Introduction
One consistent challenge all small business owners need to face up to is the lack of time. It is common to have your day thrown upside down by a customer’s complaint, a non-delivery or payment failure due to a bad credit position. You will need to immediately jump in and resolve the problem. Whatever you might have been doing gets delayed. Marketing gets most affected by these crises. The marketing which is forced to wait for another day might have been a piece of content you were developing, an email campaign you intended sending or a promotion you needed to develop.
Let’s start this at its most basic. Today every business needs a digital presence. The digital presence might be as simple as appearing, with the correct information, on a Google Maps search or as extensive as a comprehensive digital strategy including extensive content postings, a full social marketing strategy and an advertising presence.
The hacks noted here are focused on ensuring a digital presence at the simple end of that spectrum, things you can do immediately, take as little of your time as possible, yet allowing accurate measurement of costs and return on investment.
Let’s jump straight in.
#1: Optimise Your Google My Business Profile
The first thing you must do is make yourself visible to local searchers. The definition of local will be defined by your business objectives, which might be Belville, or Cape Town or the Western Cape. To get that correct you must optimise your Google Business Profile. Its free and simple to do. A simple Google search for ”update my google business profile” will tell you exactly what you must do.
This is essential. Nothing speaks so badly of your business as having old, or incorrect information rising from a Google search.
And it’s free to do.
Make yourself correctly known now.
#2: Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)
It is important to understand the world of digital marketing. It is about communities. First you need to build those communities, and LinkedIn is a great place to start. LinkedIn offers two routes, building your own personal brand and a company page. Those two strategies should work together. Once both pages are in place you invite people to connect with you. To keep your pages interesting and forming the communities the post refers to, you must keep the site fun and relevant. It is an ideal place to post blogs and develop a content framework. And if you don’t like blogging simple sharing content generated by others works well too. Either way you create an interesting place for your network, building your personal profile at no cost and with a low time requirement.
But leveraging content can be extended by asking your customers to share their content, such as photos or videos of them using your product or service.
That share location might be social media, your company LinkedIn pages, your company website or on social media.
And you can share the quality content to your own social media pages. It a great way to recognise and reward loyal customers. You might even go further and reward certain businesses by offering discounts or special prices based upon their contribution to your own digital presence.
That will build loyalty towards you and a greater community around your business.
#3: Craft Compelling Email Subject Lines
Email remains the most cost-effective communication channel available. It does require an investment to set up an Email Marketing Platform (ESP). And requires you to set up a mailing list. And someone must do the work. But once it is set up it is extremely cost effective to run. It’s an investment worth making.
You must get the recipient to read the email. And a great subject line is critical. A good subject line must introduce the email in a way which the reader will find interesting. The subject line must be concise, specific, focus on immediate value or problem solving and create urgency or curiosity. If you personalise it is even better as people do tend to read emails addressed personally.
And of course, email campaigns are best run with a proper CRM system and a up to date database. Thus, email marketing takes a little longer and needs focus to implement effectively.
#4: Run a Limited-Time Social Media Flash Sale or Offer
Limited flash sales are also a good tool to use. Firstly, they are immediate, and it is easy to evaluate the investment against the return. Secondly, it’s easy to test. If it works, do it again. If it does not try something else. The key question with an instant offer is where do you put it? The ideal would be as a call to action on your website, on an advertising communication or perhaps on your social media postings.
This is highly impactful, cost effective and the success is highly measurable, but it requires slightly longer for the email process to be set up.
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#5: Ask for Referrals
Asking for referrals is very similar to hack #2 as you will be adding to your community. You will get better participation and thus results if you reward your network. You can offer special prices, a discount or a prize . And the reality that every new email address or telephone number you get comes from a satisfied customer is of real value. This is another quick, simple to implement and simple to measure the success of tactic.
Most importantly it will grow the involvement of your community and add to your customer loyalty.
Conclusion
They key thing with tactics of this nature is they must fit the overall business strategy.
And every tactic employed in the execution must be consistent with that. It’s not about offering cheaper prices but building and rewarding your network and adding to your community. It gives satisfied customers the opportunity to stand with you.
And its an easy, quick and uncomplicated tactic to execute.
Remember no tactic works if it is not executed. So KISS rules.
All these hacks will add to your digital presence which a Google search will quickly reveal.
And a great entry point to a marketing journey for any business.
About Garth Sutherland
You’re a busy business owner, not a marketing manager. Your focus is on customers and operations, not wrestling with marketing strategies. I’m Garth Sutherland, and with vast experience in the marketing solutions available to small businesses, I understand what it takes to drive growth. My background, spanning both local and international brands, has equipped me with a strong strategic focus for marketing delivery. I know you need action and results, not just elaborate plans.
If the insights shared in the blog above (and others at www.smallbusinessmarketing.co.za) resonate with you and highlight a solution that would add value to your business, then you’re in the right place. As a fractional marketing consultant, I don’t just develop actionable marketing plans for your business; I crucially manage their execution. This frees you up to do what you do best: build your business, without the added overwhelm.
Ready to achieve your personal and business goals?
Contact me, Garth Sutherland, today for a direct conversation about your growth challenges:
- Email: garth@smallbusinessmarketing.co.za
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/garthrsutherland/
- Call: +27 (0) 81 265 5803
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