How to Promote Your
Small Business
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision”. – Peter Drucker
Every small business owner is inundated daily with decisions to be made. Not all of them require courage; after all, an entrepreneur’s responsibilities are numerous and varied. Administrative duties, customer service, daily operations, and sales and marketing; business owners must address every facet of their enterprise.
Some decisions are easier to make than others, requiring skills and experience but not any real courage. When it comes to marketing however, knowing the best route to take to promote your small business is often reliant on a fair bit of bravery.
Having options to choose from can strengthen an entrepreneur’s backbone of steel. Finding a small business promotion that fits perfectly with your marketing plan renders easier decision making. The following promotional ideas can be customized for your business and clientele and can help you in your quest for differentiation.
Flash Sales
- Flash sales are short in duration, usually lasting for hours or a few days.
- Due to their short life-span, these sales create a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to purchase when they might otherwise have procrastinated.
- They can be structured around a specific day of the year such as Black Friday, or created anytime, solely to produce extra income.
- Flash sales can be promoted on all your social media platforms, your website, and in emails to existing customers.
- The influx of advertising can generate new leads, and the increase in sales can provide a revenue boost.
- Although they can be customized to fit your company’s needs, these sales are usually promoted in the form of a discount or a free service/gift with purchase.
Coupons
- As a small business promotion, coupons allow you to double-down on strategies. New business can be generated by enticing people to try your services. Target these consumers by providing the coupon and its code on your website landing page.
- Repeat business can be encouraged with established clients by offering a discount to use on an additional service. Provided in the form of an email blast, these coupons also function as a reward for your clients’ loyalty.
- To provide your company with a revenue boost and to ensure future business, create coupons that can be redeemed for pre-orders only.
- Research has shown that people will go out of their way to use coupons, whether in paper or coupon code format, making them an extremely valuable strategy.
Contests
- Contests are an easy way to generate excitement and increase engagement. They should be announced on all social media platforms, your website, and in your email newsletters.
- The winner can receive a service at a discounted price, a new product or service, or a complimentary upgraded service.
BOGO Events
- A buy-one-get-one-free event is a powerful small business promotion. Everyone understands the value of “free”. In fact, “consumers perceive free stuff to be more valuable than discounts”. So why not take advantage of this phenomenon?
- Once again, this promotion can be offered to everyone by posting it on your social media platforms, your website, and in your emails.
- These events can be used to gain new customers, to introduce new products or services, or to encourage your existing customers to try services they have not previously used.
Showcase Your Expertise
- An effective, small business promotion can simply be one that taps into your unique offerings.
- By showcasing your expertise, you can promote your company, skills, training, knowledge, and experience.
- Again, these promotions can be customized to your business, but examples are:
- Give a presentation to real estate agents, either in-person or on Zoom.
- Create a YouTube video demonstration on “how-to” organize a pantry.
- Subscribe to Help a Reporter Out. This website matches an expert (you) with a reporter looking for a story idea or a resource. Your subscription allows you to respond to a reporter’s question, providing you with a platform for promoting your expertise and your company. Your response, advice, tips, or suggestion could be embedded in a small or nationally distributed news story or article.
Deciding how to promote your small business requires thought and consideration. Having options to choose from makes the decision process easier and allows you to determine which one best suits your business, your service, and your clientele.
Whichever route you choose, know that you are making a courageous step towards your own success.
