When an entrepreneur completes their company formation, they may think that this is it. They can go out, advertise their business to the world and the customers will come flocking.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Without effective marketing, businesses are exceedingly unlikely to succeed.
Marketing is a crucial part of any business because it attracts customers and establishes the business as an authoritative figure in its niche.
The one drawback of marketing being such a blanket term is that it contains many different strategies and techniques. Whilst some techniques will work for some businesses, they may not for others.
This is why when you register a company it’s important to ascertain exactly what your goods and services will be offering and how you will convey that message to your potential customers.
Below we’ll list some of the best ways to market your business.
1. Have a Well Designed Website
Your website is your virtual welcome mat to potential customers. It needs to look professional, secure and trustworthy otherwise customers will be dissuaded from clicking any further and enlisting your services or purchasing from you.
Make sure that your website has good functionality, including easy navigation and a clear, non confusing user experience.
If your website hasn’t been updated in some time, consider a redesign. Websites that look outdated will potentially make customers feel as though the business has closed or is no longer operating.
2. Make Blogging a High Priority
Blogging is an important marketing tool for businesses on a budget who may need to keep their startup costs low by using tools like free company formation agents.
Through blogging, businesses can cement themselves as voices of authority in their industry and convey value to their customers for free.
Blogging takes time to get established, but if blogging is made in conjunction with a thorough SEO strategy using the right keywords can also make the blogs start to rank in Google, ranking the website higher.
3. Build Your Email List
Email marketing is a free way to connect with your customers and nurture potential leads. A lot of the time, a majority of businesses fail to capitalise on email marketing.
Putting a simple sign-up form in clear sight on your website can encourage subscribers who enjoy your content to join your list. There you can send emails that promote your products or services, or even giveaway freebies like eBooks or whitepapers.
4. Make Press Releases
Press releases are simple to create and can promote brand new services you’re offering, or even promote a good service that you’ve offered to someone else.
If you’re a new local business, reach out to local newspapers and media outlets. The local press will want to support and publicise a local business as over 2/3rds of people are now using local stores.
5. Convert, Convert, Convert
Many businesses that set up a limited company think that because they are registered as LTD and receive a lot of traffic on their website, they will automatically receive customers. However this is not the case.
If you do not have the correct infrastructure in place to convert the clicks, the traffic coming to your website is defunct.
When a customer visits your site there must be a clear Call to Action button displayed. Whether that’s just contacting your business, signing up to an email newsletter, or getting a free sample or quote – your business must encourage the visitor to do something.
6. Sign up for Social Media
Social Media is a great free resource that businesses (especially small businesses and startups) should ensure to make use of.
Joining sites like Instagram and Facebook allows businesses to post visual images of their results, or simply promote customer reviews and testimonials.
Joining in with hashtags on posts can advertise the business to hordes of potential customers as the reach in some hashtag communities is surplus.
Some more social media marketing tips are to
- Constantly update your profiles with fresh information like products and services
- Post at least 3x a week on each site
- Ensure the content shared is valuable for users
- Engage with your customers by following, sharing, retweeting or liking their content and profiles
7. Offer Discounts and Deals
One way to receive your customers information like an email address for your email list is by offering something of value.
Everyone loves to receive a freebie so by opening up competitions and actively encouraging people to participate, you can advertise your business and engage your customers.
If your competition rules are that the post needs to be shared with a friend, you could potentially be doubling your businesses reach too.
Make sure you publicise your offer across social media and in your emails too.
