Marketing trends for small businesses

As a small business owner, you will probably be constantly reflecting upon ways to market your business. With technology rapidly evolving, it can be difficult to know where to invest your time, money and even where to start. In this blog we will share five marketing trends that we feel will be essential for small businesses.

As a small business owner, it is your duty to constantly review what is working, what isn’t and how you can develop your existing marketing strategies. This is often easier said than done. It’s very common for existing practices to become outdated, sometimes even counter-productive and more often than not we hear, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. There is also the fact that not all marketing strategies are suitable for every small business.

So where do you begin? Privacy and transparency.

The rise of online interaction has been rapid and while this has created a new way of accessing information, it has also been a double-edged sword. The collection, storage and use of a person’s data is a topic that has been widely discussed in the media and much of it negative thanks to data breaches, hacks and misuse.

The outcome is that we are now in a society where trust is at an all time low. While new GDPR rules are aiding a turn around, gaining back consumer trust is now a top priority.

How can you implement privacy and transparency?

The focus of privacy and transparency invokes a shift from mass marketing to more individual and personalised content marketing.

• Consider creating higher quality, interactive content that your potential consumers want to be interested in
• Enlist the help of a web team to consider how you use cookies when advertising.
• Make sure you collect data diligently and ethically, be transparent about why and what with your consumers.
• Above all, make sure your privacy and cookies policy are included on your website.

Ultra targeting and segmentation:

As mentioned, there is an on-going shift away from mass marketing and a personal approach is more preferred. Consumers are being marketed at in every direction, it can become overwhelming, so making sure your content and trajectory is personalised and relevant is really essential.

• Segment your audience and identify the products and services they are most interested in.
• Use Google Ads and Facebook advertising to understand your consumer and target advertising accordingly.

Instant customer service:

The growth of social media means that people expect instant communication with brands. While your office hours may be 9-4, the same is not true of social media channels. Not only do consumers now use social media to investigate who you are and your products and services, they also expect to have instant access to you and your support.

So how can you implement a strong social media connection without responding to questions at 3 in the morning?

• Chat windows and chat bots give consumers an instant channel of communication when they have a question they need a fast reply to. Insight on the most frequently asked questions can help manage this.
• Keep a tab on instant and direct messages, comments too and try and respond to them immediately. You might find this time consuming, so employing someone to solely manage your social media accounts can be very useful.
• Another tactic is to try and avoid questions by having answered readily available on your website.
• A must is responding to reviews with a personalised message so consumers feel valued and appreciated.