Category Archives: Small Business tips

8 Small Business Advertising Tips for Drawing in New Customers

There’s no doubt that starting a business is a lot harder today than it has been in the past. With a more competitive market and even more discerning consumers, it’s no surprise that a lot of businesses are struggling to draw in new customers, keep loyal ones and drive business growth.

But while there’s no magic recipe to success in business, there are certain smart advertising strategies that will help make your business more attractive to potential customers.

As you probably know, one of the keys to succeeding in the digital age is to take advantage of social media and all it has to offer. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can abandon all offline advertising strategies, as they can be invaluable as well.
This guide will talk you through eight small business advertising and marketing tips that will attract new potential customers, and encourage them to choose your company over a competitor.

1. Start with a Firm Game Plan

Like everything else in business, you need to start your marketing efforts with a good game plan. Who do you want to target for your campaigns? What do you want to achieve?
You’ll need to know and understand the demographics of your target market, as well as being extremely familiar with any competition you may have in that area. These factors can greatly influence the kinds of marketing and advertising that will work best for your company.

For example, if your target market is young people, you should focus your efforts on social media campaigns and online ad spaces. But if your business appeals to the older generations, this would be a waste of time and money – you’d be far better off going a more offline route.
Next, you’ll need to have a firm advertising and marketing fund. By being specific about your objectives, it will be easier for you to choose strategies that work for your business and within your budget.

2. Don’t be Afraid to Go Old School

Don’t make the mistake of focusing your entire marketing budget on online advertising. “Old school” techniques still reap a lot of benefits to smaller businesses, especially since most consumers are already overwhelmed with the amount of digital marketing that’s sent their way. It’s much easier to scroll past a Facebook ad than to ignore a flyer that’s put through your door.

As a small business, you may not have the budget to put into bigger advertising strategies yet, and that’s okay. Offline techniques can still go a long way – such as:

1) Advertising in newspapers and magazines
2) Word-of-mouth marketing
3) Handing out printed marketing materials, such as flyers and postcards (particularly if they contain discount codes and other special offers, designed to entice people in)
4) Letterbox marketing
5) Giving away freebies, e.g. personalised promotional products

Products printed with your company’s logo and branding, such as personalised mugs, pens, t-shirts and bags are particularly effective.
Market research has demonstrated that people are more likely to think positively about, and support, brands whose merchandise they own. They also have the potential to spread brand awareness far and wide, which is absolutely vital for new businesses looking to get their name out there.

3. Combine Both Online and Offline Techniques

Of course, offline marketing techniques – as useful as they are – can only take you so far in the digital era. No matter what kind of company you are, if you’re just starting out and you want to gain traction as a new brand, you will need to embrace more modern digital marketing methods.

Even when it comes to businesses targeting a more mature market, don’t forget that the older generations are becoming more and more tech-savvy – and their children and grandchildren are online every day.

If you want to maximise the result of your campaigns, you should combine both online and offline marketing techniques that can work together to help you achieve your goal.
For example, a great offline marketing technique is handing out business cards containing all of your company’s branding. Having a pocket-sized, physical reminder of your company will work wonders for keeping you fresh in your customers’ minds. But to bring your cards into the 21st century, you might include a discount code for online purchases, or a QR code that takes people directly to your web store.

4. Capitalise on the Power of Social Media

No one can deny the power that social media has on consumers these days. With people spending on average of two hours daily on social network platforms like Facebook and Twitter – and this figure being even higher for younger generations – being on the forefront means that you’re getting better exposure that could lead people to check out your business. For example:

1) Take advantage of Facebook’s targeted advertisements. You can pay to promote posts through Facebook, and tell the site who to show your ads to – for example, people living in a certain area, or people of a certain gender or age.
2) If you’re targeting a younger market, having your product sponsored by Instagram influencers can have a very real impact on spreading brand awareness.
3) The same goes for popular YouTubers. YouTube content creators often feature “sponsors” throughout their videos, which can work wonders for drawing in new customers.

Being present on social media doesn’t mean focusing all your efforts on these platforms. You just have to determine which sites work best for your business, and learn all about the types of content and promotional materials that you can put on these platforms in order to encourage new customers to see what you have to offer.

