Whether just starting out or with some experience behind you, every business reaches a point where it seems it no longer advances as easily, quickly, or adventurously. It happens to everyone, not just the smaller ones. That is why we decided to create a small guide on how to give a boost to businesses stuck in a rut.
1. Rethink the marketing budget
Traditional marketing techniques no longer have the impact they once did. Neither printed ads, nor radio-TV ads, nor even pay-per-click ads bring the same number of visitors as before. Brian Downard created a small study, and his results are conclusive:
• 13% of those browsing a printed publication pay attention to the ads. (Source: AYTM)
• 44% of mail flyers are not opened (Source: Mashable)
• 86% of people change the channel during TV commercials (Source: Mashable)
• 70-80% of internet users do not pay attention to paid ads appearing in search results (Source: Search Engine Journal).
The internet is increasingly used by those who want to make a purchase, searching online for information and stores where they can buy. So customers also come on their own initiative looking for the product.
Invest your budget in this area, not to hunt customers. Attract them properly.
2. Offer valuable things that do not diminish over time
Generally, people look for the latest information. If you are not in the news field, and your clients/visitors are interested in quality rather than novelty, you must offer them value. This can be blog articles, ebooks, graphics, infographics, tutorials, studies, and analyses.
Even though these valuable things take a bit more time to create, they are more valuable than those that appear much more frequently.
3. Take advantage of every opportunity to obtain contact information
In other words, promote yourself at every opportunity.
Every business is different, both in terms of promotion/sales methods and customer habits and buying patterns. What is important is that you are the first thing that comes to a person's mind when they decide to make a new purchase. If it is about low-priced articles/products, quantity will benefit you. If it is about a product or service with a higher price and purchased less often, it matters that the buyer comes to you. Every sale counts.
If you have a website, make sure you have a newsletter subscription box. If you have a physical store, you can offer the possibility to leave an email address or phone number. All these data can then be used in email marketing or SMS campaigns.
At any meeting you attend, connect with people, offer business cards, ask for their information to then send them a thank-you or greeting email.
See also 7 ways to create customer loyalty (online)
4. Use social networks
Social networks have experienced great expansion in the field of promotion. Businesses have caught this trend and have started to use it more and more.
Analyze and carefully select the social network or networks that best fit your business. Done properly, growing the account/page on these networks takes a bit longer, but they are better and more productive.
5. Connect with opinion leaders
Opinion leaders are those who have many admirers or many people who consider them a trendsetter or an emblem. In every field, there are such people. It can be an authority in the field or a site unanimously recognized as a true source of reliable and trustworthy information.
Most of the time, such opinion leaders are hard to approach, especially if you have nothing to offer in return. That is why you need to reach a certain level yourself and offer at least something in exchange.
6. Use everything you have obtained so far
If you have accounts on multiple social networks, if you have many newsletter subscribers, many active customers, or have successfully completed numerous projects, boast about them. People tend to follow each other, believing this way they will be safe. This herd mentality also works online, people being more willing to leave their email address or like a page if they see many others have done so before them.
7. Learn from others
You don't have to steal. Just get inspired. Every business has, as I always say, its own path, its own road to success. But we can get inspired by those who succeeded and adapt their strategy to our business. The more we inform ourselves, the more we see success recipes for others, the more we shape our own.
Read also Innovation - the path to business success
Developing a business is not an easy task. There are always things to learn, things to try, and things to improve. But perseverance and tenacity are what matter.
