We’re all looking for affordable ways to nurture steady, sustainable growth. But deciding on an online marketing plan can be overwhelming for small business owners.
With time in short supply, the key is to find one or two growth strategies that will get results at minimal cost.
These proven growth hacks offer business owners a few simple, cost-effective ideas for attracting new customers, increasing brand awareness, and, ultimately, getting more sales.
Build your email list
The conversion rate for email marketing remains higher than any other marketing channel. In fact, 80% of top marketers would rather give up social media before parting with email marketing.
Permission-based marketing is based on a friendly exchange: your customer’s email address for a promise to provide value.
As you nurture a positive relationship via your newsletter, with special offers, useful or inspiring content, and discounts, you earn the trust of your customers. We all prefer to buy from those we trust.
Incentivize new customers to sign up with contests, giveaways, referral bonuses and webinars. The bigger your list, the greater the return when you have a new product to promote—so if you decide to launch a company e-newsletter, be sure you make a consistent effort to attract new subscribers. This Forbes article offers some quick tips on how to grow your list.
Offer social proof
One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is converting online leads into paying customers. It comes down to convincing people you’ve never met that you deserve their trust—which is why social proof is so important.
Adding testimonials to your website is a simple way to give potential customers confidence that they won’t regret buying from you. Recent research shows that even one review can increase conversion by 52%.
Let your customers know you’d like their feedback, and ask for permission to include their positive comments on your company website.
Other kinds of social proof you can use to win over customers online include:
- Case studies
- Media mentions
- Customers logos
- Accreditations and certifications
Create partnerships
This simple growth hack is effective both on and offline. Partnering with a company that provides complementary products or services can quickly increase each of your email lists—also giving your sales figures a big boost.
There are many ways a business partnership could work. You might negotiate a joint venture, host an event where you promote each other’s products or services, run a giveaway together, or launch a combined product or service.
Final Tip
As you try out some new ways to market your business, be sure to set actionable and achievable goals. For instance, you might make 100 newsletter sign ups over the next quarter one of your priorities, or increasing your blog traffic by 50% by the end of the year.
Make it a habit to review your metrics regularly to see how well your strategies are working. Then use that data to set new goals to keep winning over customers and expanding your business.
If you want to be sure you’re earning a profit at every stage of growth, a Profit First advisor might be just what you need. Drop us a line to find out!
