The latest trends in advertising small business are on a steady incline as consumers are gaining more control in the buying process now. During my day to day excursions on public and private transportation, I’ve found many avenues to increase your inbound marketing strategies.
I’ve built a list of the top 5 advertising trends small businesses can use immediately to increase customer relationships. I say relationships and not sales, because the relationship is much more valuable than the transaction. Relationships are long term, sales (though are great and feel wonderful) are short term.
Whats new?
1. Location Based Online Marketing
The digital marketing opportunity is allowing your advertising campaigns to run in specific zip codes, radius, and or cities and states that make sense. Even if your a company in Charlotte, NC and want to target folks in Houston, Texas only. The capabilities to do so are at our finger tips with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay Per Click (PPC) and Behavioral Based Marketing initiatives. Pick your location and start engaging.
2. Deals
Your customers are still shopping for the best deal in town. Are you it? As our economy goes through correction, consumers have become smarter about finding the best bang for our bucks.
Providing unbelievable deals during this time builds great relationships. This doesn’t necessarily mean slashing your prices. The key is to increase the value you’re providing to a targeted niche customer base that can and will appreciate the additional service and value offering.
Cutting prices works for the short term, but increasing your service value is long term. Providing rewards to customers that engage with you via mobile or other creative interactions increases your reach and can be very valuable.
3. Mobile Marketing
If businesses are seeking creative ways to reach the new consumer. If you don’t have a mobile strategy in the works, you will lose the new consumers. As I’m traveling on our Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) more than 50% of the passengers are mobily engaged on some level. Whether phones, ipods, ipads and such, we are controlling the flow of information we receive.
Better understanding of our customers allows us to better engage with our customers. Helping your customers connect with you with mobile interactions to enhance your relationships will be imperative this year and beyond. All traditional advertising (such as billboards, TV, Radio, etc) can combine a creative call for action. Such as qr code promotions, couponing via text messages and video/photo submissions improves connectivity.
4. Social Reviews
Someone’s talking about you online. How are they talking about you. Consumer based reviews and feedback will continue to grow as a very powerful source for your next customer to confirm doing business with you. Encouraging public testimonials and ratings of your service will be the difference between new sale or lost and new relationship or lost relationship.
5. Social Customer Relationship Management
The understanding and organization of your customer data with Customer Relationship Management tools will be essential in the new era. Not only sales and pipeline management, but entering information discovered via Facebook, Google Plus, and LinkedIN can help you customize new advertising initiatives. The social online listening, monitoring and understanding your customers prior to engagement helps in better relationship building and management.
