Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links
No matter where you look, you’ll stumble across hundreds, if not thousands of tips to help your new business grow. These tips range from the obvious (of course you need a website) to those that bring a eureka moment (failure is an essential part of success, for example). If you’re trying to improve your business you need to recognize which tips are most suited to your situation, as every business is slightly different.
But, if there’s one thing that connects companies great and small, it’s marketing. Without marketing, your business will never increase your customer base. You won’t be able to spread brand awareness, and you won’t experience the growth you planned. One element of marketing is advertising, but what can you do when advertising is not enough?
Improve Your Look
You (and your team) will be many people’s first exposure to your business, and if you don’t look the part, why would anyone want to do business with you? Although many discuss a society that doesn’t care about looks, it’s difficult to make significant and lasting changes so quickly.
And this is why making sure you look the part and meet client or customer expectations is so important. Depending on your industry, you can make an excellent first impression by providing employee uniforms. Brick and mortar stores can enhance curb appeal by freshening up their storefront with a fresh coat of paint.
The more you improve your look, the more people will respect you. It might be an unconscious bias they hold, but such biases will work in your favor.
Rethink Your Approach
Perhaps your problem is not the advertisement itself. The ad might be the best ad that customers have ever seen, yet it doesn’t resonate with them the way you hoped. This is fine, not everyone loves everything; this is a fact of life.
But, rather than stubbornly stick to your guns, you can make changes by rethinking your marketing approach. There are multiple ways you can market your product, service, or even your brand. Things like Media Duplication Services or going back-to-basics and relying on traditional marketing efforts can offer something new.
Your customers are certainly bombarded by digital ads wherever they go, so trying something different will feel like a breath of fresh air and could be the difference between a successful ad, and one that ends up in the bargain bin.
Diversify Your Placements
Previous ad approaches used commercials, radio, and billboards, among others. But times have changed. People don’t watch TV as much as they used to, and when they do, they prefer streaming services rather than live feeds. Likewise, the road trip radio is making way for carefully curated playlists, so you need to think of other ways to promote your product.
Luckily, you have the power of social media to help you. Yes, we mentioned your customers are bombarded with ads like this, but you can still use this to your advantage.
It might be that your ads are not on the right platforms. It’s well known that Facebook has been taken over by the Boomers, but Instagram or Tik Tok? This is where Millennial-owned businesses can thrive. Don’t neglect the power of popularity and test your ad placement in new spheres.
Plan Your Content
Content creation is hard. You get an idea that sounds like the one, only to find out that you already did something like this a few months ago. This can affect SEO ranking and cause customers to wonder if they’ve wandered into Groundhog Day.
With a content calendar, you never need to worry about this ever again. Not only will you know what you have already posted, but you’ll also know when which will prevent sharing posts or images too soon.
Your content calendar also allows you to prepare something to launch later in the year. Holidays and events can come around quicker than you expect, but if you start work on them early, you’ll have everything ready once the clock strikes midnight, allowing you to be the first one to make a statement.
Work With Consultants
Sometimes, you cannot see the forest for the trees. No matter how many angles you look at, you can’t figure out what is wrong with your ads. Not every business owner has the humility to bring in a consultant, but those that do will usually find better success.
A consultant will provide expert advice and guide you in the right direction. This means you don’t waste hours of time and resources chopping and changing things. Instead, you can get to the bottom of your issues quickly and see the desirable results.
You may encounter a problem with the consultant’s cost; they don’t come cheap. But, you may want to consider whether the cost is worth it to help your business thrive.
Improve Your Reputation
No one wants to purchase goods or services from a company that shows a blatant disregard for equality, for the climate, for worker’s rights, and just about everything else that’s in the news cycle. You might have wanted to avoid controversy by keeping any feelings to yourself, but passionate customers will tell you that this is just as bad.
A damaged reputation can take years to repair, and even if you do, there will be some people who still don’t want to use your business. If your ads aren’t working, it could be a symptom of your public perception.
Customers and clients want to work with companies that stand for something and show strong morals and ethics. If you’re trying to appeal to a certain demographic, it pays to know what they value in a business. But, your matching values must be genuine, because consumers will see right through you otherwise.
Retrain Your Customer Service Team
Every customer service agent has had customers scream that they are never using your store again. Many would even say it is a rite of passage, and you’re not a true customer service worker if this has never happened to you.
You can laugh about these customers, especially when you see them in the store the following week, but this doesn’t mean your customers will not require some important retraining every once in a while. This is no comment on their ability, but rather their conflict resolution skills.
Many customer service reps are kids fresh out of college, and they can struggle with the seemingly constant berating. If you provide training, you can give them the tools to minimize blow-ups, which will prevent unhappy customers and therefore prevent any unfortunate word-of-mouth (if untrue) rumors spreading about your business.
Be Honest
Honesty is the best policy that all companies should consider, and this applies to your advertising. Using dishonest tactics to sell your product will cause news to travel fast. With this, it doesn’t matter how eye-catching your marketing is, no one will want to use it.
Bad news travels fast, and whether you sell a product on Amazon or via your website (or both) bad reviews can severely affect your standing.
You should also be careful when responding to dissatisfied customers. As frustrating as it can be when dealing with people who never seem happy, remaining professional and stating the facts as opposed to hearsay, demonstrates professionalism and can support your case when striving for honesty.
Actually Deliver On Promises
Businesses should also be sure to deliver on promises. This is something that applies to every step in your company journey. If you tell a client you will send them a proposal or completed project, make sure you do it. If you have a predicted shipping time, fulfill this promise.
Some business experts will tell you to underpromise and overdeliver. There is truth to this, especially when just getting started. However, this can lead to complacency. If you believe you can do it by a specific date or time, proving it will help your business thrive.
Of course, some things can upset your promises. Usually, they are unavoidable, but this doesn’t mean you can just shrug your shoulders. Instead, act fast and inform the customer. They will be much more understanding.
Get Accredited
With the number of businesses cropping up every day, it can be challenging for customers to know which companies are legitimate and which are trying to cash in.
Getting accredited will add legitimacy to your business, and this allows your ads and marketing to carry more weight. If you bring these accreditations and certifications into your marketing with banners and medals, you will immediately stand out from competitors.
Some businesses will find images of these online and photoshop them in. This is something to avoid at all costs, as it will only harm your business in the future.
Doing More
Every business owner, whether they are brand new or have years of experience, should identify how they can do more to build their business. Even the most simple services have evolved throughout their existence. If you want to ensure your business continues to grow and thrives in the ever-changing industry landscape, you must recognize how to make changes, especially when things are not working.
Growing Forward 