At POP, small businesses are our bread and butter. We love helping these entrepreneurs succeed in Southwest Virginia. Small businesses make up a little under half the US economy, but well over half don’t last more than 10 years. So, we’re celebrating National Small Business Week with a few keys to small business marketing.
A Note On Small Businesses
Here are some staggering statistics:
- In year one, About 20% of small businesses fail.
- By year 5, that grows to 50 %
- By year 10, 70% have closed.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most common reasons businesses fail are money management issues, lack of demand, and poor marketing.
I can’t help with demand or money management (but I know a guy!), but I am here to help with your marketing needs. While I always recommend talking to a reputable marketing agency, I write most of my blogs for people who aren’t ready to do that yet.
So here are a few things to remember when marketing your small business.
Use the Right Small Business Marketing Tools
Never in history have more tools been available to businesses to market themselves to consumers. There was a time when you would need to take out an ad in the paper, magazine, or local TV or radio station to be seen.
You had to spend big money to hit a large target and hope some of them were interested.
That’s no longer true today. With websites, social media, and PPC ads, you can target your perfect customers for relatively little. But that doesn’t mean every tool will get you where you want to go.
Websites
Your website is the perfect place to let people know all the basics about your company. If there’s one major key to small business marketing, it’s your site.
What some people get wrong with their site is not striking the right balance.
You need enough words so that the search engines think you’re relevant and people can understand who you are. You also need the right visuals to grab people’s attention when they first arrive on your site.
Finally, you need a friendly interface.
There are some decent tools to help you build a starter site on your own but to make yourself more visible; I highly recommend talking to an online marketing company to set you up, especially for the SEO aspect of it.
SEO
While many of the DIY web builders can make a site look ok, where they lack is verbiage and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s essential that you have the right words in the right number in the right places.
If you insist on doing a site yourself, bet a pro to at least give you an SEO audit; if not, improve your site’s SEO. For continual SEO improvement, you should include blogs.
Blogs
Blogs are a chance to dive deep into a particular subject, answer common customer questions, or share what makes your way of doing things differently.
Share things that interest you and your customers and try to frame them with the idea, “How would someone Google this?”
Social Media Posts
You can have a lot of fun with social media. Just ensure that whoever does it for your company understands your company standards. And always post with an audience in mind.
Ask yourself, Is it entertaining? Is it informative? Is it useful? Does it help your clients get to know you? If the answer to all is no, it’s probably not a good social post.
Even if the answer is yes, it still ahs other bars to meet. There’s too much to get into here, but check out some of our blogs on social or our Facebook page!
Ads
Finally, there are ads. If you’re specifically working on lead generation, ads are a great way to go. However, you need some of the other tools in place for ads to be at their most effective.
Typically, an ad will send someone to a dialable number, your site, or your social page. Wherever it sends people, they’ll probably do more research first. And if you don’t have a decent online presence, you may lose the sale and waste money on the ad.
While all these tools can help you, don’t use the right strategy in the wrong place. Long social posts are ignored, and salesy ones make people unfollow you. Stick to ads for that.
Don’t Pretend to Be Something You’re Not
Small businesses provide nearly half the private sector jobs in the country and a large chunk of GDP. They contribute to their local communities and help them succeed. There’s a lot to be proud of for small businesses!
So why is it that some businesses want to pretend they’re bigger than they are? †
It’s natural to want to present yourself as successful and capable. But the best way to do that is with one of my favorite buzzwords – authenticity.
In my February Marketing is Matchmaking blog, I shared how, as a marketer, my job is to help you present well to people who are looking for someone just like you. If you’re doing your own marketing, you should do the same.
Do you have excellent customer service? Focus on that!
Are you the cheapest in town? Bargain shoppers will want to know!
Voted Best in Roanoke? You’ll definitely want to show that off.
Whatever your strengths, don’t be shy. But likewise, don’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, be yourself to your ideal customer.
