Show Your Expertise

Chances are you know a lot more about your company, product, or service than your customers do…show them that! Offer information to papers and media outlets. Don’t worry about being quoted at first, if you build a good rapport with news stations and noteworthy reporters, eventually your business will become a go-to source of information for other experts in your field.

Tweet, Tweet!

Twitter is cheap. Tweeting is easy. What else is there to say? Build your base of followers by offering promotions in weekly tweets. Keep your customers involved by asking questions and tweeting multiple times a day. The more interactive your tweets, the more interested consumers will be. All small business owners repeat after me: “Twitter is marketing gold!!”

Perfect Your Pitch

What is your company best known for? Are your advertisements hilarious? Do you throw an annual party for your regular customers? How about a loyalty program with special perks? Find what works for your company and run with it. If you perfect your schtick, your customers won’t have any trouble remembering what your company is all about.

Calling All Celebrities!

Fact: Customers flock to celebrity endorsements. Build a trustworthy name for yourself and then work on contacting local, well-liked celebrities. After all, if someone famous likes your product it must be great, right? Right.

Get Back To Your Roots

Sales dropping? Losing customers? Take another look at your product. Are the people you’re targeting the people buying your product? Take the time, effort, and money (yes, money) for thorough market research. Combine focus groups and surveys to get the qualitative and quantitative data necessary to better market your services.

These are my 5 top recommended ways for small businesses to market themselves. If you’re looking for a more thorough list, take a look at this fantastic Forbes.com article!

Until next time,

Liz