Do you deliver a product or service that is in demand at a price people are willing to pay? Can you realize supply that is in high demand? Nine times out of ten entrepreneurs start a business because they can offer a product or service that is in demand at a reasonable price. The next step becomes more difficult. How do you bring your offer to the attention of the right people? In other words, how do you promote your business?
In this article we give 10 tips to make this happen quickly without having to make too big an investment.
1. Create brand awareness
Make sure your company gets brand awareness for itself. Be clear what kind of product or service you offer and how you distinguish yourself from your competitor. There are several ways to do this, such as: online marketing, email marketing, social media and advertising.
2. Provide a free service or discount on your product/service
A free service such as a newsletter or discount on the purchase of a product or service is a great way to introduce people to your company. Depending on your business model it can also be effective to do this more often and gain market share.
3. Give workshops and webinars
This strategy can be effective both online and offline. By offering a webinar or workshop, you can attract your target group and collect their contact details for a future follow-up. This considerably increases your chances of success. First, find out where you can reach your target audience and then set up the workshops or webinars. Afterwards you can get leads and referrals.
4. Ask satisfied customers for reviews
Reviews build trust and credibility for your company and they give a good picture of your added value for your target audience. You can also use them on your website to create trust. And this is not the only thing reviews are good for. Reviews increase your ranking in the search engines, resulting in more website traffic. What’s the reason for this? Because search engines recognize the values of customer reviews and rate them as relevant.
5. Be open to feedback from clients
Did you receive an order or did you sell a product? Ask for feedback to this customer. This is an opportunity to improve your service.
6. Make sure your website is up to date
Make sure you keep your website up to date. This prevents that if you get questions about your product and/or services, that the information is outdated. An up-to-date website increases your professionalism.
7. Find ambassadors, influencers and partners
To create brand awareness, it’s smart to find ambassadors, influencers and partners who want to help you promote your company. A favour for a favour is often free of charge. You help each other with advertising by, for example, liking each other on social media and sharing posts/blogs from each other.
8. Create and promote content that attracts your audience
People love to read blogs online. Blogs are a perfect tool to attract new potential customers for your product or service. Make sure you use the content of your blog to promote your product or service. There are many ways to share content, think of emailing your blog to your subscribers, posting content on your website and sharing it on social media like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
9. Implement SEO (search engine optimization)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to optimize a website for search engines and improve your search engine position. With this you want to ensure that when people search through Google for keywords that are relevant to your product or service, your own website will appear higher.
10. Participate in fairs and events
This strategy requires some investment, but ensures that you can easily get in touch with your potential target group. At fairs and events, you create brand awareness and promote your service or product extensively to the people present. People are sensitive to personal contact and often like to physically view a product or demo and have a conversation about it. This can lead to more leads and referrals, significantly increasing your chances of being a customer.
