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Small businesses have fewer resources than large companies, which means they can’t pursue all of the marketing strategies available to them — instead, they have to focus their resources on just a few options.
That means it’s common to ask questions like, “Which marketing strategy is most effective?” Knowing that one or two approaches will be effective allows you to avoid wasting time on money on things that don’t work.
So, we’ll talk about the best marketing strategies, starting with the most effective. Let’s dive in!
Today’s consumers look for information all the time, and they generally use one tool: Google. That means that being able to offer useful, engaging content that can be found easily on Google is the best way to get visibility for your business.
That process is known as search engine optimization (SEO), and it helps make your business attractive to the exact audience that is most interested in your products and services. The overall goal is to establish yourself as a trustworthy authority in your niche while giving your audience interesting and informative content to consume.
You can publish content that includes blog posts, videos, infographics, and much more. Take time to research what your audience is most likely to respond to, and then focus on that type of content.
Over time, your website will rank more highly with Google, giving you an opportunity to win high-quality leads and ready-to-buy customers for your business.
When you’re looking at which marketing strategy is most effective, you might immediately think of online ads. These are #2 on our list, after SEO.
Online advertising can be very effective because you can target your audience very precisely. However, it’s also extremely expensive, and when you stop paying for it you lose the position you’ve gained. In SEO, you’re able to maintain your position over time without buying ads.
In order to make online advertising cost-effective, it’s essential to understand your target audience very well. You need to know where they spend the most time so that you know where to place ads. You should also understand their pain points so that you can target them in your marketing message.
When you deliver a well-targeted ad with a relevant message to your ideal audience, you can gain new customers more quickly than you will with SEO. That’s why online advertising can be a great way to get customers until your SEO is established and brings in more consistent, lower-cost leads and customers.
You might be started to see print mail marketing on our list, but the truth is that it is surprisingly effective. Even Google sends print marketing through the mail, and if anyone knows what works, they do.
Fewer businesses invest in print marketing, meaning that there’s less competition in the mailbox than online. You can stand out with excellent messaging targeted to a mailing list of your ideal customers. When you mail consistently over time, you’ll build your brand and keep your company top-of-mind.
Postcards are the most cost-effective way to advertise through the mail, and you can make them colourful with bold text. You’re almost guaranteed to at least get a glance at your message. That’s a lot more than you can say about many online ads!
However, because print marketing is so much more expensive than online advertising, it ranks one step below. If you have the resources, a combination of SEO, online ads, and print marketing makes for an excellent marketing campaign.
Email marketing can be effective if done well, but it’s challenging to do it well. That’s why we included it on our list, but at the bottom. It’s not unhelpful, but it has to be done strategically.
To establish yourself in email marketing, you start with a free download that provides useful information to your audience. Ideally it should be something they can use more than once, so they’ll keep it handy.
For example, a plumber might offer a free guide to keeping pipes from freezing in the winter. In return for the guide, the consumer provides a name and email address. With that information, you set up an email campaign that continues to provide useful information and encourages the reader to contact you for plumbing services.
The problem with email marketing is that everyone does it and few people do it well. As a result, emails are not relevant to the customer, don’t arrive consistently, and are often dumped into the junk folder. If you want to succeed with email marketing, you need to set up a schedule and stick to it so customers know what to expect. The email should be interesting and provide something useful, and end with a strong call-to-action.
There are several marketing strategies that can be effective for your small business, but you probably need to choose the best one or two options. Local SEO Search is here to help.
We’ve helped thousands of small businesses succeed by bringing in ideal leads and ready-to-buy customers. We’d love to show you what we can do for you. Contact us today!
