Updated: Mar 23, 2023
Imagine going to your financial advisor and they tell you “we’re putting all your money into one stock.” You’d be Googling “financial advisors near me” pretty quickly. Now imagine using Facebook as the only way to advertise your business, you’d only be hitting a limited group of potential customers.
With all the options available to promote your business it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a diversified marketing mix to reach the largest audience possible.
Why Diversify?
The beauty of having so many marketing options is that each one can hit a different demographic. An older generation might find you on Facebook. The college aged audience is all about TikTok. The 65+ crowd still uses traditional media (radio, TV, print). And to break down your demographic even further, an informed customer will do research on many platforms to find the best solution for their needs.
Most businesses don’t have a ultra specific customer base. Restaurants cater to just about anyone. While a contractor mostly deals with home owners. This is why it’s important to get your message across as many channels as possible.
Now that you know why you need to diversify, let’s take a look at the options available.
Marketing Channels Available to Small Businesses
Website
Ok it may seem a little obvious at this point but you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t keep their website maintained and updated. Think about it like this, in the digital age, your website is your new store front. Most potential customers will see your website before they see you or your front door. It’s imperative that your website portray the correct image for your business. If you are a million dollar business, your website shouldn’t look like it was built in 2002. There’s also a multitude of tools and ways to generate revenue with your website. Just a few examples:
Take reservations online
Allow visitors to schedule appointments
Sell physical products
Offer electronic gift cards
Customer review integration
Depending on the type of products or services you provide, your website can be the central hub for your business. So ask yourself, what does my website say about my business?
Social Media
If your website is the front door of your business, then social media is your receptionist. For many potential customers the first interaction they have with your business will be via social media. Social media is not just for posting funny memes or updates on your family. Like your website, social media can be a great way to generate leads.
One of the best features of social media is it’s ability to be timely and instantaneous. Restaurants can post daily specials to drive traffic. Contractors can announce unexpected openings in their schedules. Gift shops can promote flash sales. Like we mentioned earlier, each social platform has it’s own niche audience so it’s important to be on as many as possible to grab the attention of the largest audience.
Paid Social
Within the social media world there is another avenue to generate leads and sales and that’s via paid advertising. Paid social media is a method of displaying advertisements or sponsored marketing messages on popular platforms and targeting a specific sub-audience. Most social media platforms will allow you to target very specific segments of your intended audience. Paid social can be used to marketing specific offers and promotions to various segments of your audience.
Direct Mail
Ok, we might be a little biased here but direct mail marketing is a very cost effective way to reach specific geographic audiences. If you’re a restaurant, salon, gym or fitness center, most of your business comes from your local area. With direct mail you have the ability to get your offer or message in front of the most likely potential customers, those closest to your business.
Time To Get Started!
These are just a few of the most common marketing tactics that small businesses like yours are undertaking every day. The good news is that ValPak of Staten Island has recently expanded our offerings to include all parts of your marketing portfolio. If you’re ready to diversify your marketing mix then don’t hesitate to contact ValPak of Staten Island today!
