proven marketing ideas that will drive more customers to your local business.
Running a business is all about taking risks, and your input dictates the output you get. It is your job to put your business out there. Marketing is crucial for the success of any business, but what matters is how you go about it. Aggressive marketing could work, but smart marketing works better and has proven to be very useful in driving more customers to your business. Prospects and customers these days take a keen interest in marketing strategies used by companies. This means the more creative you are at selling your brand while being brief, remaining relevant, and offering them a more personalized experience is the trick to nailing it. Let us take a look at proven marketing ideas that will drive more customers to your local business.
<strong>informative videos</strong>
Video sharing networks were established mainly to inform and to entertain people. Over the years, we have all witnessed how these popular video sharing networks are generating billions of views. Videos are an excellent medium of entertainment and educating people and are part of the proven marketing ideas that drive customer traffic to your business. However, to make it work, you need to establish your target audience and create brief, informative, and entertaining content relevant to this audience.
The videos should not be solely based on the products or services that you are selling but also to entertain, improve, or make the lives or of your customers and prospects more comfortable. For example, if you are a diaper manufacturer, you can create a short video on how to prevent a child from getting a diaper rash before you embark on selling your brand. This way, your customers and prospects remain educated and yearn to learn more even buy from you. However, be sure to stay consistent in creating such videos.
<strong>Social media marketing</strong>
Currently, social media marketing is one of the most popular brand promotion method. Gone are the days when social media was for the young and updated on the latest trends on technology as adults are deep into it these days. The majority of smartphone users spend most of their time looking at whats trending and connecting with peers and loved ones on social networks, and there is no better way of marketing than putting your brand agenda where the traffic is. However, you need to be sure of your target audience and use the right social network to communicate your message.
The trick is in creating a captivating account and post perfect pictures, short informative and entertaining videos, and attractive posters, which will woe customers and prospects to what to view more.
<strong>Use of gift cards and vouchers</strong>
As a way of offering a personalized and memorable experience to your customers, you can use vouchers and gift cards as a marketing tool. Customers feel good when they are appreciated by business owners as well as gifts and free shopping. The best way to show appreciation to them is by offering coupon deals, vouchers, and gift cards such as <a href=”https://www.vouchercodesuae.com/giftcards/noon-gift-vouchers”>noon gift cards</a> that they can redeem online or in stores. With technological advancements, giving such great deals to customers and prospects has never been easier. Most customers shop online these days, which makes it easy to provide coupon codes and voucher codes to customers.
Be sure to regularly post these gift cards and vouchers including information on how to win them on your social media pages for all your customers and prospects to see.
<strong>Cross-promotion with other businesses</strong>
The same way you are working to sell your brand out there is the same way other local retailers are doing. An ideal way of passing your message to customers without spending a dime is doing cross-promotions. It does not hurt if you and other local retailers market each other but help communicate a powerful message of coexistence and trustworthiness. Your local business could grow but not as big as when you scratch the backs of other local retailers and help them meet their goals.
Cross-promotion is not complicated at all despite the erroneous beliefs and could start by simply exchanging business cards or giving voucher codes and coupon code to customers. This way, your marketing material gets handed out to customers for free, and your promotional partners offer customers a personalized experience. An example of cross-promotion is when a bodybuilding supplements distributor works with a renowned local gym. The fitness studio gives business cards and free bodybuilding supplements from the distributor to their customers, and the distributor, in return, also refers their customers to the gym.
Depending on how renowned the local business you decide to enter into a mutual promotion agreement is, your business gets more customers because they got information about your brand from a credible source.
<strong>Sponsor local events to extend your reach and influence</strong>
One of the best ways of touching customers’ hearts is by supporting a noble cause or a local event. Sponsorship could mean full or partial support of the event financial or by providing services and products required at the event. You get to reach very many people and make a significant impact within a short period compared to how much work and time it takes you to reach out and impact the same number of people on social media.
When you sponsor a local event or a good cause, you give your local business lots of exposure and pave the way for your company to stand out and grow. Besides reaching out to as many people, the idea behind this marketing strategy is not only to outsmart your competitors digging deep into their pockets to pay marketing experts and media houses but to make an impact on those you reach. You do not need a huge budget to stand out as a benefactor to a good cause. It’s all about what you decide to offer. It could be as cost-free as your precious time through volunteering. Prospective customers will select your company over others as a result of the impact you made on them through sponsorship.
<strong>Dishing out DIY infographics</strong>
Humans are ‘visual’ beings, which means they respond better to visual information and content than plain text. All you have to do is master the art of using visual content and use it to your advantage. Customers are always looking to learn new things, and an ideal way of taking advantage is by offering them DIY infographics to drive more customers to your local business. More visual social media platforms are leading and setting the pace in online marketing.
An infographic rich in valuable content designed to attract consumers has the potential to drive massive traffic to your local business. It reveals your brand capability and that you are more into improving your customers’ lives than making money. For example, if you run an ice-cream business, consider making a DIY infographic on how to prepare homemade milkshakes using locally available ingredients. The good thing about infographics is that they compress time and space, making it possible to create as many as possible. An attractive and informative DIY infographic grabs the attention of your audience, keeping them glued to their smartphone or PC screens. They also feel the need to share information with friends, family, and colleagues.
<strong>Treating employees like royalty</strong>
Employees are your ambassadors when it comes to promoting your business. Laying down workers, overworking them, or underpaying them could make you more profits but is a direct highway the demise of yrou business. Make no such mistakes as your employees are your VIPs, and you should find ways to show it.
Employees interact with customers more than you do at work, at home, or while running other errands. The grassroots of most one on one referrals start with employees. Even if you compromise the quality of your products and services, employees will always be willing and feel obliged to put in the right word for your business.
You do not have to execute a pay rise every six months or reduce working hours and hours to make your employees feel important. You can start by getting a nearby company to spread your VIP treatment to your employees. For example, you can get a nearby eatery to offer a free dessert or a special discount for your employees. In return, you could also offer a discount or free shipping to all their employees when they shop from you.
The VIP treatment could be from your own company as well. You can offer them free shipping, bonuses, transport, or lunch not only to make them appreciated and happy to work with you but also to turn them into brand emissaries.
<strong>Taking part in trade shows</strong>
How best you understand your target audience determines how successful your business becomes. The ideal and fun way to do this is to participate in trade shows. Trade shows offer the perfect opportunity for customers to seek your business, and without a trade show, this is unlikely to happen. When it comes to purchasing products and services, they will settle for your competitors as they are familiar with them from trade shows. Note that, at trade show promotions, you could get to make sales or your products and services.
Trade show promotions offer an ideal opportunity to present your services and products to a broader audience, offer goodwill, impress prospects, and improve your brand. All kinds of customers are present in trade shows, some of whom did not have knowledge about your type of services or products, but since you are casting your nets wide, you can bait more than you expected.
The growth or the demise of your local business is not a concern to any of your customers, especially if you got competitors, so it is your sole responsibility to be creative and promote your brand in the best ways possible to excel.