8 Marketing Strategies To Transform Your Small Business

Are you a small business searching for a simpler way to develop a marketing plan? If so, these 8 steps are for you. These simple strategies will act as a framework for developing your sales and marketing process and will help you achieve your sales goals.

1. Create your Value Proposition

Your value proposition should specifically identify the key reason you are the best choice for your ideal customer. At PFL.com, our value proposition combines four elements: 1. High quality printing 2. Good value 3. Great People 4. Personality.

Your value proposition should also clearly communicate what your company does and the unique benefits you have over the competition.

Asking yourself these questions helps develop a value proposition that speaks to your customer:

• Who is our customer?


• What problems does this buyer have?


• How do we provide solution(s) to the buyer’s problems?


• Why are they buying from us?


• What would we like our customers to do?


• What distinct benefits do we offer our customers?


• What makes us unique?

Once you’ve answered these questions you can start crafting your value proposition. With a draft value proposition in place, double check and make sure it contains the following components:

1. Appeal

How does our product or service appeal to or satisfy the wants and needs of our customer?

2. Exclusivity

What do we offer our customers that none of our competitors do? Or, how do we do it better?

3. Credibility

Does our value proposition sound authentic and credible?

4. Clarity

Is it clear and concise?

2. Create your Marketing Mix – Attract Leads

Getting leads and prospects can be one of the most daunting tasks that small businesses face. Many small businesses get the cart before the horse: they try to generate sales before the customer even knows who they are. Gathering leads can be one of the first steps to getting new customers.

There are many methods for driving traffic and creating leads. Some of the most popular tools today are:

• Content Marketing


• Tradeshows


• PPC


• Direct Mail


• Social Media


• SEO

No matter which of these tactics you choose, there are some tried and proven practices that will increase the effectiveness of your campaign.

Basics of creating a successful direct marketing campaign.

1. The foundation of any successful direct marketing campaign is the precise targeting of your audience. If you are not reaching the right people, your campaign has a zero chance of being successful.

2. Your messaging and content is the next component that needs to be tailored to the audience you are targeting. Make sure that your message ties back to your value proposition and don’t try to be something that you’re not.

3. The third component is the “Call to Action.” This is where you tell your audience exactly how to respond to your message and what the value is to them. It is common to use an offer or incentive to increase your response rate and create urgency to respond.

4. The final portion, and arguably the most important step, is to test and test again. You should regularly test each of the components above and evaluate options that will improve your response rates. Sometimes you’ll nail it on the first try and other times you’ll have to try and try yet again to find the winning formula. But be patient while you dance with uncertainty.

3. Capture Leads

Now that you have people visiting your store or your website, you need to encourage them to provide their contact information so you can, in turn, nurture them into customers. If you want your visitors to provide their contact information, you have to give them something they value and instill trust. Some great incentives are: a free gift, a coupon, a chance to win, or some original content.

Here are four rules that will help you capture more leads:

1. Make it Simple

Use a strong headline, and clearly state the benefits to them.

2. Don’t ask for too much

Minimize how much information you require, typically name, mailing address and email are sufficient.

3. Inspire Trust

Use customer testimonials, list credentials, and display your privacy policy.

4. Make it Rewarding

Make them feel rewarded for their efforts by congratulating them and delivering on your promise.

4. Nurture Prospects

To convert your leads into buyers, you need a systematic approach designed to develop a trusting relationship that will endure for many years. One reason many businesses never convert leads into sales is that they don’t follow up with leads as frequently as they should. Staying in touch with your prospects consistently can yield sustainable competitive advantages. But to realize such competitive advantages, you need to have a clear strategy for nurturing your leads before you can hope to turn them into paying customers.

As a first step, create a consistent timeline for your campaign that fulfills the needs of your customers as well as your business.

The second step is to designate the best medium/media to reach your target market. Cold calling, direct mail and email can all work well on their own, but they all work even better when you use a variety of approaches.

The third step is to execute the plan you’ve so thoughtfully assembled. Remember, successive contact with your prospects through a variety of media is key, and yes, snail mail and the phone are still effective methods for converting leads to customers.

