Effective marketing is one of the most important tools of a successful small business. From building brand awareness to acquiring leads and sales, marketing is absolutely invaluable. The three tips below are easy to follow for small businesses, and are an effective way to increase revenue!

Know Your Customer

Many successful businesses will paint a picture of their perfect ideal customer before they’ve even started their marketing campaigns. Once you know exactly who you are targeting (you can even give them a name), you can design a marketing strategy perfectly suited to this ideal customer. This will make your marketing extremely targeted, resulting in a much more successful campaign. Generic marketing designed to cater for all often lacks the impact and results of laser-targeted marketing campaigns.

Deliver Your Message

The form and media of your message all depends on the ideal customer you identified in the first tip. Once you know exactly who you want to receive your message, you can tailor your marketing precisely to this person. For example, it may be more effective to contact a younger audience through social networks and online forums. A traditional direct marketing campaign may be the most effective way to get in contact with home owners with disposable income.

Value Your Customers

It is much easier to sell to existing customers than to acquire new ones. Make sure your aftersales service is excellent; a happy customer is a return customer. It will also help with word-of-mouth about your business. Make sure to capture the details of customers (with a newsletter or through a social networking profile). This means it is easy to keep in contact, keeping your business in the customers mind when they come to make another purchase.

Ask For Feedback

If you do choose to keep in contact with your customers through a mailing list or with Facebook/Twitter, make sure to ask for feedback! Getting feedback from your target market is one of the best ways to improve your marketing, and improve your business overall! Also ask for testimonials and reviews if you feel it appropriate. Reviews on third party websites and testimonials on your own website can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Remember, always make sure to identify the return on investment of each marketing channel you use. You can use phone tracking (a different phone number for each marketing campaign) to accurately gauge the response rate of each medium. You could also use things like unique website URLs and discount codes. Make sure to utilise some way of differentiating between each campaign; this will show you where your best returns are to be found.

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