For most small business owners, managing staff, operations, and providing a positive customer service experience is more than a full-time job. Even if you provide an excellent product or service, your biggest challenge will be generating new business.
Without solid marketing, your business is more likely to end up the group of roughly 50% that fail within the first five years. A well-executed SMB marketing strategy that helps with listening to and engaging with customers could be the ticket to making it to the five-year mark and beyond.
The best part is, you don’t have to spend a fortune to connect with your customers on their device or platform of choice. Here are 6 budget-friendly SMB marketing tools to help you get the word out:
Google My Business
What’s the first thing people do when they need to find a local business? They search for it online and probably use Google to do it. There are over 5 billion searches on Google every day, 46% of which are looking for local information. Make sure your business can be easily found by setting up a free Business Profile on Google My Business so that it appears in Google Search and Maps.Hootsuite
Because consumers turn to a business’s social media pages whenever they are looking to get more information, read reviews and learn about specials, it’s crucial to post regularly from your business’ Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. With Hootsuite, you can schedule all your content in advance and also track your performance to gain more insight into what resonates with your customers. Set up a free account or test out the professional version for here.Canva
Whether you are designing a flyer or updating your website, consistency is important when establishing your brand’s identity. From logo design and business card templates to infographics and stock photography, Canva is your one-stop-shop for all visual brand components. Create your free account here.Gmail/G Suite
Whether you are sending marketing communication to customers or receiving questions about products and services, a business email account is absolutely essential. A free Gmail account is a great place to start for a dependable email provider that connects seamlessly with Google Drive and gives you up to 15G of free storage. As your business grows, you may want to consider G Suite, which increases users’ storage capacity and allows SMB owners to use Gmail with a custom domain name -- giving you a more professional email address with the functionality of an already familiar platform. Sign up for your account here.WordPress
If you’re wondering why you should focus on blogging as part of your overall strategy, let’s start with the fact that content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising. WordPress.com allows you to easily create a blog with built‑in SEO, social media integration, and sharing features. A timely and relevant blog post can have a much longer shelf life than you might anticipate. For instance, if you own a local hardware store that sells seasonal decorations, your tips for safely hanging holiday lights may continue to get new readers year after year. Learn more here about the types of sites you can create using WordPress.comCallJoy
Most SMBs don’t have the resources for a dedicated employee to answer the phone every time it rings, but the telephone is crucial to success, as American small businesses receive an estimated 400 million calls daily. CallJoy is an easy-to-use cloud-based phone service that enables small business owners to offer better customer service and make more informed business decisions. With call transcripts, insight reports and textback capability, CallJoy allows small business owners to enjoy the same scalable customer service phone options as large corporations. Start your free 14-day trial today.Ready to see how CallJoy fits into your marketing mix? Check out our FAQs or click here to find out how you can make better business decisions using CallJoy Insights.