When a new small or mid-sized business is joining the business competition, they need to ensure a constant presence in the online environment.
If you’ve been only a user of online services and not a creator, you’ll have to learn how to think like a marketer.
Even though business trends are changing in online surroundings, some principles remain the same for all online players.
We’re going to discuss them in the following few paragraphs.
1. Rely on email marketing
Email marketing remains a strong digital marketing tool.
In that light, one of the key tasks for new SMB-owners is to populate their email list.
For starters, add a registration form to your website. Nudge your leads to register to your website by offering them some discounts, free services or valuable newsletters from the niche. The more email addresses you obtain that way, the better for your email list.
As this list is growing, it’s time to learn how to write different types of emails. Some emails you send to your registered users will only promote your business and offer valuable information, while others will be sales emails.
If you don’t have enough time to deal with email marketing, do your homework and find reliable providers of email marketing services and let them do a part of this job for you.
2. Compare with your rivals
Starting out in the online business environment is easier when you have a point of reference.
When you know how your potential rivals attract their customers, you can prepare yourself to outperform them.
Google is a good starting point. When you enter the services you’d like to provide, you’ll see what Google gives you on the first page. Pay attention to the first few links and identify the keywords these companies use. For instance, if you search ‘electrician in New York’, note down the additional value these professionals give to potential clients. Some might claim to be responsive, while others might offer some additional repairing services for free or with a discount.
You can differentiate from them by using your services or products at more affordable rates or by offering free shipping (for products) or other attractive deals. Also, testimonials from any notable previous clients can help you make a difference in the market.
3. Implement authentic visuals
You can often hear that content is king, and that well-written content is a crucial marketing feature. While this is correct, if you don’t enrich your first-class content with exclusive visuals, you’ll miss the target.
So, SMB-owners need to include as many authentic visuals as possible in their marketing strategy.
You can start with photos taken exclusively for your website, blog, and social media posts. Reduce the number of images you download from stock websites and rely on your own visual forces.
Posting photos of your offices to your website will add to your reputation. Both your rivals and customers will be curious to see what your business premises look like. Such transparency will raise your online reputation, as well as lift the trustworthiness of your venture.
Also, give your business more personality by posting your employees’ photos to the website, blog, and other online channels.
Create your own infographics, illustrations, and graphs to make your content more appealing. It’s good to know that there are different types of infographics for various marketing goals.
4. Pay attention to the local audience
SMBs significantly increase their business perspective if they pay attention to the local audience.
Even businesses aiming at the national or international level should start from the local context, especially if they’re providing services.
For starters, use the following benefits of registering to Google My Business:
Better local visibility. Your local audience will find you more easily if you use this feature.
Reviews left by local people. The more satisfied users of your services leave their reviews, the more new clients you’ll have. Note: take into account negative reviews and improve your services.
Visibility on Google Maps. When a customer finds your business, they can click on the Direction button and see how to get to you; a valuable detail that makes a difference, especially with a photo of your business premises taken from the street.
Adding contact details. When you add your website, full address, and phone number, you significantly the probability that people will contact you.
5. Polish up the website features
The website is both the end and starting point of every digital marketing effort. No matter how good other features mentioned in this article are, if your website is not well organized, you won’t rank well among the business competition.
For starters, be aware that you don’t need an expensive or shiny website. As illustrated by designers from a Houston web design company, your website should directly answer the questions that its visitors may have. This means that landing pages need to contain accurate information responding to the visitors’ requests.
Also, make sure that the homepage contains all the relevant information about your services and products, such as different packages, prices, and delivery options, if any.
Your visitors should easily move to different sections, clearly highlighted on the homepage. Navigating around the website should be as smooth as possible. Every page needs to have a homepage button. It’s practical to add social media buttons to your blog posts and pages with products, if you sell any.
Before you launch your website, make sure to test it, so that you and the designers remove any bugs and let your visitors have a top-notch website at their disposal.
These first steps of new SMB-owners in the digital surroundings can trace the route of the entire business. If these first moves are played well, it’s more likely that you’ll start generating customers and revenues very soon. So, check out what your rivals are doing, populate your email list, and use in-house visuals to make an impact on the market. Combined with a tested and content-rich website, you’ll be able to equally successfully address the local and wider audience. All these features will help your business get a stronger online presence and take an important place on the business map.
