A Marketing Toolkit is the Key to Success

According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers. The world is shifting, and so are the desires of some of your customers. It is vital to incorporate a solid marketing plan because it is a vehicle to drive your business to success.

Show Your Customers You Are Listening

Customer surveys are a great way to get feedback about your store’s products and the level of customer service. Making it a priority to hear from your customers helps your business grow. You can create a free survey on www.surveymonkey.com and keep one on your website. You can also have a suggestion box in your store and encourage customers to use the surveys by tying them to a giveaway.

Build Relationships with MicroInfluencers

Social media influencers with millions of followers are not always ideal marketing avenues for small to medium-sized businesses. Their fees might be too high, and they may even be slower to respond. However, micro-influencers, who usually have followers in the range of 1,500 to 50,000, are a great way to get shares and possibly even reviews for items you sell in your store. Research and try to find microinfluencers that align with your customer base. If you can discover local influencers, that is even better. When hosting a giveaway or sweepstakes, it is a great time to reach out to your influencer list to see if they want to be a partner. Before reaching out, consider how they will benefit from the partnership. Will you offer to pay them or send them a free product gift basket? The key here is to be authentic and fair in your interaction to build a long-lasting relationship.

Post Social Media Content Consistently

Think of your social media pages as a storybook that your customers read. It is an opportunity to create a narrative that you want for your brand. Regularly posting can increase SEO and serve as a hub of creativity and valuable information for your customers. If you can’t post daily, commit once or twice a week. Think about what you want to promote the most, then sit down and plan out your posts for three months at a time to reduce stress.

m

I h a ve a s t okc hp o t o f or