Small business marketing. What actions to take in 2022?

"The goal of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits and sells itself." - Peter Drucker

Why are marketing efforts so important?

The SME sector accounts for the vast majority of businesses in Poland. According to CSO data for 2019, the most numerous group (97%) are micro enterprises. The share of small companies in the structure of Polish enterprises is 2.2%, medium - 0.7%, large - only 0.2%.

So what strategy should we take when we've just started a company? How do we understand and get to know the customer? How to advertise our product or service? How to reach new audiences? The key is prosperous marketing.

Many people say that without it, it's hard to compete in the market segments we target. From this article you will learn how marketing should work in a small business. We will present the most important strategies and tools that you absolutely must use when you want to stand out in the Polish market.

What you need to keep in mind if you want to grow your business - the most important marketing tips

• Who is my customer? Based on the available data, you can determine, for example, gender or age.
• Who am I building the product/service for? Determine exactly who will use your services.
• To whom do I offer value? The product or service itself is not enough - you need to know the needs you are meeting.
• Who will pay for our product or service?  Interest is not enough. Reach people who will pay for what you offer.
• What are the goals and needs of my audience? Try to step "into the shoes" of the customer and determine why they should use, your services.
• How large is the group of potential customers? Try to make your calculations as accurate as possible.
• What similar solutions do my clients use? Know the competition and be aware of the risks.
• What problems do they face? If you know the problem - try to find a solution. If you already have one - great!

Who are my customers?

Before you start any activities, you should identify the customer groups you want to reach. At this point, you should answer the following questions:

• Who is my customer?
• Who am I building the product/service for?
• To whom do I offer value?
• Who will pay for our product or service?
• What are the goals and needs of my audience?- How large is the group of potential customers?
• What similar solutions do my clients use?
• What problems do they face?
• What budget do my target users have?
• What solution can I offer them?
• Also determine the age, gender, location and channels through which you want to reach customers.

The better you know your potential audience, the more effective your actions will be.

Is a website a must-have?

You need to be recognizable in the virtual world as well. This will be helped by your own website, which will attract new customers and make a first impression on them. It is up to you whether it will be positive or not. If you have an online store, you need to focus on functionalities that facilitate online shopping. If you offer services make sure that the relevant tabs include accurate information about what you offer. In both cases, include your company's contact, address and where you describe your business.

You should also definitely add recommendations from previous or current customers who can recommend you and your services. You can also add a chat plugin that will allow a new person to contact you directly via Messenger. Keep in mind, however, that in this case you have little time to respond, so it would be a good idea to add a contact form.

The look and intuitive feel of a website is key to winning customers. Design a logo and layout or hire the right people to do it. In most cases, the best option will be to outsource the above-mentioned tasks, because a professionally created website or store works, looks and performs better in the eyes of the customer.

Remember to track your site with analytics tools.This will allow you to infer customer data that will help you improve your offerings. Check out keyword opportunities and improve your Google ranking with SEO. Optimize your site for mobile devices - this is especially important in the e-commerce industry, where we can map out paths to purchase and examine where customers do or don't visit, or where they encounter problems through which they leave your site or ultimately abandon their purchases.

According to the "E-commerce in Poland 2020" study, in the 15-24 age group, as many as 92% respondents from Poland have shopped online using a smartphone.

This shows how important this aspect is. It's worth experimenting with photo and video content, creating interesting landing pages and making your distribution channels available on the site. Consider having a blog - through it you can attract potential customers. Frankly speaking, these days we can't imagine a business that doesn't sell its products or services online.

Is it worth running social media?

Of course you can! Launch business pages on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedlin, Twitter or TikoTik - but be sure to carefully define your target audience. With these, you have the opportunity for almost direct interaction with your customers.

You can manage them very easily with Meta Business Suite. "It's a free tool that allows you to centrally manage your Facebook, Instagram and messaging tools in one place, so you can save time, connect with more people and get better business results." Whether you use it on a computer or a mobile device, Meta Business Suite makes it easy to view notifications and quickly respond to messages.

