It’s not always easy to spread brand awareness as a small business. Just the effort to run your business consumes lots of time. However, by neglecting the marketing aspects, you risk falling behind your competitors. We’ll show you a few ways to avoid that horrible fate with these simple strategies.
Carve Out a Legitimate Niche
There’s no such thing as a business dilettante. You have to develop your specific spot and zero in on it. It’s not enough to be “Joe’s Generic Auto Dealership.” You’re much better off honing in on a niche/local approach with something specific like your town’s name and perhaps a specific maker (Honda, Toyota, Jeep) or vehicle style (SUVs, motorcycles, European sedans).
Emphasize Stronger Relationships
One reason we encourage local Sarasota businesses to join the Alliance is that businesses really do benefit from stronger relationships, in both B2B and B2C contexts. That’s another way of saying you must put a concerted effort into bolstering relationships. Whether that means attending networking events or offering discounts to loyal followers, every modicum of effort matters.
Practice Having a Better Online Presence
Besides having a strong company website, your social media presence is a real maker or breaker, almost irrespective of your industry. This doesn’t mean you have to chase down every social platform and become an expert tomorrow. Your best approach is to begin small by doing things like actually responding to negative customer feedback. Many businesses do not do this either from a lack of time or it’s just not on their radar. Nevertheless, this is a crucial way to resolve conflicts, address product delivery shortcomings, and . . . eliminate further negative remarks.
Make Sure Your Website Does Its Job
How does a website do its job? You know it’s working when it serves as the online headquarters for your business and traffic director for shuttling new clients toward key services. If you haven’t already, it’s smart to partner with someone who knows the inner dynamics of search engine optimization (SEO) and other web mechanics. Done correctly, this can make a tremendous difference in sales volume.
Formulate an Effective Email Marketing Approach
Besides the website and social media components, it’s also prudent to put together a solid email newsletter for your business. There’s a fine art to this where you can generate customer interest with targeted emails without violating spam legislation.
These are a few starting points for better business marketing, but there are plenty of other strategies. If you’re ready to take your marketing game to the next level, then you’ll fit in well with the SRQ Business Alliance. Contact us anytime to learn much more about small business networking in Sarasota.