There is no doubt that starting any kind of small business is going to involve you having to keep a whole lot of balls in the air at once. If your startup is small enough that you’re the only person involved, then you’re going to find yourself moving between so many different things that it can be kind of overwhelming. However, the most important thing here is that you make sure that you don’t end up missing or neglecting certain things. One of the most common things that new business owners neglect is that actual marketing of their business. There’s a dangerous assumption that a good business is going to automatically attract customers. However, the reality is that if you can’t bring in customers, you don’t really have a business at all. With that in mind, here are some ways that you can bring in customers to your startup from the very beginning.
Improve your SEO
SEO might be the most important aspect of any startup’s marketing in the modern era. In the pre-internet age, if a customer wanted to find a business then they would either use word of mouth, the phone book, or traditional advertising to find them. However, in the modern era, if customers want to find businesses then all they need to do is to hop over to a site like Google. SEO is the way that you ensure that your business is right at the top of any search engine results. Making sure that your SEO is working properly is a serious challenge, and it might be best to reach out to outside companies for help. That way you have the benefit of their expertise, and you can be sure that your SEO is as effective as possible.
Use social media
Social media is something that far too many businesses are taking too long to embrace fully. It might have once seemed like something of a trend that would eventually fade away, but that’s far from the case. Social media is here to stay, and it can be one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal. It allows you to stay in close contact with your customers in an individual way that has never really been possible before. Just look at some of the best corporate Twitter and Facebook accounts, and you can see how well you can connect with customers in a dynamic and engaging way. Not only does it let you promote your business but it gives you the chance to provide great customers service at the same time. There’s a subtle art to using social media effectively, and you should do a lot of research before attempting it.
Know your demographics
One of the most important things is to know who your customers are. That can actually be a much bigger challenge than you might expect. However, there are things that you can do in order to keep track of your business’s demographics. From call tracking to detailed market research, it’s entirely possible to get an incredibly clear picture of who your customers are. Once you know that, you’re going to be able to connect with them much more effectively.
Of course, in the same way, that you shouldn’t neglect the marketing of your startup, you shouldn’t let other elements of it fall by the wayside in your pursuit of new customers. You need to think about your business holistically. If there’s a single aspect of it that’s not working; it’s going to have a serious knock-on effect on the rest of your business as a whole.
