Drawing traffic to your business is, ironically, both harder and easier today than it has ever been before. On one hand, there is audience targeting and outreach potential. You can find just about everyone’s email and target audiences are easier to locate in larger form. This can lead to a host of results-driven marketing tactics.
On the other hand, there are more companies than ever before and the noise and competition are stiffer. Global companies are making their way into American markets. New startups are constantly popping up to try and capitalize on opportunities.
Results-Driven Marketing Tactics
The best thing to do is to take advantage of the positives and beat the competition to mitigate the negatives. Here are nine marketing tactics that bring 179 percent more traffic to my business. You can implement these results-driven marketing tactics immediately:
1.Using referrals.
It can be uncomfortable to ask current users/customers for referrals. In many cases, though, if they like your product, then they will be more than happy to do so. This is especially the case when you offer incentives for referrals.
Let’s say that your lifetime value for a user is $1000. Giving someone $100 to refer their friend is a great investment and can help drive significant traffic to your business.
The key is having details and a strategy that makes it easy and beneficial for a current user to refer people that they know. Opening the door for current users to refer their friends, though, is the first step.
2. Creative audience targeting.
The places that immediately come to mind when thinking about where to find your target audience are not unique. If you thought of them right away, then it is likely that your competition did as well. To drive more traffic to your business, you have to be creative about finding places where your target audience might exist.
As you know, this can include looking at your competitors and their products. Find products that match well with your own products. Understanding your users and where they spend their time and attention can help you get creative about targeting them in unique ways.
3. Offer valuable, free content.
One easy way to draw more people to your business is by offering free value to them. In running a business, you can become a thought leader in your area of expertise. It is almost certain that there are other people who are interested in learning what you have to offer. To capitalize on this, write and offer free content hosted on your company blog.
You can also get other publications to pick up your content to expand its reach. Expanding your reach puts your name out there and builds trust. There will be more trust in your brand and this will draw people to your site for the valuable content.
Fine content will naturally lead to more customers. All of these people will suddenly be familiar with your business and maybe even your product.
When you are uploading new content to your site, be thoughtful about how Google is reading that content. This will allow you to attempt to benefit from organic search traffic. Google Search Console is easy to set up and can have a dramatic impact.
4. No spam on the website.
Having a spammy website can instantly drive traffic away. This includes instant pop-ups and sending spammy emails. Having a site full of advertisements that can’t be dodged is also damaging.
When people go to your site, make it feel like a comfortable place. It will create more legitimacy in your company and give users a higher likelihood of returning.
5. Utilizing online communities.
There are some amazing communities that exist on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other places. These communities are centered around a particular passion or topic.
Finding the communities that align with what your business offers will provide a tremendous opportunity to increase traffic.
You can post new content in these groups, find potential leads and offer thought leadership in other ways. Becoming a part of this community will help your traffic side and you will better understand your community. You will get a better sense of what types of content and ideas they are interested in and you will develop a deeper level of empathy for them.
6. Using advertisements.
There can be negative connotations towards ads on Google or social media. Ads can be quite powerful, though, if the unit economics check out (value of ads are greater than costs).
Google and social media platforms provide high-level targeting. On Facebook, for example, you can even match by email address. Business emails match much more frequently than you would think (~30-50 percent of the time).
7. Creating online communities.
Outside of the online communities that already exist, utilizing your social media and a newsletter can be a great way to increase traffic. Finding people that are interested in your thought leadership and adding value back to their lives will pay tremendous dividends.
When the value is significant, they will likely show your services to their friends. These communities can become another way to better understand your users and channel leads.
8. Adding value in ways that do not scale.
Especially at first, don’t hesitate to focus on the little things. Make sure that your customers are having a great experience with your service. Time spent here might not seem worthwhile, but it is. This is what leads to loyal customers, more referrals and better overall sentiment towards your product.
Helping a low-value user with onboarding might not seem like the best use of time. As your company grows and if resources are limited, then sometimes it’s not. That said, if an hour of your time will prompt someone to be a lifelong user, then it’s well worth the investment.
9. Constantly trying to understand customers.
No matter how big your company gets, you have to maintain an understanding of your users and their needs. A thirty-minute conversation with a user might not seem like a great investment.
Take the opportunity to gain insight into customers’ pain points and how you can address them. Any time spent with a client or customer is extremely valuable.
No matter how much success you think you are having, understanding your users is always the most important. This is part of creating a product and leveraging results-driven marketing tactics that can drive traffic. In understanding your users, you will also be prepared to make product adjustments as new services enter the market or sentiments change.
