As business owners reflect back on 2017, marketing has proven to be one of the more challenging aspects for small enterprises. With small business owners holding so many responsibilities, marketing is often deprioritized, and when a business cannot fully commit to delivering high-quality content, it is unlikely to win new customers.
Fortunately, there are common underlying reasons for why so many businesses faced marketing challenges this year, as identified by business software developers and advisors, Sage. So, if you struggled with marketing your business effectively this year, or are planning to start a small business in 2018, here are five tips to help you manage your marketing campaigns more efficiently.
Trust AI
Three of the five marketing challenges of 2017 were a lack of resources (finances, people and time), difficult improving online visibility, and producing content. However, this year has also seen the rise of affordable applications capable of completing repetitive business tasks. For instance, invoice applications automatically create and bill customers after a project has been completed, saving you time doing admin and chasing debt, freeing up cash flow in the process, while marketing applications can create and publish content for you based on how users have engaged with previous ads.
Offer a Premium Service
Small business owners frequently fall into the trap of going too low with their prices, inadvertently giving the impression that their service is low-quality. Instead, investing in a quality website or store front is the more effective means of giving clients confidence. Ensure websites are mobile friendly, intuitive and invest in SEO to ensure your website is visible on search engines.
Once you have won that first premium client, testimonies and using their logo (with their permission) is an excellent way to punctuate your site, store and marketing material and convince potential customers.
E-mail Marketing Gives the Greatest ROI
As important as social media marketing has become, e-mail campaigns remain the most effective way of winning new, long-term clients, with an immense ROI of 4,300 percent. Yet, in 2017, business owners struggled to get clients to sign up to their mailing list.
Users interested in your services want to know about the latest deals and offers, so the best way to garner that interest is to write a blog. The more quality material you publish, the more users will associate your brand with quality. Use a mailing service to include an obvious, yet non-invasive pop-up on your website, and offer users purchase incentives for signing up.
Make Staying Informed a Key Aspect of Your Business’ Values
Staying informed of industry best practices can be difficult when other tasks have more immediate priorities. Yet, doing so is not only a great way to overcome the challenges of 2017, but to spot any future challenges, also. So, make staying informed a criterion of the job for employees and meet regularly to share ideas that might make the business more efficient. Even sole traders can benefit by hiring a virtual assistant to provide them with regular reports, meaning they can use their own time more wisely.
Conclusion
By delegating responsibilities to your teams and automating tasks, you will not only be able to use technology to make your marketing campaigns more effective, but free up time and resources in other areas, allowing you to implement a healthier and more confident business model.
