As a small business owner, my goal is to help you establish and/or improve your visibility online. At NYXT Marketing, our team is dedicated to taking all of the guess work out of being online, being seen by your target audience and converting those ‘eyers’ to buyers.
But this isn’t why we’re here. I’m going to tell you how, WITHOUT my help, you can start generating sales really quickly as a small business owner. No budget required.
- Give Something Away
People need to trust that you earnestly want to help them and bring them value. If everything comes at a price, your customers can sniff the desperation straight away. Yes, the reason you became an entrepreneur was so that you can make money but guess what? Customers who are willing to spend money want to feel like they are spending it on the right service/product/experience. Giving something away builds trust. Trust makes friends, and friends support each other.
- Host an Event
Your customers aren’t going to come to you if they don’t know you exist. As a small business owner, try educating people about your services by hosting a small event or class. A lot of people do not know what they want until they see it. Also, doing something like this will establish you as an authority in your field and will provide great value to potential customers/clients. Print a few flyers and post them to your community center and schools. If you can partner with a complementary business, you could even cross-promote and improve market share.
- Develop Strong Customer Appreciation
Happy clients return. And they bring their friends. And these friends return. And they bring THEIR friends. You get the idea. Starting a customer appreciation program will encourage people to continue using your service. Even in today’s digital world, word of mouth marketing remains the number one way to get the word out there about you especially as a small business/service.
- Tell a Story with your Milestones
Involve your customers in your narrative by sharing your journey with them. What does your company data tell you? Did you sell five hundred packs of your artisan soaps in two weeks? Share these things with your customers. Post it at your storefront. If you seem to be doing well at keeping your existing customers happy as your data suggests, you can expect more to follow suit. It’s like buying street food; if one stall has a long line and the other is empty you will assume that the one with the long line must be good while the competitor isn’t.
- Volunteer Your Time for Charity
People want to feel good about themselves and if you are somehow able to align your services with an altruistic purpose/event, customers will associate these feel-good vibes with you and your product. Naturally, this will take some of your time and possibly volunteering some of your product. But you will also gain some great brand visibility! Free advertising!
Conclusion
All you really need is an ounce of creativity and a passion for improving customer experience in order to turn leads into liquidity. As I said before, no budget required. Once you realize which strategy works best for you, you can refine your approach and be claiming your return on investment in no time.
