The IBGE indicates that 116 million people are connected to the internet in Brazil. Can you imagine your brand talking to and selling to this audience? Well, imagine. The Webshoppers radar reports that the number of active consumers in the country went from 47.93 million in 2016 to more than 55 million the following year, an increase of approximately 15%. Active customers are Brazilians who made at least one digital purchase in the year. The trend for 2018 is a 12% growth in online sales.
Marketing for small businesses, how to get started?
Always start with something simple and then evolve as the results appear. First, before anything else, review all the printed materials your company has. Think about business cards, old pamphlets, menus, promotional manufacturing email list flyers, etc. Is there any material that is still good to use? Use it. Distribute it in your neighborhood, at traffic lights, in newspapers, colleges, schools, wherever you think is relevant.
Second, how is your website? Is it up to date? Does it have contact and quote fields? No? Then add them. What about your social media? Is it missing or is it abandoned? Create or update it. You have seen that online consumer data is promising. Updating and posting on social media is free and you can start today.
Have you organized the information?
So let’s get to planning. What are your goals? Decide exactly what you want to achieve in the next three to six months with your small business marketing plan and put it on paper.
Have you ever thought about taking that email list you have and using it to promote your company? Create an introductory email, showing who you are and why you are getting in touch. Marketing for small businesses combined with an email marketing campaign can be effective in starting the first contact with a customer who has forgotten about your company or who signed up for your list but never received anything interesting. This can spark interest in reconnecting with your brand.
Google My Business
Google My Business is a free tool that lets people find information about your business on Google Search and Google Maps. It’s easy to create and update what people see when they search for your business. And the best thing about being visible to your customers is being visible for free.
And the most interesting thing about Google My Business is that you can replicate your content here and your customers can also send photos of your product or a visit to your company.
Make it happen!
See how much there is to do in marketing for small businesses? Planning with little investment may give the illusion that it will not bring effective results for your company, but make no mistake, large investments may also not yield the expected results. It all depends mainly on strategy!
The big secret to marketing for small businesses is planning and, above all, executing actions. Yes, execution is important. What's the point of thinking and planning but not doing it? However, that's what most business owners do: they stop at planning.
If your company does not have a large marketing team, or does not have anyone responsible for it and the budget does not allow for hiring internal professionals, consider hiring a digital marketing agency.
Using the market intelligence of a marketing agency provides your company with an action plan that will be executed by competent people who have studied for years to know how to insert your brand into the market effectively and with good results. It is not enough to simply insert your brand into the market; it will also need maintenance. In other words, creating content to connect with customers, regular email marketing, posting on social media and interacting with customers. An agency, in addition to creating all the necessary materials, will also assist in interacting with customers.
Toulouse has been supporting micro and small businesses since 2004, and we have created special plans to help your company stay on track and start generating good results. Check it out here