5. Invest in Ad Space

Although you can gain exposure organically through your content and social media profiles, paid advertisements are still essential in helping you gain more exposure and hopefully motivate new customers to see what you have in store for them.
You can go with Google ads or social media ads depending on your budget and your goals for your campaign. Buying ad space on websites is a great all-rounder, as pretty much everyone of every age uses the Internet to browse sites that interest them, even if they aren’t on social media.

Advertising is definitely a trial-and-error activity, so you’ll have to do a bit of experimentation first. Try out several different types of adverts and keep track of how many clicks you get. Once you know what works for your business, make sure to double down on those methods so you can gain the most benefits and enjoy positive results for a longer time.

6. Offer Value to New Customers

Here’s the truth: customers now are a lot smarter than they were 10 years ago. They don’t just look at advertisements to buy a product. They’re always looking for value in these campaigns.

Consumers want to find answers to their problems, solutions to their challenges and recommendations that will help them improve their quality of life in one way or another.
This means that you can’t just advertise for the sake of getting a sale. In fact, your revenue should be the last of your priorities when creating a marketing campaign. You want to build that trust with your customers first by making sure that you offer value to them – value that makes you stand out from your competitors.

One of the best ways to do that is through good content. Once you have a good understanding of the common pain points of your customers, you can create articles that offer solutions to those problems with the help of your products, of course.
Once you establish yourself as an authority in your niche, it will be easier to convince people to buy your products.

7. Bank on Imagery

According to scientific studies, the human brain can process images 60 times faster than words. So, it’s very important to make sure that images are part of your advertising efforts. It’s relatively easy to scroll past a large block of text without reading it, but it’s far harder to scroll past an image without at least glancing at it. That split-second glance will still make an impression in potential customer’s minds.
These days, consumers love to devour visual content like tutorials and how-to videos on YouTube, flat lay and artistic images, and even simple reels on Instagram or Facebook stories.

When you have good images, it’s easier to tell your story to people, stir the right emotions and motivate them to check out your business. Do some research into the effects of colour on the brain, for example, to use certain hues to influence what people will think about your company.

8. Respect your Loyal Customers

While the goal here is to draw new customers to your business, you should not forget the importance of retaining loyal customers.
Make sure that you implement strategies that also focus on existing consumers. For instance, you should take advantage of loyalty cards to encourage patrons to keep coming back to your business time and time again, rather than shopping around for competitors.
Don’t forget that loyal customers play an important role in attracting new customers through testimonials and reviews. These people already understand your brand and what you have to offer, and their opinions are highly valued by other consumers.

If they have a good experience with your brand, they can easily refer you to family and friends. Remember that word-of-mouth is still one of the most effective marketing strategies today, so capitalise on that.

Order Your Marketing Materials Today through 123Print

You can’t master effective marketing overnight. It’s a long process that involves a lot of trial and error, and you’ll need to make a huge investment to make things work.
But once you see the results of your efforts, and customers start pouring in, you’ll know that everything you did was worth your while. So, start by embracing these advertising tips into your system.

If you’re looking for marketing materials such as flyers, business cards and loyalty cards, 123Print is the place to go. With years of experience in the professional printing industry, we’re proud to produce some of the most affordable and highest-quality advertising materials around. All of our products can be customised online from the comfort of your own home (or office).

We also stock a range of promotional products including personalised mugs, postcards and vinyl magnets that are perfect for giving out as freebies to spread brand awareness. Why not have a browse through our range today?

Product Packaging Tips for Small Businesses

When thinking about how to market your product, its packaging shouldn’t be the last thing that you consider. Even if you’re selling an online-only digital product, packing design is still relevant.

For instance, in the days when computer stores sold boxed software on DVD/CD, they needed a well-designed box to sit on the shelf. While that is no longer a reality, people still remember the packaging. Browse through computer software advertisements on the Internet, and you’ll be surprised at how many feature ‘virtual’ product packaging.

The packaging that you use will say a lot about your company – it’s one of the first impressions that customers will create about your business. Your packaging is also a great opportunity to further spread your branding and even turn customers into repeat customers!

