We've noticed a lot of local businesses who look to us to help promote their services/products aren't talking about or implementing the marketing strategies that will really work in 2020. Whether you're a local retailer, restaurant or service provider, reaching new locals and converting them into loyal customers has never been more important. This monthly blog will give you more tools to build marketing strategies that work (and save you a whole lot of time and energy wasted on those that don't).
To kick off the year, we are talking about four marketing trends for 2020 that will help you reach beyond your current customers and lure in tech-savvy locals who rely on online sources to tell them where to eat, who to buy from and who's services to use.
#1 Email marketing is here to stay
Email marketing is still one of the most direct, action-oriented, personal and measurable ways to reach potential buyers. You can reach highly-targeted groups of people interested in your product/service where they spend the most time, their inboxes. Your email should focus on one main message that has one direct call to action (CTA). The CTA can pertain to promoting a new product, going into the store, buying online for a special offer or registering for an event, just to name a few ideas.
However, you'll want to steer clear of buying email lists to try and inflate your numbers. These lists can often hurt your email ranking (which results in your emails going into the spam folder) and are filled with unresponsive emails. Don't have a large email list? Talk to us!
#2 Focus on engagement
Your engaged customers are not only repeat buyers, they are also walking billboards spreading the word about your business. The more engaged customers you have, the quicker the word-of-mouth spreads. How do you create engagement? Make sure you have multiple touchpoints with your future, past and present customers to stay top-of-mind. This includes everything from your in-store customer service, your website experience and your social media presence to your email and direct mail strategies. Being everywhere at once is the new norm. If you're not, you risk losing your customer to someone else's message.
#3 Be discoverable online
Locals and tourists look to search engines (like Google) to tell them where to go, who to buy from and what to eat. You're at a great advantage if your business shows up near the top of these results. So how do you strengthen your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Make sure your website is optimized, your business is listed on Google Businesses and Yelp, you have a social media presence and you have a solid content marketing strategy that includes sponsored content on trusted third-party websites.
#4 Build customer experiences
At the end of the day, a customer will remember what their experience with your business was like more so than the product/service they received. You may have the best cup of coffee in town, but if they had a rude encounter with a barista, they may never come back. After all, they have plenty of other coffee shops to choose from. The same is true of their online experience. Is your website easy to navigate? Does it include the information they'll be looking for? Do you have options to purchase, book a reservation and/or schedule a service online?
If you're still new to marketing your business online, we can guide you. We've seen plenty of local businesses make just a few easy adjustments to their marketing strategy to create lasting results. If you already have a digital marketing strategy in play but aren't seeing the results you want, the same applies to minor adjustments in optimizing your strategies. We are here to help, so please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.