Why the World Would End Without Small Business Marketing
The most fragile part of the American economy is also the most important, with 2 out of every 3 jobs created being generated by small business.
So how do they compete when they’ve got the odds stacked against them? With lower budgets, smaller markets, and less revenue than behemoths like Walmart, you’d think they’d be out of luck. But just take a look at this one-woman-retailer carving herself a piece of Amazon’s market share. Or this 21st century cobbler with a seriously global brand.
Small businesses make it big all the time – the stories are everywhere. So what’s the difference between the successful ones and those that fail? Well-strategized small business marketing.
Small Business Marketing Creates Niches
Take the previously mentioned small-scale retailer. Darcy Lee has made herself the place for finding the perfect gift for any loved one in a whole lot less time than the hours spent browsing the e-commerce sites of her competitors.
“Heartfelt is all about one-on-one personal shopping and finding the right thing for that special person.”
Darcy isn’t worried about big time retailers duplicating her personal approach, because in this case, bigger means less personal. And personality is the meat and potatoes of her brand.
Small Business Marketing Transmits Personality
Social media is one way to reach out to customers and allow them to bond with you on a level deeper than “Here’s some ________ you should buy. It’s nice.” Posts including pictures, jokes, memes, or something useful other than your product builds trust, and from there, an actual relationship. It’s these emotional ties that make customers choose smaller businesses over bigger ones. A lot of small businesses often find that Instagram is one of the most interactive social media platforms, this is probably because it allows users to like content, comment and also direct message. Small businesses looking to develop a relationship with their customers might want to look for a desktop application that allows them to read and respond to their instagram dms online. This would make it much easier for companies to interact with customers from their computers. However, there are multiple other ways to market your business over different social media platforms.
For some social media inspiration, take a look at what these small businesses have done with their Twitter presence.
Small Business Marketing Creates a Roadmap
Small companies are acutely aware of their stature in comparison to their competitors, and are therefore taking measures to compensate for it. At least that’s what the data says. And according to that data, the little guys (as opposed to enterprise companies) are more likely to have a content marketing plan, as well as someone to oversee and implement it, so their digital efforts aren’t wasted.
So instead of pinching pennies and marketing willy-nilly, successful small businesses are making online marketing an investment. And that investment is growing fast. But that’s only content marketing. There are so many other strategies for small businesses to take advantage. At 360, most businesses we see aren’t aware of all that’s out there, and the ones that are, are reaping the benefits.
Biggest takeaway from this chunk of data: explore your options and put someone in charge of implementing them, because a well researched and well executed marketing plan can only help your business. We should all be dedicated to helping small businesses become thriving enterprises. One such help is CloudPay services that enable business to manage their payroll in an efficient and effective fashion. This would certainly be ideal for most businesses.
So maybe the world wouldn’t end if small business marketing wasn’t a thing. But our economy sure wouldn’t be the same if the millions of small businesses across the country didn’t have a way to survive on a stage monopolized by the Amazons of the world.
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