Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.
More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and two out of every three new jobs are created by Small Businesses.
This week is all about you…thank you for doing what you love and sharing it with the world!
Use these 6 marketing tools to make it all just a little bit easier.
1. Create Facebook Fans for your Small Business
It seems obvious, but if someone stakes claim as a Fan of your brand, they will be more likely to purchase from your brand. This makes it all the more worth your while to focus your efforts on converting your existing customers. Then, move on toward your prospects. Customers become fans in order to express themselves by representing themselves through the brands that they ‘like.’ In order to invest in your marketing strategy to gain Facebook Fans, prioritize your reach by establishing quality Facebook membership of existing customers and focusing on creating brand personality attributes.
How to Generate New Fans:
- Build awareness to your brand by sharing great content
- Encourage interactions by asking customers to post photos on your Facebook
- Feature customers on your Facebook
- Create an extraordinary visual experience that customers want to share
- Provide incentives for sharing, such as discounts or coupons
- Build contests for sharing
- Build mass momentum with events
2. Build Strong Relationships with Loyal Customers
Your customers are the most valuable asset of your business, and once you have a loyal customer, they will want to tell everyone about your brand. Building a great marketing strategy is all about creating a relationship with your customers, even if you never actually see them. Always remember, loyal customers are your best sales people.
How to Create Loyal Customers:
- Spend time finding out who they really are. Get to know their demographics, psychographics, expectations, and knowledge of your product or service.
- Speak their language. When you are starting a new business, you are probably entering an industry with its own “lingo.” Make sure that your communication with your audience is in a language that they can understand.
- Offer something of value. Differentiate your business and stand out from the crowd by adding value to your customers’ lives.
- Communicate authentically and effectively. Delivering on your promise is your business.
3. Convert Consumers into Customers
Once you have successfully created fans and loyal customers, the next step is to bring them to the logical conclusion to buy your product. Each potential customer goes through a “decision journey.”
Steps of the Consumer “Decision Journey” Cycle:
Step 1. Consumer has a want, need, or desire that they are looking to satisfy by purchasing a product or service.
Step 2. Consumer locates product/service and evaluates if it would satisfy their want, need, or desire.
Step 3. Consumer compares and contrasts product or service with other options, and decides on a favorite solution.
Step 4. Consumer makes a decision to purchase and successfully converts into customer.
Step 5. After purchasing, consumer assesses the user experience and eventually returns to Step 1.
If you successfully meet your audience at each stage of the decision journey with a solution for every want, need, or desire they have along the way, then you will be able to successfully guide them to conversion.
4. Create Effective Content
Quality content is the essential piece that determines the success of your small business strategy. Each piece of content, should be intended to help your customers address a specific need better than any other resource provided by your competition. Effective content is a crucial piece to the success of your online business.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is simply producing and publishing information that is used by customers to better understand your product or service. Once you know what your potential customers are searching for, it will make it easier for you to create effective content that addresses their specific questions.
How to Create Effective Content:
- Write quality product descriptions that appeal to the customer’s senses.
- Use keywords strategically in your website for SEO strategy.
- Use videos, blogs, and case studies to reach new customers and please the search engines.
- Provide valuable information for your visitors to give them insight into solutions your product/service can provide.
Creating highly relevant content for consumers in each of the consumer “decision journey” stages will create a stronger connection between you and your customers, which eventually could lead them to purchase.
5. Grow Your Small Business With LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful online tools to build your small business. Optimize your business profile on LinkedIn by using the following features, and drive new traffic to your small business through this social networking platform.
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- Use Endorsements to Build Trust. Utilize this feature on LinkedIn by getting endorsements from industry-related contacts and by exuding the trust that potential customers and clients are looking for.
- Join the Discussion for Networking. Use the groups feature to share your content or create your own group.
- Use Advanced Search to Find Vendors and Suppliers. If you want to use the best industry keywords to find potential leads for your business, you can use Google’s keyword tool.
- Gain Intel on the Competitors and Industry. Track your competitor’s moves or industry trends on LinkedIn, and create strategies to implement in the future, as well.
- Showcase Your Small Business. Highlight your products and services, engage with followers, share career opportunities, and drive word of mouth at scale.
6. Produce High-Quality Products or Services
The best way to succeed is to design and offer exactly what your customers want. Create products that are better quality than any of your competitors’ to help maximize your success rate in the marketplace. High quality products will lead to lasting business success because you will actually add value to your customer’s lives by providing them with the best that they can get. This will bring them back, time and time again. We all know that it is easier to make sales from existing customers than it is to acquiring new ones. If you want to grow your business and set yourself apart from other ecommerce stores, focus your time and energy on planning, organizing, and delivering top-notch products/services.
What Defines a “High-Quality” Product or Service?
In order to determine if your products/services are considered high-quality, consider the following factors:
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- Test your products/services
- Constantly improve your products/services
- Deliver products/services quickly
- Offer superior customer service, even after delivery
- Offer a great return policy
- Use great product-photography
- Use high-quality materials
- Ensure conformity with market requirements
- Become properly accredited
- Ensure customers’ expectations are fulfilled or exceeded
The only way to sustain sales, gain competitive advantage, and create loyal customers is by consistently offering high-quality products and services that achieve customer satisfaction.
As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.
To learn more about National Small Business Week, visit https://www.sba.gov/nsbw/about
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