5 Marketing Tactics That All SMBs Should Be Using

  • Content Marketing and Strategy

5 Smb Marketing TacticsAs a small- to medium-sized (SMB) business owner, do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of information flying at you claiming to improve your marketing strategies? I know that it’s important to you because a recent survey of small business owners indicates that the number one area of focus for SMB owners is sales and marketing.

Here’s the problem, though. In the same survey, small business owners reported that their biggest productivity challenge is poor time management. How am I supposed to focus on my marketing strategy when I need to return 150 emails, manage my employees, handle payroll, and take care of myself?

If you are having difficulty implementing SMB marketing tactics according to your specific business and industry, consider this guideline to cut through the noise to grow your business.

SMB Marketing Strategies Have Universal Application

As a small business owner-or even a marketing manager in a mid-sized business-these strategies have universal application to achieve revenue growth.

1. Your Systems are the Backbone

You want to think about the systems that your business is running on. These should be designed to create efficiencies and help your teams focus their efforts to drive toward revenue growth.

Ask yourself:

  • What are our marketing systems?
  • Is someone assigned to the role of project manager for our clients?
  • Do we have a document management system to store content and information?
  • Do we have a CRM to track our customers and their activity?
  • Do we have marketing automation tool to automate email campaigns and post social media content?
  • How are we tracking budgets?
  • How are we measuring and reporting our activity?

Your systems should also be flexible to make quick refinements when new challenges arise. When these systems are in place, then you can start thinking about your deliverables.

2. Brand Messaging: Can You Validate Your Offering?

From a strategic standpoint, you need to evaluate your branding to ensure there is consistency and validity to your message.

Is the way that you are describing yourself connecting with your target audience? And, do you know who your target audience is?

The essential pieces of a branding tactic for any size business should include:

  • Logo aligned with messaging and your industry
  • Visual standards that are consistent across platforms
  • Collateral pieces that tell a consistent story

Now that you are capable of connecting with your audience and have systems in place to track results, you can enhance your reach.

3. Mobile Optimization: Shift Your Focus

The next important marketing tactic for small businesses is optimizing content for smartphones.

It is no longer optional to optimize your site for mobile. Having a mobile-first website is imperative to reach your audience. When reviewing your website and content, ask these questions:

  • Is your website mobile responsive?
  • Are you thinking about the experience on a smartphone, iPad, or other mobile device?
  • Is it easy to call or email your business from a mobile device?

Related to the last item in the list, it is important to have a one-click button to contact your business. This user feature is helpful on a mobile device and can differentiate your business from competitors.

4. SEO: Generate Organic Search Traffic

Another key differentiator for your company is high visibility in search results, especially in local results if you target a specific city or region.

How do you achieve this desired status? You need an SEO strategy that makes you visible in search engines. This part of your strategy needs to include:

  • Website content and delivery
  • Ongoing blog strategy
  • Keyword targeting
  • Image optimization
  • Accurate website data to fill Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)

Your strategy is incomplete, though, unless you have the right people executing throughout your company.

5. Team Focus: An All-Purpose Person Is Never the Best Option

It’s common for small businesses to look for one person who can fill all roles. You know who this person is: someone in the job market who can run social media, design graphics, manage your website, manage the database systems, be a point of contact, and handle everything else in between.

In reality, this person is a unicorn. In other words, no single marketer possesses this variety of skills. And that makes this strategy very poor because you’re setting an impossible expectation for yourself. One person cannot have the competencies and proficiencies at that wide range of skills.

It is important to narrow down the most important aspects of your deliverables. Then, evaluate your internal employee assets before looking at freelancers, agencies, or other businesses that can help you execute at a high level.

Strategically, team building is not an actionable marketing tactic, but you need to decide on team dynamics as part of your overall marketing strategy to grow your business.

Marketing Refresh Can Support Your SMB Marketing Tactics

It can be challenging to execute on all five marketing tactics for a small business. Perhaps you have strong marketing systems but lack an SEO strategy. Or, you are partnering with an SEO agency but need help with your brand messaging.

At Marketing Refresh, we have a complete team that can support your business with each of these SMB marketing tactics. Or, we can complete your existing team by supporting a specific area of need and carefully planning strategies that deliver growth.

As the CEO of our agency, I know first-hand the importance of maximizing your company’s capabilities to continue growing your business. Our team would appreciate the opportunity to work alongside your business. Contact us today to get started.

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