Keep reading to discover plenty of handy tips on how to make the most out of your product packaging as a small business.

Invest in Eco-Friendly Packaging

Going back even just five years, how many vegan products would you expect to see in an average supermarket? Certainly not many, and very expensive at that compared to their non-vegan counterparts. But now every food category has a vegan/vegetarian or health-conscious alternative.

Given that this sector is more environmentally conscious than the average and consumers seem willing to pay a little more, it’s fair to assume that general consumer attitude is trending towards the environment. In today’s environmentally conscious world, this is probably one of the most relevant product packaging design tips.

How to Make Your Packaging More Environmentally Friendly

Look carefully at the materials that you’re using. Most urban houses have recycling bins—make sure that most of the product’s packing is recyclable and prominently display a recycling logo on the packaging.

Show your company’s green credentials by using recycled materials in product packaging—it’s true to say that recycled materials tend not to look and feel as pristine as non-recycled. However, being able to print ‘Made from 100% recycled material’ on the packaging is a big plus point.

Don’t forget to use recycled paper for your paper mailings, too – otherwise eco-friendly packaging may come across as a token gesture or gimmick, rather than a sign that your business is serious about the environment. At 123Print, you can purchase both letterheads and envelopes made of 100% recycled paper.

Consider the Unboxing Experience

Over the past several years, the phenomenon of the ‘unboxing video’ has become popular on social media sites such as YouTube and TikTok. Simply put, they feature a customer unboxing a new product (opening it and taking it out of its packaging), and reviewing the experience.

You might wonder why anyone would sit through a video about unboxing a product, but they have become insanely popular. Steve Jobs at Apple revolutionised this experience, designing packaging with the same care and attention to detail lavished on the product itself. This approach sets and enhances the customer’s expectations for the product.

Now consumers, especially of high-end electronic devices and luxury cosmetic products, crave this experience. When choosing between different products, in the same category, many people search for unboxing videos on YouTube. A flattering unboxing review might make the difference when choosing between similar products.

Tips for Successful Unboxings

Here are some general tips to enhance your customers’ general unboxing experience.

1) Consider the cost of packaging. The material cost of packaging, especially high-end, can reach up to 10% of the total manufacturing cost. If your product is in a price-sensitive market, would this extra cost hurt your bottom line?
2) Know your customers. What is your target consumer’s attitude to the environment? To some, the cost of high-end packaging may seem an unnecessary expense and detract from the product.
3) Be creative. YouTube is a visual medium, so your packaging material should look good under lighting, not be too reflective and feature attractive colours with a well-designed logo and font.
4) Use easy-to-open packaging such as a cardboard box. The opening process should be smooth and easy – having to hack plastic packaging open with a pair of kitchen scissors isn’t very appealing.
5) Ensure the product is secure. You don’t want it falling from the packaging upon opening. If your product features multiple parts, use packing foam inside the box and make sure that each part is visible and secure. If your product is a foodstuff, package it in a resealable bag—it looks good, is easy to open and enhances the freshness of your product.

Imagine yourself as a YouTuber, unboxing your product: what comment would you make—if the experience feels good to you, then you’re on the right track.

Theme Your Packaging

The theme is an important element of packaging design. A product’s packaging may comprise multiple items, not just a single bag or a box. It’s good to employ a consistent design with each element.

Maybe you use matching colour schemes or design elements, such as tying packages with twine. Whatever it is, remember that people like the personal touch. If your product is presented in plain packaging, it’s unlikely that your customer would choose to feature it on their Instagram feed or other social media channel.

Your product, perhaps a manual coffee grinder, might come in a well-constructed, attractive box, but also include a matching bag for travel. These small touches of design flair make a difference when trying to stand out against the competition. This might not be so important in an online marketplace, such as Amazon, where advertisers focus on the product image, rather than packaging. However, for an online marketplace, such as Etsy, which focuses on artisan products, cute and thematic product packaging, helps products to stand out from the crowd.

