If your small business is in need of some TLC, make 2016 the year you improve your brand and make more customers sit up and take notice.
For those small business owners dealing in home furnishing items to make people’s lives better at home, how are you going about promoting your business?
Unfortunately, too many small business owners are limited in what they can spend as far as financial resources for marketing, advertising and other means to promote their brands. As a result, the word doesn’t get out to all they have to offer. In order to better improve your brand’s message moving forward, keep a few of these tidbits in mind going into the New Year and beyond:
1. Word-of-mouth
Still one of the best means in promoting your brand is via word-of-mouth. Having happy customers oftentimes translates into more business not only with them, but also through their family, friends, co-workers etc. While your priority should always be in keeping your customers happy, sometimes you may take them for granted. Whether you sell furniture, home appliances, displays and store fixtures, office supplies or any number of home or office items, be sure to keep the customer happy. In return, he or she is more apt to keep your revenue stream smiling;
2. Marketing matters
There are myriad of marketing means at your disposal, but do you properly use all of them? You can start with more traditional marketing inroads such as email and flyers, along with cold-calling, and of course the more recent buzz, mobile marketing.
The latter marketing tool continues to be a boon for many small business owners. Catching current and potential customers when they’re browsing your products and services is a great opportunity to lead them to a sale or two. Using mobile marketing does require some tact, as you do not want to be seen as a nuisance, the small business owner always looking for a sale. Put mobile marketing in play wisely and watch the dollars add up.
Finally, use networking opportunities to promote your brand, including conferences, webinars, local events in town and more. If you’re in the business of home furnishings, do your best to attend home renovation events in various cities and towns each year. Consumers are prime targets when they attend, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to show them your products and services, how your installation services and costs beat the competition, and why your customer service efforts are second to none; Make sure you announce through your marketing vehicles about your attendance at such events well in advance, then send out reminder notices a week or two before the event. This can be done through the local media, your website, social media and more;
3. Social butterfly
Finally, how often do you turn to social networking on a daily basis? If the answer is not very often, change that in 2016. As more and more evidence shows, social media can be a real ally for small business owners, especially retailers looking to stand out amongst the competition.
Just like mobile marketing, don’t use social media with reckless abandon. Whether you are on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (three of the largest social media vehicles), make sure you use the vehicles correctly and efficiently. This means being socially active regularly, not when you feel like it. It also means responding to consumer feedback on your Facebook and Twitter pages. If a consumer has an issue, question or just general concern with your brand, don’t take days to respond to their share or tweet.
Also, never get into argument with customers on social networking sites. Not only does it do nothing to solve the initial issue, it can also be a public relations nightmare for your brand. If you have not been using Instagram up to now, definitely consider it in 2016 and beyond. More and more businesses are posting images on their Instagram pages, giving them a great tool to showcase their products and services.
Having a winning brand is no small matter these days, especially with all the options consumers have to choose from. When you put options such as word-of-mouth, marketing and social media into play, you stand a much better chance of watching the dollar signs increase.