Many small businesses take marketing into their own hands instead of outsourcing. It can seem complicated, but with the right plan, you can run your marketing in-house, even with limited experience. To make the most of your marketing, consider these six tips.
1. Use Online and Offline Techniques
Make the best of the different marketing worlds by simultaneously using online and offline techniques. Offline techniques, such as posting flyers on community bulletin boards or renting out billboards, still work for small businesses, especially locally. Online marketing is rising and includes emphasizing your social media presence, generating traffic to your website through search engine optimization, and implementing email campaigns. If you plan to use email marketing, ensure your subject line is attention-grabbing. Otherwise, customers won’t feel compelled to open the email.
2. Test Out Different Marketing Channels
There are generally three categories of marketing channels: communication, service, and distribution. Each has a different intention. For example, if you’re trying to get traffic to your website, you might want to use SEO strategies. Statistics show that 97% more likely, people will learn about your business online than offline, so focusing on this communication channel can be essential. Suppose you’re trying to easily and quickly sell a product or service. In that case, you’d use the distribution and service channels, focusing your marketing efforts on the packaging, product promotions, and the production-to-customer pipeline. Depending on your methods, you could use a combination of channels. Live events, for example, can be a mix of communication and distribution if you showcase your brand and sell your products.
3. Use a Stand-Out Design
Whether you use online or offline techniques, your marketing has to be eye-catching, memorable, and true to your brand. On social media pages, use a banner. A graphic designer can create your banner for hire, but you can save money by designing it yourself with an online banner creator. The right site will offer a variety of customizable templates that can be easily posted on your website or social media pages.
4. Connect With Your Customers
Figuring out the right messaging can be tricky because it’s about text and subtext. You say just as much as what’s written between the lines. However, you can make the most of your marketing by directly connecting with your customers. Get to know your customers through surveys, polls, and one-on-one conversations. They’ll make it easier to figure out your messaging.
5. Budget Your Time
Marketing takes effort. Cut out chunks of time to dedicate to marketing, where you work on email campaigns, update social media accounts, write blog posts, and more. It can be tricky to budget your time as a business owner, but investing in your marketing department will be worthwhile.
6. Use Data Analytics
The only way to know if your marketing methods are worth the trouble is to track results. For example, you can use a customer relationship management system to analyze traffic to your website and help you figure out where to focus your marketing efforts. CRM is a powerful tool that helps you manage all your business interactions, from customers to vendors. Just make sure you plan for its implementation to be easy to use.
Marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. Once you figure out what channels to focus on and what tools to use, you can run your marketing department easily. Learn more about how to make CRM work for you and your marketing efforts at CRMside.com.
