You have decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship and start a business! But now what? You know how to do the job, but aren’t sure where to go from here? How do you get the word out about your products/services? How do you compete in your market and lock in sales? How do you grow this idea into a successful business with a positive return on investment (ROI)?
This is where marketing and its importance play a key role in your success! We have compiled a good list of marketing advice to help convince customer’s to choose you over the competitor!
It all starts with your website
The biggest thing about marketing is when sharing information about your business, you need somewhere to lead client back to. This is why having your website sales ready is so critical. It is imperative to the success of your business that your website not only looks as professional as the services you offer, but that it is also sales ready!
So, what does a sales ready website look like, and why are these aspects so important?
Ease of Use
This is possibly the most important characteristic of a business website. Have you ever tried to pull up a nearby business that performs a specific service on your phone and it was impossible to find the information you needed?
Many customers will move forward with another business due to the simple fact that your website was difficult to scroll through. With today’s technological advancements, many people use their phones to search nearby businesses; therefore, it is crucial that your desktop site transfers fluidly to mobile web access.
When configuring a mobile ready website, be sure to include these user-friendly features:
- Readable font sizes (ensure the fonts don’t shrink on a smaller, mobile screen).
- Correctly sized images for the appropriate device. Large images that load well on a desktop computer will load a lot slower on a mobile device; therefore, ensure your mobile site has fewer images that are smaller.
- Ensure important links are front and center on a mobile device.
- Pre-fill forms as much as possible – they can get annoying to fill out on a smaller screen.
Contact Information
When selling a product or service, you want to make it easy for current or potential customers to contact you. Including a “contact us” tab on the website that contains contact forms and visible phone numbers are vital.
Beyond the “contact us” page, a business should make it effortless for a customer to call at the click of a button. This means the business’s phone number should be present in the header or footer of every landing page. This makes your contact information easy to find. For mobile, call buttons serve the same purpose and make “calling at the click of a button” very easy.
Increased Visibility
As a small business, you want to increase your company’s visibility on Google (the top search engine). So how do you increase this visibility?
Claim your spot as a Google business (free of charge). A Google business profile allows you to do the following:
- Respond to customer reviews
- Add photos of your business and work
- Add store hours and location details
- Display phone numbers and other contact information
Start a Google Adwords campaign. This will bump your business further up the search page when customers type in keywords – i.e. “roof repair,” “best roofing companies,” etc. if you own a roofing company.
Social Media
If you aren’t on Social Media sites engaging your customers and getting testimonials, you are leaving money on table due to its massive reach and popularity.
Continuously Delivering Touches
A large portion of marketing is word of mouth. Claim a spot in the mind of your consumers by staying engaged – thank past customers for their business, send email updates on your company’s community involvement, and send newsletters promoting incentives for bringing in new business.
These few simple suggestions could mean the difference between a successful business and one that is run into the ground.
