The New Year is just around the corner and whether your small business marketing is thriving or falling flat, there are some changes you need to make. No matter how good your marketing strategy has been, it is important you perform a marketing audit of 2015 to figure out what’s working for you and what’s not. The upcoming year holds many surprises and is sure to be a game changer for all small businesses out there. For skyrocketing growth and success, here are some marketing techniques you need to try out.
1. Focus on Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing is predicted to have an explosive growth in the year 2016. Though it is not something new, building personal relationships with consumers can help you in the long run, especially because most consumers spend a lot of their time on their smartphones looking for shopping reviews and advice. While short-term wins may give you some temporary success, consumers are now shifting their focus to brands that offer the best buying experience.
The best example here is Starbucks. The coffee giant has mastered the art of relationship marketing and incorporated it in their marketing strategy. The coffee giant offers their customers free cups on bringing the same-day morning receipts and changes their seasonal drinks according to customer feedback. With thousands of coffee places around town, Starbucks has managed to win the hearts of many of their customers by delivering free coffee to their doorstep. While it is unlikely you can pull the same tricks, it is the thought process that matters here. How far can you go to build your relationship with your consumer?
2. Get On Board with Mobile
This one is a no-brainer. If your small business does not adapt to mobile, prepare to be left behind in the race. In 2015, there have been more searches on the mobile than on desktops and other devices and Google has acted accordingly. The monster search engine now penalizes sites that aren’t optimized for mobile devices and gives greater weight and relevance to sites that are. This might sound like a pretty harsh maneuver, but in reality, Google is just looking out for its users. Google now understands a majority of users spend more time on their phones than desktops. So, instead of relying on the same old tactics, it’s time for you to step up your game.
3. Say Hello to Content Marketing
From an emerging trend to becoming a mainstream norm, content marketing will take your company places, so long as you do it right. Successful content marketing requires more than for you to just throw content on your blog. It is time for you to get creative. In fact, forget text and audio, more businesses are now using video to provide information to their consumers.
4. Get Geo-Precise Marketing
Companies can now officially stop worrying about reaching out to every consumer that needs their goods and services. Geo precise marketing now takes care of everything and is now leading the way when it comes to consumer marketing. All it requires is for businesses to use analytics and purchasing data to recognize zip codes. Better yet, you now use IP targeting to narrow down your focus to individual households.
All the top-notch tools, like Facebook ads and Google AdWords, offer geo-targeting services that make it easier for businesses to track down perfect consumers, whether they are just around the block or across the globe, based on where your buying power is coming from. This allows you to fine tune your content marketing strategy according to the people and their geographical norms.
5. Keep Testing
It is important you experiment with new ideas and test. No matter how big or small your business is the importance of testing remains the same. Regularly study your analytics, and frequently make small changes to your marketing campaign. Test your results and devise a marketing strategy accordingly. Yes, testing is time-consuming and may require precious resources, but keep in mind that failing to test will have you stumbling behind this New Year.
So, these are some marketing techniques that are sure to be trending this New Year. If you want to be ahead of the game, think outside the box and put your customers first. Good luck!