Make Use of Seasons and Holidays

If your product is aimed at (or sold during) a particular holiday, design the packaging with that in mind—the obvious example is Christmas, with bold red, gold and green festive designs.

But it’s not only holidays that you should think about. There are seasonal products that would benefit from appropriate design. For instance, a consumer in a DIY store, looking for, say, a garden product, would subconsciously look for green packaging.

Use Clear and Attractive Language

If you’re lucky enough that a customer has picked up your product from the shelf, make sure that all the information they need to make the choice is included on the packaging.
For instance, if it’s a health food product, make sure that it includes details of its benefits.

Otherwise, the customer might put it back and choose another brand. If you’re selling clothing, you should have a clear label stating what materials it’s made from, and the percentage of the overall product.

Like all marketing, think like a customer. While your product packaging might include a detailed instruction leaflet inside, print enough instructions on the packaging to convince the customer that it’s what they need.

Is It Legal?

While the most important aspect of packaging design is to enhance the product’s desirability, you should always consider the legal aspect. Depending on product type, certain things that appear on the packaging, such as medicinal claims, may be legally restricted.

Also, make sure that any product claims that appear on the packaging are accurate and truthful. Lying to customers for the sake of selling more units isn’t a good look.

Encourage Brand Awareness and Recognition

While your company may have a varied product line, you always want people to know from whom they’re buying. Brand awareness requires a consistent design strategy across product lines.

For instance, consider supermarkets—they offer a range of products. There is never just one brand of soup or sunblock on the shelf and, of course, you want the consumer to pick up your product first, rather than the store’s own brand, or a competitor’s.

A consistent brand identity can help with this—something familiar in the packaging, perhaps a particular font or colour scheme to grab their attention and make them reflexively reach for your product first.

While your small business might not have the research budget of a national supermarket chain, it’s valuable, when planning product packaging, to put yourself in the mind of your customer. Think about what they might look for when searching for your type of product.

And of course, always prominently display your business’s logo and any taglines or slogans you may use on the outer packaging. That way, even if the customer doesn’t end up buying it, they’ll still be more likely to remember and recognise your brand in the future.

Include Extra Promotional Materials

In order to upsell to your customers, add some additional promotional material in the product packaging. For example, you might include a flyer with a special discount code for 10% off future purchases – this will encourage your customers to place another order.

You could also consider including a loyalty card inside the packaging, with one stamp already on it. People love to collect things, and loyalty stamps are no exception. The mere presence of a loyalty card will inspire them to shop with you again, and work towards the reward (whatever it may be).

Always make sure any promotional materials you include in your packaging are professionally designed and printed, to create the most favourable impression possible with your customers. 123Print carry a full range of professional-quality flyers, business cards and other promotional materials.

 

Our thousands of designs are fully customisable with your own wording and font choices, and will be shipped to you within 2 working days of your order. With our 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can have confidence in us to provide for all of your marketing needs.

How to Turn Customers into Repeat Customers: 7 Handy Tips

If you’re a small business owner, you’ll know that it can be pretty tricky to turn customers into repeat customers – that is, to convince someone who’s bought your product or service to shop with you again.

There’s so much information out there on bringing in new customers and spreading brand awareness to your target market, but actually keeping customers is a different story altogether. When someone already knows of your brand, how do you keep their interest and prevent them from trying out a competitor?

In this article, we’ll discuss how to get repeat customers and share 7 easy and effective ways of improving your customer retention.

Why is Customer Retention so Important?

There are a slew of statistics related to the above question, but two facts aptly sum it up:

1) It’s cheaper for a business to keep a customer than it is to find a new one.
2) 80% of future profits will come from just 20% of past customers.

This means that over time, repeat customers bring more profit to your company than new ones. The decision about how much effort and money to invest in customer retention depends primarily on how established your business is, and your current sales volume.
If it’s a new business, then dedicate most of the marketing towards acquiring new customers. But even at this stage, you shouldn’t forget about customer retention! Don’t get to a point where new business has dried up, and you suddenly remember your past customers. You should apply customer retention policies throughout the life of your business.

How Do I Get Repeat Customers?

