Blog: Small Business Marketing

When small North Carolina businesses get started, they typically focus on how to land their first clients. Often they will rely on traditional forms of advertising, such as coupon mailers, billboards, out-of-home, or print ads. While many small businesses think that because they provide a superior product or service, it is only a matter of time before prospective clients will find their way to them.

While this strategy may bring in a small amount of revenue, there is a better and easier way. Small businesses should think about leveraging the power of the internet to reach prospects online and reap the benefits of combining traditional and digital marketing. No small business, no matter how new, should disregard digital channels as a source of leads and the conversion of interest into clients.

Still not convinced? Think about this over 94% of business-to-business (B2B) buyers do research online, whereas your business-to-consumer (B2C) buyers research online 97% of the time before making a decision.

Unfortunately, if you rely only on traditional methods, you miss out on a significant portion of your potential clientele.

The key to increasing your Asheville area small business’s clientele is through marketing, primarily content marketing. With content marketing, you are telling your business’s story in such a way that it attracts prospects, educates them, and entices them to choose your WNC small business.

Now, there are numerous options for small businesses to get the word out, but content marketing is one of the better and more cost-effective ways to differentiate yourself and your business from the competition.

As prospects begin their search for services or products, they have several questions, such as:

1. What distinguishes your Asheville small business from the one down the street?
2. What are the criteria for hiring employees?
3. What is the business’s mission/philosophy?
4. How much can clients be involved, and what role can they play?
5. What are the expectations for communication with clients?
6. What results can we expect if we use your services or products?
7. What are the business’s difficulties? What are the areas that need to be improved?

Your marketing materials, website, social media presence, and personal interactions should all follow a consistent theme and work to answer these questions.

Ensure you deliver on what you promise regarding what you say and do. This will not only reassure clients, but they will also be able to see the quality of your services or products.

You can and should create buyer personas to help you focus your marketing efforts. Defining an ideal client will help you develop marketing content and collateral that speaks directly to them.

Small businesses often face the challenge of limited resources, making marketing a crucial aspect of their growth strategy. By implementing effective marketing tactics, small businesses can significantly impact their target audience, drive sales, and increase brand awareness. In this post, we’ll explore the foundations of small business marketing and how it differs from marketing for larger enterprises.

One common misconception is that small businesses don’t need marketing. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Regardless of size, marketing is essential for any business, and small businesses can greatly benefit from targeted efforts that cater to their unique needs and goals. By addressing these misconceptions head-on, we can uncover the true potential of small business marketing.

It would be best to consider several things when building a winning marketing strategy for your small business. Here are my top five strategies:

Do you find yourself so overwhelmed with the day-to-day operations of your business that social media marketing takes the back burner? Whether you are a small marketing team or the sole proprietor of any small business, you are probably familiar with having to wear multiple hats to keep your business running, however, I wouldn't write off social media so promptly, no matter how hectic things can get at times.

In this day and age, the internet has become a way of life, with more and more people worldwide who can access it anytime, anywhere, on their phones. Americans spend an average of 5 hours and 30 minutes daily on their phones (Source: Zdnet), which is the same as driving from Asheville to Wilmington, NC. By 2025, it is predicted that there will be over three smartphone users for every five people in the USA alone (Source: Statista).

Till not so long ago, apps were a rarity. The average person uses a minimum of 9 apps daily and 30 apps monthly (Source: Buildfire). Apps and social media have given people more ways to engage with a brand, making apps ideal marketing vehicles to develop new sales and help businesses address evolving client needs. There are 302.35 million social media users in the US alone, meaning 90% of the US uses social media. (Source: Demandsage.com) Hence, there is a good chance your clients and prospects are already waiting to hear from you, which is why effective social media marketing for small businesses is necessary.

These numbers alone clearly indicate that social media is a fertile and powerful platform for small business social media marketing. Grow your brand, connect directly with your audience, and build brand awareness and brand loyalty with an innovative social media strategy for small businesses.

Social media is, without a doubt, the most effective platform for lead generation, enabling businesses to create content and resources resulting in added value for their prospects and clients. When people click on your social media post or offer, they are engaging and opting in to stay updated by following your business online, and these are more likely to convert.

What if I told you there is a simple, effective approach to social media marketing for a small business? Social media is a free, simple, and powerful tool for small businesses to connect directly with people interested in their brand. However, a little thought and strategy go a long way, so before you start posting, you'll need to set up a social media marketing strategy.