- Look for new partnerships
Partnerships with like-minded businesses opens up opportunities to attract more customers than you can do by yourself. The goals of like-minded businesses, however, are different from competitive businesses. For example, if you are running a dry cleaning business, you may consider partnering with a local suit store to improve the customers’ experience. For instance, they can collaborate in promotional services by providing postcards and coupons and supporting each other in marketing products and services.
- Don’t copy competition
Copying a competitor is one of the biggest mistakes some small businesses make. Even if they are successful in what they are doing, you should never copy their models and attempt to do the same. Rather, find what works for your small business and your customers. Even after copying a successful business, you may not succeed. To attract customers, you need to do what excites customers and works for you. For example, when the prices of flowers go up during Valentine’s holiday, you may consider lowering yours to attract customers. By doing so, you can easily become a florist of choice for many customers who like low prices.
- Create a challenge
Challenges can be a fantastic way of letting people notice your business. For example, you can create eating competitions to let people know about your eatery and make you extra cash. Other approaches that can work well for your eatery include offering free meals if a customer buys a certain dish/food and other similar offers. Just create a challenge that suits your small business and see customers coming in large numbers.
- Build a strong brand impression
Even with many offers, things might not work for your small business if potential customers have a negative impression of your brand. Your company can be loved, not because it offers freebies, but because the brand is strong. An example of companies with strong brand impressions is Apple and Nike. Nike, for instance, has a simple yet bold logo and slogan that customers would love to be associated with. While this might not happen overnight, you need to put in a lot of work towards making your company unique and attractive. You can only achieve this through proper branding that connects to the customers.
- Get involved
Networking is one of the marketing strategies that big brands use to attract customers’ attention. However, this can only be possible if you get involved in the community through local networking groups. As a small business, participate in various community projects and chambers of commerce near you and make friends with various like-minded individuals. Furthermore, try attending different networking events and hosting community meetings in your premises, in local restaurants, and volunteering. All these efforts will connect you to the community and new people, most of whom are potential customers. Getting involved will open up your business to the world and lead to building strong friendships with the community, who will become your immediate partners. If applied well to your marketing efforts, networking can positively impact your business plan and local marketplace.
