Take a drive or a stroll through the heart of any town, and it’s the locally owned businesses that make the place shine and give it life. Though marketing dollars are limited, there are lots of great tools and creative solutions to poke the public and get into their hearts and minds. Here are a few marketing ideas for small businesses to get you started.
Make it personal
Learning someone’s name and repeating it is a proven way to build relationships and science tells us why: The brain lights up when we hear our own name. Take it a step further and think of creative ways to incorporate first names into your services and products.
It can be as simple as keeping a box of doughnuts and a can of icing on hand, so when they pick up their order, they also get a tasty treat with their name on it. Whether they tell their friends about their great experience, or post a selfie on their social media page, it gets people talking about you.
Get social
If you aren’t on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, it’s not too late to start sharing what’s happening at your shop. Take behind-the-scenes photos, or live stream the unboxing of a much-awaited shipment. And be sure and post those historic photos for throwback Thursdays (#TBT). Finally, reward your followers with a flash sale or special freebies.
Go guerrilla
The name conjures up a battlefield, but it’s actually a fun and lighthearted way to get your name out there with innovative uses of public spaces. You can do something as simple as hanging a sign on a public statue while dressing it in a funny hat. Other ideas: Host a treasure hunt, or target market with sidewalk chalk (for example, moms at the park). If you can make them experience their surroundings a little differently or even make them laugh, your work is done.
Build an email list
The email list and newsletter are other essential free marketing tools for any small business owner. Newsletters take time and sustained effort, but they are well worth it. Host a contest or drawing to get people to sign up, and from there, you can use free digital tools that make it easy to create and send a regular newsletter. Don’t know what to write? Think like a newspaper publisher and organize it into sections: news, classes and events, sales, important dates, tips and insights are just a few things you can cover. Don’t forget to reward them for reading and throw in the occasional coupon.
National awareness week
Spend some time browsing through the website AwarenessDay.com and use that as inspiration for in-house events you can host for your customers. To get the attention of local media, be sure to make it less about selling and more about serving the public interest with things like demonstrations, guest speakers and community leaders.
Local businesses give the community its flavor and personality like none other. Choose the bank that cares for your community's success just as much as you do, and learn more about the cash management services at Minnwest Bank.
