor and review your activities. Know whether or not they are working and you are meeting your objectives. Then, you can make the decision to change, improve, eliminate or accentuate something.
The marketing department is important in any business. And in today´s world, digital marketing is just as important, which is why at
Miss Ink we are ready to help your business. We offer full-service digital marketing, social media & blog content, and digital marketing consulting. Whatever your needs are, we can help. Give us a call at (305) 537-6465 and let us be part of your team!
