1. Reel In Customers With Incentives
Depending on the size of your community, there could be many other options for services just like yours. So how do you attract new customers? Everyone wants a deal, and special promotions are a great way to satisfy that want. While a successful promotion might cut into your profits, it could also bring new customers through your doors. Just remember to strike a balance between your pricing needs and your customer’s perception of a good deal. Marriage-mail providers such as Valpak allow you to pick households by zip code and send your coupons through the mail, whereas companies like Boostability provide similar online marketing services for brands looking to tap into their local markets.
2. Stay in Touch
It might seem obvious, but you should make efforts to keep in touch with your loyal clientele. While we can’t recommend a “one-size-fits-all” protocol of how often to call, email or place coupons in the mail, ask yourself, “At which point do I become annoyed by businesses that contact me?” The answer should determine how often communications should be sent by your business. Customers like to be remembered, but they don’t want to be annoyed. Good service is worth talking about, and courteous customer service can build a great word-of-mouth following.
3. Make Use of Social Networking
In addition to creating a website for your business, consider creating business pages and profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and any other social networks you find suitable. Once your pages are all set up, make sure you stay on top of them by responding to customer inquiries and posting valuable and relevant updates. This will help you build a following. And even if the immediate recipient of your social media marketing isn’t buying what you’re selling, he or she can still easily share your offer with someone they know.
4. Stock Up on Business Cards
Business cards are still valuable. They can be an extremely fruitful means of marketing for small businesses. You can network with other local businesses and ask if you can leave a stack of cards in their lobbies, or you can simply pass them out to other business owners at networking events. Business cards are handy and can be passed from customer to customer in a way that’s similar to word-of-mouth advertising. As of this article’s publication date, Vistaprint and GotPrint both offer 500 business cards for under $10.
5. Connect With the Community
Be kind to your neighbors, and don’t approach your community with the outdated “competitive advantage” business model. Other established local businesses have their own clientele. So if you treat these businesses with respect, and since they may be only able to handle a certain amount of clientele, they may just refer some clients to your services. A promising way to connect with your community is to be involved in the local Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce. These assemblies can connect you with other businesses that embrace cooperative interaction.
6. Get in the News
Being featured in the news is one of the best ways to garner free advertising for your company. Sometimes, depending on the size of your community, simply putting up a new sign is enough to get you in the news. If not, you may need to do something more newsworthy, such as donating to a charity or holding a community event. If you decide to do this, it’s imperative that you are sincere with your donation and believe in your cause; if not, potential customers will question your motivation and may decide not to do business with you. If you do donate to a charity, pick the right one, and consider teaming up with another local business to coordinate a charitable event. Leveraging the right kind of charities in the right ways can help your business while also helping a cause.
7. Compete Based on Value, Not Price
Competitive markets typically see contenders engaging in price wars. However, savvy service businesses know that lowering rates is a waste, since customers usually opt for the provider that offers the most value for the price. As such, to achieve optimum value, consider a bundling strategy. An example of an industry that relies on bundling is fast food, which incorporates popular items into less-expensive meal combinations while still maintaining profits. In service businesses, since inventory costs are usually not your primary concern, you can bundle additional services and drastically enhance your offer.
These are just a few simple ways to get your marketing off the ground. Ultimately, the success of your marketing campaigns will be dictated by the quality of your offerings and your ability to communicate that quality to your target market. Not all marketing techniques will work with every target market, so test your methods until you find an effective strategy, and go big on that strategy until something even better comes along.