Personalized Communications

Studies show that customers respond better to communications that are personalized. Evaluate your follow-up communications—whether email, direct mail or other methods—and determine how you can customize them to each person in your database. It could be as simple as using their first name or as targeted as suggesting products based on past purchases.

5. Convert Leads to Sales

You can attract, capture and nurture all the leads in the world, but if they don’t eventually become paying customers, you’re not going to be in business for long. It clearly depends on your business model, but it is likely that you depend on one of the following methods for converting your leads into customers: retail store, online shopping cart, a sales team or a combination of these methods. No matter which method or combination of methods you use, here are a few strategies to maximize potential growth.

Make it Easy

Your storefront whether digital or physical should be inviting and easy for your customers to use. Make sure your store is clean and organized in a sensible fashion. Use signage or navigation that is consistent and logical throughout the store.

Upsell and Cross Sell

Use location and proximity to help up-sell additional related products and increase order size. You can do this by having sales people make suggestions on related products or by using a shopping cart technology for your website to recommend products.

Make Visitors Comfortable

Make your store feel comfortable and secure. If your visitors don’t feel safe they won’t hang out long, which will result in a poor conversion rate.

You can make your store feel safe and secure by displaying your guarantee, privacy policy and logos of associations like your local chamber of commerce, or the Better Business Bureau.

6. Deliver – Use Service as a Marketing Strategy

The same nurturing approach you take to converting your leads into customers should be continued for the duration of your relationship. This strategy begins with the nurturing process and continues long after the sale. Winning lifelong customers requires the ability to not only get a prospect to buy again and again, but to do so happily. The benefits go far beyond inspiring loyalty and repeat business. Happy customers will become advocates for your brand, driving referrals by sharing their experiences with friends, and colleagues.

Here are some ways to get a reality check on yourcustomer service:

1. Call your own phone number and see how quickly and friendly the phone is answered.

2. Place an order on your own website. Was it easy or difficult?

3. Take the time to talk to your customers. Ask them how they are doing, and learn their name.

4. Check with your staff. Ask them for suggestions on how you can improve the processes.

5. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

You can also learn from other companies and look outside your industry for new tactics and ideas.

Ultimately, the practices you want to adopt are the ones from companies you admire. It doesn’t matter what industry or types of products they offer as much as what you can learn from them and how you can apply it to your own situation. Additionally, you can learn valuable lessons by looking at what a non-profit, a rock band or a church is doing to market their services or products. Getting out of your comfort zone can be a good place to be.

7. Upsell Customers

You’ve probably heard the old adage that 80% of your profits come from the top 20% of your customers. Yet many businesses spend all of their time focusing on attracting and converting new customers. Why is that?

Customers who have had a positive experience with your company are more likely to buy from you again when they need a similar service or product.

But do your customers know about everything you offer? You need to continue to let your customers know about the other products and services that you offer and which ones might help them in ways not immediately apparent.

There are many ways you might be able to accomplish this, but the first step is to have a plan. As with your lead nurturing campaign, you need to think about the sequence in how you reach out and keep your customers coming back. Again, use a multi-touch campaign across multiple mediums to get the message out to your customers.

8. Get referrals

People are more likely to do business with someone when they are introduced by a colleague or a friend. This is why referral marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to get new leads and generate business.

The key to getting referrals is simpler than what you might think. Just ask your best customers. You may be reticent to ask, but studies show that present customers are generally flattered and most willing to help a company they adore.

You can increase the number of referrals by making it easy and providing the tools and motivation to make the referral. It can be as simple as giving your customers extra business cards and asking them to give them to a friend.

Don’t forget to reward your customer for making the referral. The reward doesn’t always have to involve money. Take some time to think about and understand why your customer might make a referral and base rewards on those factors.

My hope is that these marketing strategies set you on your way to reaching your goals and creating a loyal customer following. Implementing a marketing plan is never easy, but worth its weight in gold when it’s well thought out and executed.

8 Marketing Strategies To Transform Your Small Business