Even though it might look easy to many, owning and operating a small business is no simple feat. However, when you build systems and master specific strategies, it’ll become much easier to know how to run a business with your eyes closed. Building your customer base is essential to your success. If you don’t have customers, your business doesn’t have a chance. It’s one thing to gain customers. It’s another achievement to retain customers. You can retain customers and attract more through increasing engagement. If you don’t know how to get started, consider the following tips.
1. Maintain Active Communication on Social Media Platforms
If you are running a small business, it’s worth it to outsource certain aspects of your company operations. Consider hiring a social media manager or a virtual assistant to operate the social media marketing and engagement. When you use social media platforms to properly engage with customers, it can be a time-consuming process. Developing a great content creation strategy is essential for increasing engagement. For example, Instagram copied TikTok by prioritizing creators who use Reels. It takes time to create great content. Once you’ve created the content, be sure to respond to all of the comments and messages people leave. Instagram Stories provide a time-sensitive opportunity for increasing engagement. Through polls, interactive Q&As and live broadcasts, you can effectively engage and increase visibility through social media platforms.
2. Build an Email List
A lot of marketers preach to business owners about maintaining their own lists. Email lists are incredible because you’ve basically collected a slew of contacts of people who are interested in your business offerings. It’s up to you to use your list in order to connect with your audience correctly. Consider learning how to craft emails in the right way. If you don’t know much about copywriting, outsource the efforts to a great copywriter. Learn how to provide various deals and exclusives in order to make your customers feel like they’re a valid part of your company. Just remember that even though sales and coupons are great, they can’t be the driving force behind your engagement. Profitability is still important when you’re running a business. Plus, perception is key. If people perceive that you’d give your products away for free, they might not see the products as valuable anymore.
3. Connect through Text Messages
Most people check their phones throughout any given day. Honestly, many people are addicted to their phones. If you opt to use a text messaging service to promote your brand, chances are your open rate and engagement will skyrocket. This is because a text message is typically one of the first things people see (even before an email). By getting that level of engagement, you can insert links to your company’s website. You can implement text automation which is truly an effective method that can directly translate to increased engagement and profitability.
4. Speak Directly to Your Customer
Know your customer’s pain points. In fact, it’s wise to create a customer avatar. Consider the problems that keep your customer up at night. Consider details like their favorite television shows, the number of children they have and the type of job they have. Know which social media platform they’re most likely to use. When you know these details, work them into your messaging as you create email newsletters, Instagram captions and copy for your website. When you’re able to get incredibly specific with your target customer’s characteristics, you’re able to directly connect with someone who feels like you truly know and understand them. When people feel seen, heard and understood, it’s much easier for them to buy into whatever you’re selling.
5. Offer Incredible Value
Even though marketing is essential, there’s nothing that promotes a company like a good product or service. When you have a great product, people will naturally become repeat buyers. They’ll budget so that they have enough money to buy whatever you’re selling. When you offer incredible value in the form of excellent products and excellent customer service experiences, your customers will want to engage with you even more. They’ll also become the brand ambassadors you never asked for.
Conclusion
If you’ve already tried some of these methods, reexamine them in order to see how you can improve them. All of these methods work. The key is to customize the methods to fit your company’s needs. As you fine-tune your methods, pay attention to metrics and experience success, document your process. When you document everything, you’ll be able to delegate this work to another employee. This allows you to leverage your efforts and increase your chances of scaling your efforts.