You can also create or schedule posts, testimonials and ads for your business, while getting useful statistics to help you optimize your work. In addition, if you have an online store, you can easily sync it with your Facebook or Instagram.

If you manage your accounts properly, you will see results in the form of likes, comments and shares. It won't be easy, as you can't tailor your content to everyone - so it's worth trying different types of content. TikTok's popularity is also growing.

According to the study "Holiday Shopping Behavior Custom Research" as many as 67% users say TikTok inspires them to make purchases - even if they didn't plan to. Users of the app admit that they enjoy following the activities of brands, and 73% say they feel a deeper connection to the companies they interact with on the platform.

Build your social media strategy and invest in ads from the beginning to reach more and more customers. It is worth noting that the look and quality of our posts and graphics is also important. The content should be consistent, and your social media should tell in an interesting way, about what you offer. On the Internet we can find many ideas for campaigns or series of posts that, in addition to attracting attention, will bring real value and expand customers' knowledge of our brand. The most important thing is to think in advance and plan what you want to publish. Also pay attention to remarketing. What it is. Remarketing - is a way to reach people again:
- have shown any activity on your website, Fanpage or Instagram,
- have already familiarized themselves with your company's offerings and to individuals,
- have responded to your earlier advertising.

Remarketing campaigns can be created in various channels, both in Google Ads and Facebook Ads. If you advertise online, remarketing is the best way to turn potential customers into engaged buyers.

Email marketing - does it pay?

Plan an email marketing strategy, which can also be one of your key tools. According to research in fact, 73% millenials prefer to receive communications from companies via email.It's an easy, free and scalable way to communicate with both new and existing customers.

Once you have an email marketing tool (many are inexpensive or even free), experiment with sending newsletters (with new, elegant blog posts) and other promotions aimed at your customers.

It's worthwhile to use email marketing in a small business, especially if you already have a regular group of people using your services.  In this case, remember about marketing consents. The customer must agree to receive materials from your site. Communicate it in a simple and understandable way, because if the customer or potential customer does not understand what he or she is giving marketing consent for, such consent is invalid. Keep this in mind.

Don't forget about "panto mail", i.e. local marketing matters

You need to realize the value and importance of local customers. If you run a small business and have an office or stationary store try to make sure everyone in the area knows about your business. After some time you will see results - if you are reliable and your services meet the expectations of your customers - they will recommend them to others. So it's worth investing in a banner, signboard or lighting for your company.

As we wrote above - testimonials from satisfied customers are a great added value for you and confirm the credibility of your service or products. Post them on your website. Recommendations will prompt new audiences to choose you.

Configure Google My Business.

You will create a Company Profile free of charge. What will you need it for? After creating an account, you will be able to manage your company's profile in Search and Maps.

You will add opening hours, photos, entries or products or services you offer. "Whether you run a restaurant or store, or provide services, the Company Profile makes it easy for customers to experience your offerings directly, allowing them to see the menu or price of services".

Ask satisfied customers to share their feedback. Both good and bad ones have a huge impact on your site's search engine position, among other things.

Consulting company - is it worth asking the experts?

Definitely yes! Business consultants will help you develop a strategy and guide your thinking about the market or guesses about your audience. Examples of ConQuest Consulting services:
– Market analysis
– Competitor analysis
– Foreign expansion
– Strategic consulting

We know that an owner who runs a small business is not able to take care of everything himself, so It is worthwhile to outsource some tasks to people who deal with this on a daily basis. Contact us if you'd like to see if you're doing your company's marketing activities right! We will be happy to answer your questions.

Summary

There's a Peter Drucker quote at the beginning of this article for a reason.
He is the father of marketing. Since he stresses that the key to success is to understand the customer,
then we can say from experience that this is true.

If we offer great products or provide quality services, the measures I propose will only increase the group of customers
and recognition of your brands. Marketing in a small business must thrive - without it, the life of an entrepreneur will be harder. We also include a link where you will find the most important marketing tools and software to help you in the daily operation of your business.

Jakub Dereń