A successful business does not necessarily have to have multiple rounds of funding, inch towards an IPO, or become a unicorn. It does not have to expand and scale up exponentially. Developing the right marketing strategies for small businesses and a pragmatic approach helps a small business to thrive.
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What Is A Small Business
In India, a small business is usually understood as a micro or small enterprise, which does not have an investment beyond Rs 10 crore, and a turnover beyond Rs 50 crore. The metrics in terms of workforce, revenue, expense, profits, etc. would marginally vary depending on the industry, locale, etc. Typically, a small business is characterized by individual entrepreneurs or a close-knit circle of founders and operators. Usually, there is not too much product diversification.
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Chances are a small business would not be able to afford a big budget for marketing. Given that their team is probably small-sized, they would also face additional challenges such as time shortage to implement ideas, needing to take time to see the efficacy of strategies, etc. Marketing strategies for small businesses would have to be mindful of budgets and focus on maximizing sales.
Introducing 8 Marketing Strategies To Scale Up Your Businesses
Marketing strategies for small businesses would have to be mindful of budgets and focus on maximizing sales. Here are some quick marketing ideas that have a proven history of success that you need to incorporate into your small business.
- Identifying A Buyer Persona
- Referrals and Word Of Mouth
- Stick To Goals
- Continue To Sell To Existing Customers
- Market With Good Content
- Social Media Marketing
- Reach Out
- Brand Yourself
Identifying A Buyer Persona
Building a buyer persona based on demographics such as age, culture, nationality, gender, and preferences helps you target whom to attack. This important homework sets the right tone for your marketing activities.
Your website should be customized according to the demographics of your target audience and does not have to be too general. This is helpful when you’re targeting a client base from a specific location, culture, or age category. An optimum website is likely to reward you with good quality leads.
Referrals and Word Of Mouth
As a small business, much of your initial sales are boosted by happy customers who then serve to multiply your network of users. When you provide value, make sure you capitalize on it by asking for referrals. Having an incentivized referral program is one of the fastest ways to increase sales.
You can also listen to our podcast on How to stand out as a small business in the big market by Vani Gupta.
Stick To Goals
It’s important to stay focused on the exact goals you wish to achieve. For a small business, this should ideally revolve around maximizing sales and lead generation. Efforts toward brand visibility and customer engagement should be prioritized accordingly.
Continue To Sell To Existing Customers
If you’ve had the opportunity to satisfy a customer with one of your products, do not stop there. This is a win and capitalizes upon it by sending your customer newsletters with discounts, offers, product launches, etc. Use your existing customers for testimonials, referrals, and recommendations to get them to market your business. You can also read our guide on how you can build the first 100 customers for your business.
Market With Good Content
To create the impression that you know what you are talking about, post useful and relevant content. This does not even require a content team if you’re starting very small. Use your knowledge to produce a small article that you can get edited and published on your website blog. Combine email marketing with good content in the form of newsletters to your email database. Good content plays an important role in building trust and forming a relationship with the brand.
You can also listen to Amit Ray Founder of CrazyTok on content marketing for small businesses and solopreneurs.
Social Media Marketing
Using social media to market yourself is an inevitable part of marketing today. Take to the platforms that best suit your target audience, whether LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or TikTok. You may want to prioritise visual content such as videos, creatives and infographics since those are consumed much more than textual content. You can make this process very easy by creating a social media content calendar that works for your business.
A great way to up your reach would be to reach out to influencers on different social media platforms. Influencers are a great short-term way to promote your brand and increase visibility and sales.
Post regularly and remember to engage with your audience. Respond to their comments, participate in conversations, and take in their ideas. Some of the most authentic ideas for your business’s growth can be found in stray comments that people post in social media.
Reach Out
Nothing helps scale up your business as much as reaching out with value to offer. Reach out to prospective and potential customers by organizing a webinar that offers relevant knowledge and is closely linked with your product. Connect with another company to see if you can collaborate or co-market with them to accelerate your visibility. if your business is locally based, team up with other businesses in and around your area and co-market to attract footfalls. Make your merchandise visible and accessible to everyone.
Apply to any award that you are eligible for. An award winning company enjoys a host of benefits including brand authenticity and trust.
Brand Yourself
As your business’s owner, you are a big part of your brand. You are among its primary human interfaces, and represent your company everywhere, whether to capitalists, customers, potential employees or the media. Build a powerful narrative so you can use your personality to sell your brand better and stronger.
Marketing strategies for small businesses should be optimised and tailored to factors such as the target clientele, size of business, industry domain, categories of product, and marketing outcomes. These don’t necessarily require a big budget and can make a big difference in a business’s functioning.
In conclusion, marketing is the most important aspect of any kind of business, whether small or big. It is always evolving as a result of the addition of knowledge, the advancement of technology, the increasing market competition, etc. Developing the right marketing strategies can take your business to the next level and make it stand out from the crowd. It helps you take each step in your business with clarity and intensity.
