As a senior entrepreneur
, you may be worried about how to ensure your marketing efforts are suitable for today’s market. Though there are some important distinctions between the marketing you may have grown up with and today’s, there are benefits to both. To effectively promote your business, follow these tips.
1. Offer Free or Discounted Samples
Free samples are a tried-and-true trick of food establishments because they work. The customer tries the tasty tidbit and remembers the experience later when they’re feeling hungry. Free and discounted samples aren’t only effective with food vendors, though; other businesses can benefit enormously from this marketing tool, too.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, consider setting up free samples of a full-sized product you’d like to promote at checkout. If you sell wares on marketplaces such as Etsy, include a free sample in the package when someone makes a purchase.
If you offer digital services, the same is true. For example, if you are a book editor, you can offer a sample of your skills via a 1,000-word edit. This allows potential customers to sample your product and see if you are a good fit for their needs.
2. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
Chambers of commerce can be a great resource for entrepreneurs. Their entire purpose is to promote businesses in the area, establish rules on how they are to be run and create opportunities for connections between business owners. These connections can be invaluable, especially when you’re looking to cross-promote your business with other complementary ones.
Being a member of the chamber of commerce comes with other benefits, too, such as giving you a voice in how businesses are regulated and taxed in your community. When customers call looking for referrals, your business will be on the list of those who are referred. Members also benefit from increased credibility and visibility in their community.
3. Design an Attractive Website
These days, a solid web presence is the key to effective marketing. If you don’t have experience with website building, hire a freelancer who can design it for you. In the digital age, a business’s website is not a place it can afford to skimp, with Concordia St. Paul stating that businesses without effective websites lose out on untold business each year. Particularly if customers can purchase goods and services directly from your site, it’s vital that it be not only appealing but easily navigated, as well. If customers have an issue trying to find the product they’re looking for or completing a purchase, many simply will turn to Google and find another business to buy from.
If you’re unsure of where to find a freelance website designer, you can easily do so using online marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork. There you can read reviews and compare prices to ensure you are getting the services you need at the price you desire.
4. Embrace Social Media Marketing
Your customers are online, likely surfing social media, so social media accounts for your business are necessary if entrepreneurial success is desired. A Facebook page is the bare minimum, but other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok can be incredible tools for promotion, as well, tapping into an almost endless supply of potential customers.
If social media marketing isn’t your forte, hire a social media manager for a few hours a week. The returns in visibility and customer engagement will be worth the expense.
If you’re on a budget, you can create a Facebook ad quickly by using an online ad maker. Choose a design template and then make your ad stand out by customizing its colors, layout, images, and text.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the changes in marketing. Embrace effective tools both new and old to give your business’s bottom line the boost it deserves, and you’ll be glad you did.
This guest post was graciously provided by Bob Shannon from Seniors Meet.org.
