So, what is the best marketing strategy for a small business?

When trying to decide on a small business marketing strategy the choices can seem overwhelming

Should you invest in a new website? Social media? Retargeting campaigns? SEO? Radio? Newspaper? Billboards?

All of these have a place (some much more than others) but time and budget constraints, means sometimes you just can’t (and shouldn’t) do them all.

So if you had to pick one tool to use, the one strategy that would help your business the most, which one should it be?

To decide, we need to know if you’re in a business to business (B2B) business, or a business to consumer (b2C) business, as they both generate leads and convert customers differently.

B2B Marketing Strategy

For 2015, the best marketing strategy for small B2B business is an inbound content marketing strategy.

What this means is that to help grow your business and gain new leads, you should be creating valuable and relevant content that will help your target market (other businesses) solve their problems, whatever they may be.

The content can be white-papers, infographics, free software or applications, videos, tutorials, or any form of content that conveys your company as a thought leader in your industry. You can then distribute this content on your website, social media channels, and through your email list.

The research behind content marketing is staggering with the worlds top companies continually increasing the quality, and quantity of content they produce.

Pick an area you’d like to share your company’s expertise on, choose a medium, and start creating some content on it.

B2C Marketing Strategy

For 2015, the best marketing strategy for a B2C business is an SEO strategy (search engine optimization).

Consumer behavior has changed dramatically in the past few years with 97% of all consumers now searching for local businesses online. (Forbes) It doesn’t matter whether you’re a veterinarian, or a plumber, people are looking for your business online.

What this means is that if your small business isn’t being found on the first page when a potential customer is searching for a service you offer, you might as well not exist.

A lack of an SEO strategy costs small businesses millions and millions of dollars in lost revenues each year, money that’s going directly into the pockets of those that understand the power of SEO.

The reason that SEO is such a powerful marketing tool is that no other tactic allows you to get in front of a potential customer at the EXACT moment they’re searching for a service you offer.

Rather than being interrupted with a radio, television, or billboard advertisement, these customers are actively searching for a solution to their problem. When you adopt an SEO strategy, your company becomes the solution to their problem, the answer to their question, and you’re rewarded with more clicks, more calls, more customers, and more revenue.

To learn more, or to start implementing these strategies in your business, contact us today. We make marketing make sense, and can help explain what’s available and the best options for your business.