Your small business provides an excellent product or service. But, you have a problem attracting your target audience. Sound familiar? Here are a few common challenges when marketing your business.
Search Engine Land found that 75 percent of small businesses saw positive results from internet marketing. Marketing effectively can often be challenging when you’re first getting started. If you know how to get around those obstacles, you can create a blueprint for business growth.
Not Enough Time to Market
Simply put, if you don’t have enough time to market it can be challenging to grow business awareness and attract new customers. While it is impossible to increase the number of hours in a day, you can optimize how you spend your time. It is especially important to enhance your marketing efforts and squeeze the most benefit from the available time.
You should delegate mundane tasks to employees or automate the processes with software. If you aren’t busy with paperwork and other tasks outside your core competencies, you can gain more time for marketing.
Professional service providers are a valuable tool if your employees/contractors are already loaded down or you require specialized skill sets.
It’s essential to make a conscious effort to set aside time for marketing and view it as a priority in your business.
Weak Online Presence
Do your customers have to go to the fifth page in their Google search results to find you via search, or are you among the 26 percent of small businesses that don’t have a website?
A weak internet presence makes it difficult to gain ground in business marketing, but improving your online presence doesn’t have to take a lot of time and resources.
If you don’t have the technical resources to set up your own website, you can start with a Facebook business page or choose a web hosting package that includes an essential site.
Spend some time writing about your business on your social media page or website blog to help improve your online visibility and to generate a following. Service providers can help with everything from your website design to your blog posting.
You don’t have the time to handle these tasks yourself. Having a platform is the core foundation of successful marketing, and you’ll even want to explore with promoting your business on several different platforms.
Too Broad Of A Focus
Don’t make the mistake of trying to be a jack of all trades and reach everyone. Most likely, that won’t happen, and focusing on a specific niche can be more beneficial. Instead of focusing on broad keywords that apply to worldwide competitive searches, look for ways to narrow the playing field.
This approach may put you in competition with other local or niche-specific businesses, rather than every other business online that has a broader marketing range than you.
Summary
You’re likely to face many marketing challenges as a small business owner. But, these challenges shouldn’t hold you back from growing your business. They also shouldn’t make marketing any less of a priority.
Marketing is often the tool that keeps your cash flow steady. It continually brings in new customers and clients. Take on your top challenges with these tips and remain consistent to receive the business growth you desire.
