Wondering where you should be investing your marketing dollars in 2018? Don’t get tricked into shelling out cash for strategies that don’t work. Check out these tips to help make the most of your marketing dollars this year.
1. Facebook Ads
Imagine your awesome advertisement popping up in front of your captivated customer just as they’re about to dive into their 100th cute cat video of the day. And suddenly they remember… oh yes, I did need to get my plumbing serviced, didn’t I? I’ll give them a call.
Facebook Targeted Ads are cheap and effective in getting you noticed by potential customers.
With Facebook Ads you can design Custom Audiences to target your ad to specific groups of people more likely to need your services. You can also set Location Targeting which lets you market to people within a certain radius. Or, you can even Retarget Ads at customers who visited your website but never converted.
In total, Facebook Ads let you reach more customers who may need your services, while weeding out a lot that don’t.
Which is a marketer’s dream.
2. Email Marketing
By now, you know how powerful it is for small businesses to keep in contact with their customers. Ongoing communication helps to build brand loyalty, customer retention, and helps businesses stay top-of-mind throughout the year.
That’s why email marketing is the most effective way to communicate to your customers throughout the year while delivering the most ROI.
With one well-written email and a single click of a button, you can reach all of your customers at once without spending much effort or money.
So, stretch out your typing fingers and start sending newsletters, service reminders, holiday greetings, and company updates throughout the year, so your customers will remember your company name when they need a service.
3. Video Marketing
People like to watch videos. A lot of videos. More than 500 hours of video are watched on Youtube every day. And according to a new study by SearchMetrics, Youtube now dominates SEO visibility rankings.
And many local service companies are starting to take advantage of video content as a way to get more customers to pay attention.
Here’s why you should, too…
According to Diode Digital, 50% of customers will watch a video if it’s available on your site. And websites with videos are 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results (Forrester Research).
How-tos, testimonials, or even just an introduction to your team will help you get found online and generate more calls to your business.
4. Reputation Management
By now you already know your online reputation is your most valuable marketing asset. Having a stellar reputation is crucial to growing your business.
That’s because 97% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase decision. And 85% of those consumers trust a review as much as a personal recommendation.
But did you know that many companies are now using reviews as a sales tool?
You can send an online review portfolio of your team member to your customer before an appointment. This helps to establish your team member as a trusted advisor and makes it easier for them to close deals.
Because when the time comes for your team to recommend a particular piece of equipment or service, your customer will know they’re credible and trustworthy based on all the great reviews they’ve earned.
Reviews mean revenue. In fact, according to one study by Moz, 67% of consumers are influenced by online reviews. And one negative review could cost you nearly a quarter of all potential customers who began researching your brand.
What does this mean for you? Looking good online is essential to bringing in new business.
5. Invest in Your People
Your people represent your brand, your values, and your business to your customers every day. When they provide remarkable service it results in happy customers leaving glowing online reviews to attract more new customers to help you grow your business.
When they don’t provide great service, however, you get unhappy customers who leave you bad reviews, resulting in a bad reputation, and countless dollars of lost revenue.
So what leads to lackluster employee performance? According to a study by Globoforce, the answer could lie in how employees are being recognized at work.
78% of workers would be more motivated to perform better at their job if they were recognized and appreciated for their efforts.
Which is alarming considering that same study says that 45% of employees have received no recognition in the past 6 months.
Encourage your team to be remarkable by recognizing and rewarding them for the great things they do. Cheer them on at company lunches, post a shout outs to them on your company Facebook page for their friends and family to see, or even give them a simple, “Thank you for all your hard work.”
These extra efforts cost very little but go very far.
Because motivated employees provide better service to your customers, which results in better online reviews, and more revenue for your business.
And if that’s not enough, your happy employees can even help you with recruitment and retainment of more great people.
Employees who feel recognized at work are two times more likely to recommend their workplace to others. And they’re half as likely to leave a company for a competitor.
Investing in getting and keeping great people who positively represent your company’s brand and values with every customer interaction is essential for a great online reputation.
It’s the best investment you can make in 2018… and beyond.