The answer to this question should be crystal clear: provide your customers with excellent and memorable products and services.
That may seem obvious, but if you don’t do the above correctly, you’ll never convince your past customers and clients to try your products and services again. They may, instead, be tempted to try out one of your direct competitors – whether out of curiosity, or because they can find a better price. Obviously, this isn’t what you want.

So, the most important rule to remember is to provide the best product and services that you can, and for as good a price as possible. Do not be tempted to prioritise savings and profits over quality. Get this right from the start and you stand a good chance to gain repeat customers.

Customer Retention Tips and Ideas

There are many great ideas for how to get repeat customers. Some, of course, will depend on the business type. For instance, if your business is a restaurant, offering early bird discounts to a customer will encourage them to visit again.

1. Loyalty Cards

Loyalty cards are a great way to encourage customers to buy again. For a coffee shop, try a simple business style loyalty card where the customer gets a free cup of coffee or complimentary pastry after buying six cups of coffee—simply stamp the card after every purchase. If the customer buys a coffee every morning, on the way to work, they’ll remember your shop.

Loyalty cards are suited to many types of retail businesses, including restaurants and general stores. As your business goes, you could even invest in digitally linked loyalty cards that reward the customer with redeemable loyalty points after each purchase. The sign-up process for such cards can also be an excellent marketing opportunity. Get your customer’s email address and use that to remind them of their point balance!

2. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Whatever your business is, you should always endeavour to make the customer service experience memorable. Not every sale will go smoothly. There are always things that can go wrong and your customer services should positively deal with these issues. Even if your company provides the very best product, a poor experience in returning a faulty item could make a customer drop your brand and choose another supplier.

Always respond quickly to your customer’s requests or questions. If they ask for a quotation, get it to them as quickly as possible. Don’t forget that your customer is likely to have asked your competitors for the same quotation. Respond quickly, with an attractive offer, and grab their business. Customers remember this kind of quick and efficient service. Perhaps next time, they’ll come to your business first.

3. Include Flyers offering Freebies and Discounts

This is a smart idea to ensure that customers who’ve shopped with you will have an incentive to buy again. When you ship (or hand the customer) their purchase, include in the package a customised flyer or postcard offering a discount or free gift with their next purchase. For example:

1) Free shipping
2) 10% off
3) Buy one, get one free
4) A free sample of a new product
5) A free gift with the next purchase, such as a personalised mug printed with your business logo (this also helps to keep your company in the forefront of their minds!)

For online purchases, provide a unique code that your customers can use when they check out. For in-store use, the customer will simply have to bring the flyer or postcard with them to show the staff at the till. You can also send promotional offers to previous customers via email, if you have their address.

4. Match the Competition

Customers often flip-flop between different suppliers, depending on who has the best offers or product line. So, to avoid this, it’s crucial that you keep a check on what your competitors are up to. Familiarise yourself with the products, services, and (above all) prices that your competition is offering, especially businesses with the same target market and operating in your region.

Encourage your past customers to come back to you by offering the same, or better, than your competitors. One great way of doing this is to advertise a “price match” service. If a potential customer comes to you with a cheaper quote from a different company, you’ll offer them the same price, or better.

5. Show Appreciation

These days, it’s easy to connect to customers via social media—but, sometimes, this misses the personal touch. It can seem empty and hollow, and people will be likely to scroll straight past your advert.

If you have your customer’s details, a much more effective way of showing your appreciation is to send them a thank-you on a compliment slip after they make a purchase. If your business is small enough or you have the resources, hand-writing the slip will make a world of difference and help your business seem more human. You can include this slip with their order, or send it to them a few weeks later, to remind them of your company and encourage them to shop with you again.

6. Offer Rewards for Referrals and Reviews

Repeat customers who are loyal to your brand are likely to be powerful brand ambassadors, promoting your business to their friends or associates. Take advantage of this by rewarding them for referrals. If your customer has a business with their own website, offer them a referral link that gives them a small finder’s fee, or product discount, for every referral link from their website.

Another powerful tactic is to ask a customer to complete a survey, either written or online. This works especially well with retail businesses, such as restaurants. As a reward for completing the survey, offer a discount or a free bottle of wine with their next meal. Not only do you get invaluable feedback, but the customer may also return to the restaurant and use the voucher. It’s a win-win situation.

