Congratulations, you have just finished the foundations for setting up your business, so don’t let all that hard work go to waste simply because you didn’t market it! Marketing your business is fundamentally one of the most crucial things you can do to help it grow and see an income start to come in, but where do you start?
Every business has to start somewhere; below are some ideas to get you started on how to market your business for growth.
Develop a brand
Spend a lot of time developing your brand and improving as it is such an essential part of marketing your business. It is not just about having a pretty logo; it is also about how your customers view your business. Remember your brand is your representation, and you want do everything you can do to help you stand out from other businesses.
Market Research
To be able to market your business you first need to know who your target audience is. Who is likely to buy your products? Who is likely to come back again and again, and why would they buy your products compared to competitors?
Once you have an idea about who your target audience is, you can start on the next step of finding out how to reach them. There are a few different ways that you can reach them, including a website, a blog, and advertising.
Set Up A Website
Although this may seem obvious, set up a website that is SEO friendly, and you will be able to attract customers from all over the world, not just from where you are locally based. This is because unlike your store or office, your website is available 24/7, 365 days of the year.
People live very busy lives and quite often don’t have the time or want to drag themselves from one store to the other trying to find what they need. Instead, they would much rather sit in the comfort of their own home and find their products a lot easier, faster and more conveniently. So, if you provide them with the option to buy online, you haven’t lost a customer, and potentially gain many more.
Blog
You could consider setting up a blog on your website, which would allow your customers to get to know you more and see that you are a company they can trust. You will be able to interact with them more and create a buzz around your business that will get people talking about you, especially if you have great content available.
Social Media and Networking
The social media world plays a massive part in businesses, not just everyone’s personal lives. By creating social media accounts for your business, you are likely to attract more customers and drive traffic to your website, gaining the opportunity to make a sale. Something you could consider doing is partnering up with a social media influencer who will be able to attract even more people by labeling you as a credible company. If you get people talking about your brand, you are making yourself stand out which could result in sales and your business grow tremendously.
A tip to remember is that you don’t have to just talk about your business either, using social media gives you the chance to get to know your customers better, and vice versa, so post regularly and keep in touch with them. There are lots of ways you can interact with your customers such as:
- Free Giveaways
- Competitions
- Q&A’s
Seek Professional Advice
If you are struggling with marketing your business, something to consider is hiring a digital marketing agency to do the work for you. A digital marketing agency St Louis, for example, will help you to grow your business; whether it’s focused on an SEO campaign, content marketing or PPC advertising, the experts will create a tailored marketing plan that will be unique for you.
Reviews
Once you have a marketing plan in place, remember that you need to make a good impression from the very first day as reviews can be the making or breaking of a business. Getting those customers to your business is a great start, but you need to keep it up and increase it. If you provide excellent customer service and continue to put them first, you are making a good impression. Your customers will leave great testimonials, and it shows to other potential customers that you are a reliable service they can trust.
