Stagnation in any kind of business ultimately leads to losses. The reason why this happens is very simple. As a business owner, there really isn’t such a thing as stagnation. You either go forward or go back. There is no in-between.
In order for a business to move forward and grow, new blood is needed. In other words, new customers are the lifeblood of every business, and that is why finding and connecting with potential buyers is crucial, but very often not an easy task.
Fortunately, there are quite a few ways that you can use to reach and convert potential customers. If you like how that sounds, you will appreciate this post.
Take advantage of email marketing
It is no brainer that email marketing still works fairly well. Many people claim that it isn’t so efficient since it is one of the ‘older’ channels of marketing, but that just isn’t the case.
Email marketing actually still gives you a fairly good bang for your buck and still performs quite well when compared to social media and paid search.
Starting your email marketing efforts shouldn’t be difficult. First, you need to gather contacts online through a sign-up form on your website. Next, make an email list and start sending converting messages. This is a type of newsletter where you will have a chance to reach your current and potential prospects.
Many companies use this method to inform their customers about new products, special offers, discounts, and so on. Some even include a code in the message for a 5% discount on various purchases just to reward the reader.
Pro tip: When writing your emails, make sure to add a personal touch, stick by your unique tone, and try to sound like the person your target audience would like to speak to. When you personalize email outreach, you have a higher chance to build a good relationship with the recipients.
Also, refrain from sending unsolicited messages. Many companies still follow that practice, but it almost never leads to good results.
Create and promote only quality content
Content marketing is one of the most powerful marketing channels today.
Why?
Because valuable and interesting content can be really powerful, both for attracting people to your website and converting them.
So, if you manage to provide valuable and interesting content, and post it on your blog and/or your social media pages, you are doing yourself a great favor. But, if you aren’t consistent or if you deliver below-average posts, well, your business could suffer detrimental effects.
You should write content that adds value and is useful to your readers. In order to come up with the ideas for your posts, you first need to decide on the type of content you will provide:
- blog posts
- webinars
- podcasts
- videos
These are just some of the forms your content can take. However, when you start thinking about the type of content, you need to think about your audience too.
Are your readers looking for thorough guides? Or, do they like fun, short videos where they get tutorials and thorough reviews of your products?
Study your audience and get to know them like the back of your hand. Once you do that, you will know what type of content they best respond to. And when you figure that out, you just have to put in the effort to make your content as good as possible.
SMS as a powerful tool
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Text message marketing has a whopping 98% open rate and a very good conversion rate. When compared to email and other marketing channels, using SMS API for businesses is really a powerful tool for many entrepreneurs.
After all, when you succeed to get that many eyes to look at what you have to say, there is no denying that this is a good way to reach your potential customers and raise awareness of your brand. Of course, you need to know how to engage the recipients first.
One good way to start things off is by sending a welcome SMS as they subscribe. One short message where you thank them for subscribing and welcome them is enough.
To be fair, people expect a welcome message after they subscribe. This is your chance to create a lasting first impression that can serve as the foundation of your new relationship.
Once you start things off nicely, you can later send new offers or content. You can even offer special deals with included code in the texts you send. The choice is all yours, but just like you do with emails, you should reward recipients for reading your SMS messages too.
Be creative, consistent and remember that you shouldn’t overuse this medium. Sending news, reminders, and special offers is okay. However, bombarding your audience with messages every other day is something you should definitely avoid.
Do not forget social media
Image by Pixelkult from Pixabay
There is no denying that social media platforms are where the vast majority of people now hang out when online. Networks such as Facebook or Instagram have millions of users, from youngsters all the way to elderly people.
This is where you can, without a doubt, find new people that need your products or services.
Therefore, you need to build a strong presence on these platforms and make sure that you post content, interact with people, and even reach out to other companies.
For example, if you don’t have a Facebook page, create one immediately. Next, fill in all the necessary details. All the details you put in have to be accurate, and the images you use need to be high-quality.
Once you create your page on one or more networks, you need to start thinking about posting and talking to users there. Remember to share relevant and useful content, as well as stay active.
When you see that your audience is growing, don’t be afraid of interacting with them on your page. A great thing you can also do is provide customer service on social media. For example, if someone leaves a comment where they share a problem experienced with your product, take some time to resolve it.
Pro tip: If you happen to have a WordPress website and you want to start your social media journey effectively and quickly, you can follow this social media cheat sheet for WordPress. That will help you manage your social media settings easily.
Each platform is unique and with different requirements, so why bother yourself with remembering all the information when you can use a cheat sheet to quickly lookup all the options?
Ask for reviews
Reviews are a great tool that can help you strengthen your brand image and attract new customers. People will much rather believe other shoppers that are similar to them instead of believing what you wrote on your website.
Hence, you should ensure that your business has a presence on review sites (Yelp, Foursquare, etc.) since this can really promote your business. When a random visitor sees a positive review, they will surely get a nice first impression of your brand.
Of course, the reviews and testimonials of this kind have to be authentic. Do not even think of writing them yourself with nothing but praises for your business.
Collect reviews from people who have repeatedly bought from you, ask them for their opinion, and make sure that their review is visible. If your business isn’t featured on review websites, you could use the feedback gathered from your customers and feature it on your homepage.
After all, many websites do that as an effective method to grab people’s attention as soon as they visit their website.
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