7. Create Special Offers Tailored to the Customer

What makes special offers more effective and more likely to be taken advantage of? Tailoring them to each specific customer, rather than sending out a generic offer that some people may not be interested in.

For example, if you run a hotel and you noticed the customer paid for a round of golf in the hotel’s resort, send them a special offer for a free round of golf before the next holiday season. If the customer ordered a spa treatment, include a free couples massage. It’s this type of thoughtful offer that people remember.

For businesses that sell physical products, keep a record of your customer’s purchases and make special offers at an appropriate time. For instance, if your customer purchased a toner cartridge for their laser printer, send them a discount voucher after a couple of months. They’ll likely remember when the cartridge runs out and use your voucher to buy another.

Where Can I Order Great Quality Promotional Materials?

If you’re looking for professionally printed, high-quality business materials and promotional products, look no further than 123Print. We offer an amazing range of business stationery and products that can help your company retain customers, including (but not limited to):

1) Loyalty cards
2) Business cards
3) Flyers
4) Postcards
5) Vinyl magnets
6) Compliment slips
7) Promotional mugs

Everything is completely customisable, with the ability to add your logo and customise the colour scheme to your preferences. Before we print your order, we’ll show you a preview of what your product will look like.

We offer exceptionally fast shipping and a 100% satisfaction promise, meaning you’re guaranteed to be satisfied with the quality of our products. Try 123Print today for all of your business

9 Simple and Effective Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

As any entrepreneur knows, it can be very difficult getting your feet off the ground and your name out there in the early days of owning a small business. Nobody has ever heard of you before, you don’t have any past customers or testimonials, and you’ve got nobody to spread your services through word of mouth.

That’s where small business marketing strategies come in. In order to be noticed and considered by your target market, you’ll need to advertise or market your business somehow – but what actually works, and where should you start?

In this article, we’ll discuss some small business marketing ideas to jump-start your marketing strategy. Before trying any of these ideas, it’s worth sitting back and considering some marketing goals and budget. Not all the small business marketing ideas in this article are free, some cost money or time investment. Try to focus on what’s best for your business and make the best use of your marketing budget.

Online Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

It is undeniable that online marketing has taken over the world of business. According to recent research, 70–80% of consumers research a company or product online before making a purchase. That’s a huge number of people to ignore if your company doesn’t have an online presence! Here are some ideas to kick off your online marketing.

Website Blog

If your company has a website, it could benefit from the addition of a blog. A blog is a website page used to display articles, news and other useful information. For marketing, blog articles encourage customers to visit and browse your website.

For instance, if you run a home improvement business, include a series of articles with tips about how to improve and upgrade a house. Well-written content with search engine optimised keywords will show up in search engines, such as Google or Bing. If someone searches for ‘home improvement tips’ and your blog has a suitable article, they will see your link in the search engine results.

One thing that you hear a lot about in online marketing is ‘conversions’. This means, what do you want the customer to do after they have landed on your website? If, for instance, a customer looking for information on home improvement ideas lands on your website, you could add links in the article for your company’s home improvement services or perhaps encourage them to subscribe to your blog and receive emails when the next article is posted (this is great for email marketing—see below).

Email Marketing

Email marketing is still one of the most popular forms of online marketing. As noted above, this can be combined with a website blog. Subscribed customers get updates and you can send email promotions to the subscriber list.

With email marketing, it is important not to send emails too often, otherwise you risk getting listed as spam content (or your customers will unsubscribe out of frustration). Do it right and email marketing is very powerful.

Aside from using a blog, there are several other ways to get subscribers. Many websites offer free information downloads in exchange for a subscription, or some other free offer. Most email marketing companies offer free starter accounts for up to 2,000 subscribers.

Google My Business

If your company supplies local services, Google My Business is one of the best small-business marketing ideas. Register your business and if someone in your local area searches for your business type, your listing will appear, with others, on top of the search listing.

