Small Business Marketing Strategy: 10 Tips to Get More Sales

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You’re probably here because your small business is struggling to generate more sales despite the effort you’ve gone through. Or perhaps, it’s going exceptionally well but you feel like you can do even better. Besides, you can’t just stop there, can you?

Either way, you’re going to find this post extremely helpful and valuable.

Small business owners such as yourself know that closing a sale is vital to your growth and success. Fortunately, there are tons of ways to raise your close rate, all of which aren’t so complicated to achieve.

Here, we’ll be tackling 10 proven ways to boost your sales with prospects and existing customers. Incorporating them into your marketing plan will no doubt make a significant difference in the bottom line of your small business.

Ready to find out what they are? Let’s get started!

1. Study Your Consumers

Knowing who your customers are and how they use your products or services is always a crucial step.

Once you have a deeper understanding of who they are, make sure to tailor your messaging in such a way that clearly communicates with them. Every content should be able to attract the people you want to sell to – whether it’s your blog posts, ads, brochures, packaging, or website.

Being able to identify the traits of your target audience places you in the best position for Facebook or Google ad campaigns. You’ll just have to input the demographics and location you plan to target, create a strong ad copy, and publish it without spending loads of cash. Don’t forget to track your results so you’ll know which methods work, and which ones you’ll need to work on.

Building the best products and services means having to interact with your audience and asking the right questions. It’s how you can continue to grow as a business, solve issues, and deliver outstanding customer service.

Some of your customers might rely heavily on one certain feature despite your product having various features, while others may be having trouble with a specific aspect of your product. If that’s the case, you should take it as an opportunity to offer an upgrade.

2. Perform a Content Audit

Ask yourself this question: Is my content effective at promoting my brand?

Don’t have a definite answer? Well, you should certainly take time to conduct a content audit to make some changes to how you advertise your products or services.

Carefully examine all your content, from your website and fliers to your mailers and other marketing materials. If you notice that you’re focusing more on features than benefits, then you’ll have to consider redoing your content.

As a good small business owner, you want to show your customers that you care about them. Highlighting how your products or services will make their lives easier is one of the best ways to do it. That’s why you should turn all your features into benefits.

For example, rather than saying, “We offer 24-hour technical service,” you can entice your consumers with a copy that states “You don’t have to worry about technical glitches anymore, you can call us any time you have a problem!”

You can also write about current events to capture their attention and increase your odds of getting noticed. Integrating viral news topics – be it about politics, sports, or entertainment – into your posts and ads will surely help your content become more relevant and appealing. This is known as current event marketing.

3. Attract New Customers with Deals and Packages

Folks love a good deal as much as they love free stuff. That said, you might want to come up with creative ways to combine services into a package or multiple products into a bundle.

Bundles and packages make people happy. Not only will your customers appreciate the convenience, but they’ll also feel like they’re getting more for their money.

Here are several tips to customize your packages based on customer needs:

Combine similar products or services into a single package
Combine different products or services that address a related issue or share a theme
Price bundles accordingly so they’re most cost-effective than buying individually (but avoid underpricing or offering a high discount to the extent of devaluing your offerings)
Announce the arrival of new stocks
Limit the availability of your offer or put a time limit on a package

With billions of people actively using social media every day, it’s only fitting that you’re also there to promote your small business.

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, every social media platform presents opportunities to advertise your brand, products, or services. You don’t even have to worry about money anymore – social media advertising is actually one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing.

Since social channels have all the data you need to know about their users, you can conveniently target ads to get your message in front of your prospects. You get to run tests to see which ads resonate the most with your target audience, and you can measure the results of every single campaign.

Plus, it’s up to you to decide on how much money you’re willing to spend. No wonder 77% of small businesses are using social media today!

Think of your social media profile as your mini-company website. It should be more than your name and contact info. It should provide your audience a clear idea of what your business is all about, what you stand for, and of course, what you offer.

Creating engaging, informative social media profiles plays a huge role in driving your target audience to your content and eventually converting them into customers. As more and more people turn to social media to learn more about unfamiliar brands, it’s really important to optimize your profiles. Otherwise, you’ll drive prospects away and hinder your business growth.

Since every social media platform is different, you should optimize your profiles according to your goals for each site. Your Facebook for the Business profile should differ from that of your LinkedIn, considering that you’re catering to a different audience. Just be sure, however, to maintain your branding.

Clarify your brand name. Keep your bios consistent and up-to-date. Upload a high-quality profile photo. Include links to your main website and other social media profiles.

6. Use Email Marketing to Nurture Leads

The journey from ad to sale is never short and direct. In fact, it could take multiple touchpoints and the right interactions before you can finally convert your leads into paying customers.

This is where we suggest you start investing in email marketing.

There are so many ways your business can gain more sales through email marketing. You can use it to educate your customers about your products or services, notify them of new product launches, keep them posted about your company, and most of all, offer exclusive discounts.

Staying in touch with your prospective and existing customers will keep you on top of their minds. You’ll be the first brand or at least one of the first few ones, they’ll think of when they’re looking for a product or service similar to what you offer.

7. Generate Word of Mouth

No, we’re not talking about the traditional word of mouth here; we mean a digital word of mouth.

Thanks to social media and online forums, spreading the word about your small business doesn’t have to be a hassle anymore. So, how can you do it? Here are four ways:

Encourage user-generated content
Write blogs and provide links to share your knowledge in your areas of expertise
Create a referral program or offer incentives to those who share your posts
Engage in conversations in chat rooms on topics your audience finds interesting

8. Team Up with Other Businesses

Forming connections with other providers in your industry is another way to get more sales. Beyond referring each other to your respective customers, you can work together to offer unique package deals to your target market.

Take a restoration company, for instance. The business will prosper if it has established a solid and trusting relationship with plumbers and roofers. Anyone who runs a business that specializes in repairing and replacing flooded homes will definitely get more sales if they partner with those who specialize in fixing leaks.

9. Provide a Killer Call-to-Action on Your Website

A call-to-action or CTA is what drives your site visitors to take the step you desire them to take, whether it’s to sign up for a free newsletter, download an app, book an appointment, or purchase a product.

Not having one on your site will certainly hurt your conversions and sales.

Because the purpose of CTAs is to convert visitors into prospects and prospects into customers, it’s imperative to put some thought into your calls-to-action. Make sure that they’re captivating, cleverly written, and create a sense of urgency.

A winning CTA is also one that’s straightforward so that consumers will know what to do after. Even if it’s just a three-word phrase, your visitors should have some direction to discover what the next step is.

10. Be Unique

Prospects and customers are constantly bombarded with advertising messages, which is why you should do something to stand out from the rest. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to yell the loudest. Rather, you should figure out ways to set yourself apart from the competition.

If no idea seems to pop into your head, these will do:

Make a claim that no other company has ever made and back it up with evidence
Do something specific that nobody in your industry has done before
Support a charitable cause outside your business
Host a funny contest or free giveaway
Advertise your products and services in a not-so-traditional manner
Organize a press event to launch a new product or service
Create a one-of-a-kind video demonstrating how to use your products in several ways

Final Thoughts

Following the suggestions above should be able to help boost your sales as you hope to. However, you don’t have to implement them all at once. You can start with one and monitor the progress. As soon as you notice results, that’s the time you move on to another strategy and continue to see your sales grow.

Author Bio: Shay Berman is the founder and president of Digital Resource, a full-service digital marketing agency located in South Florida. Shay’s clear-cut approach to internet marketing has driven his clients’ businesses to new heights and allowed Digital Resource to land on the Inc 500 list two years in a row and be named as No. 49 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur 360 list.