Tons of successful marketing strategies are out there, yet do these strategies work for all businesses? Especially local businesses? Not quite. Local businesses have smaller budgets and find it very painful to set money aside for marketing. But you can spend less money on marketing while still increasing brand awareness and customer acquisition.
We have designed and email marketing course with you in mind! We want you to be able to grow your customer base while still marketing your business cost effectively.
Here are some snippets from the course….
Utilizing postcards
Let’s say you want to build awareness of your business and encourage people to come to your store by offering something special – like a free entrée, 25% off a service, or a special new customer price. Nail down the specifics of your discounts, including expiration dates, exclusions, and discount codes.
Write up a few attention-grabbing headlines. Create a few bullet point items to clarify services or products offered.
Leveraging social media
Who do you want to reach? Is it young, hip teens? You’ll want to learn about Instagram – fast. More interested in moms? Start pinning on Pinterest! Busy career people more your type? Learn to love LinkedIn. Looking at the demographics of the top social channels will help you figure out where your customers and potential customers are. Take a look at some recent demographic breakdown and find your target.
Website best practices
A website is only effective when it motivates visitors to action. What is the action you want them to take? Is that painfully clear on every page? It should be. Think of Geiko’s “Fifteen minutes can save you 15% on car insurance” campaign. It’s always accompanied by a call to action (click or call).
Do you show up in local search?!
Google+ local listings! Locate, claim, and fill out your listing completely (it’s very likely one exists, even if you didn’t create it).
Embed a Google local map somewhere on your website (ideally, the contact page) to help Google connect your listing and your site. Not just any map showing your location will do. Get your listing map by searching for your business on Google Maps, click on the “link” button and copy and paste the HTML for your website.
The power of email marketing & direct mail
According to Direct Marketing Association, in 2012, the average response rate for direct mail was 4.4%, compared to just .12% for email. What about cost per lead? The 2012 DMA Response Rate Report shows that direct mail has the lowest cost-per-lead compared to pay-per-click, print, telemarketing or email.
So, while email and other online marketing strategies are a must in today’s digital age, postcards are still an effective and inexpensive way to boost sales. As our mailboxes become more and more empty and our email boxes more full, take advantage of this simple way to stand out!
There are so many marketing tactics out their you can be using for your business. Now is the time to get on your marketing game and attract new customers. You can easily learn more with our best practices marketing course.