It is possible to add useful information, such as opening hours, business information, location and pictures. It also allows customers to leave a review—the best-reviewed businesses appear at the top of the listing, which is great motivation to provide first-class services.

Facebook Adverts

Despite some of the adverse publicity that surrounds Facebook, it is still one of the best ways to advertise products online. It is relatively cheap compared to other platforms, and extremely effective.

The most powerful aspect of Facebook advertising is the huge number of users on the platform and the amount of searchable information about them. It is possible to pinpoint users and groups with specific interests or living in a particular country or city if marketing locally. For instance, as an author, marketing a new book about meditation, you could direct an advert to Facebook groups promoting spiritualism.

Internet Influencers and Social Media Advertising

Internet influencers are product promoters who have large followings on social media platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. For instance, an influencer with a popular YouTube fashion channel might promote your new fashion product to their followers.

The cost of the service will probably depend on how many followers the channel has. Some influencers might promote products in exchange for free samples, while others charge a fee. If you don’t have the budget to pay an influencer, consider starting a YouTube channel for your business as part of your social media marketing.

Create Facebook and Twitter accounts for marketing your business and create promotions to encourage customers to like your posts. If you have a website, include links to your social media accounts. As with establishing a brand, it is a long-term strategy. Remember to use your brand image on social media posts.

Brand Development Marketing Strategies

Establishing a brand is one of the most important aspects of a long-term marketing plan. A brand is something that should permeate every aspect of your business and define its identity.

Customers who associate with a particular brand will happily pay a higher price for their products. For instance, coffee sold in most high street coffee shops is of a similarly high standard, but if drunk from a cup sporting a Starbucks logo, it tastes magically better. This is how a powerful brand can influence customer perception.

Unless your products appeal to a wide market, and you have a marketing budget to match, you’ll likely be aiming at a smaller niche. So, as an important first step, understand who your customers are. A common way of doing this is to create what they called a customer blueprint or persona. That means creating a profile of your ideal customer, the person (or business) who would buy your product.

Build a Brand – Quick Tips:

It takes time, but when done well, branding is the most powerful marketing strategy of them all. Here are some quick tips:

1) Decide on your mission statement and target audience.
2) Brand differentiation – make sure that your brand differs from the competition, make your business stand out.
3) Stay on message – promote your brand image consistently on every platform. You want customers to instantly recognise your products and marketing information.
4) Design your brand’s image – this will include a carefully designed corporate style with a logo, appropriate colours and an attractive typeface. The design and style should apply to every aspect of the business, including the website, promotional materials, and business cards.

For great design ideas, try 123Print – we carry a full range of fully customisable promotional materials.

Brand Ambassadors

Get your employees involved as brand ambassadors. For example, if your business is in retail, give your staff a discount! It’ll surprise you how many of their friends want to make use of the staff discount. It is a good way of both rewarding your employees and spreading the word about your products to their wider social sphere.

Flyer Campaign

There’s nothing wrong with good old-fashioned letterbox marketing. Flyer (leaflet) distribution may sound old-fashioned, but there’s a reason it’s been around for so long: it just plain works.

You’ve likely received flyers in your letterbox yourself. You may have thrown them away eventually, but did you at least look at the flyer first, and take a mental note of what company sent it? Of course you did. And you’d recognise that company name if you saw it again in the future, increasing your familiarity with them.

Try a simple letterbox marketing campaign in your target postcode area. Include your logo and branding all over the flyer, and an enticing offer to get people shopping with you, and you’ll spread awareness of your company at lightning speed. You can design personalised and high-quality flyers at 123Print.

Loyalty Cards

Loyalty cards are very good for marketing your business and encouraging customers to buy again. They can be as simple as a card that is stamped every time a customer purchases a cup of coffee, or other products – after a certain number of stamps, the customer gets a free cup of coffee, for example.

Alternatively, loyalty cards can be a full-blown computer system, where a customer scans a card at the cash register and is awarded redeemable loyalty points. While powerful, the computerised loyalty system is a significant investment best suited to medium and large businesses. Stamp-style loyalty cards are much more affordable, incredibly simple to set up, and still very effective – check out a huge range of customisable loyalty card designs at 123Print.