Almost every championship game, regardless of sport, is won on fundamentals: foul shots, field goals and so on. Small business marketing is much the same, the basics are key. Take a look at some of these promotional ideas and see what can help your business improve.
Your logo
To start getting the creative juices flowing, consider your logo. If you don’t have one, you should. Also, you may need to reevaluate your current logo. Does it catch attention? Is it professionally designed? There are free and less expensive options for designing your own logo online, although using a freelancer or agency can give you a higher quality product and connect you with a designer who can change and update your brand assets as your company grows.
Your audience.
A key mistake is thinking that “anyone” is your customer. You’ll have the most leverage as a small business in a niche. Develop a niche and appeal to buyers within it, you must understand their pains, problems, triggering events, and priorities. What gets them to make a purchasing decision? Knowing these things will help you craft messaging that resonates and makes a compelling case for your BBQ solution.
Your value proposition.
If there’s no difference between you and your competition, there’s no reason why a person would be compelled to purchase your products. Your uniqueness is what will differentiate you from others in your space and make up your prospects’ minds that you’re the BBQ place to enjoy. What do you do better than anyone in your trading area? That makes a compelling argument.
Dedicated goals
If you’re exploring a marketing strategy, you may have noticed that there are multiple directions you can go. It’s tempting to do it all, hoping that you covered all your bases. This strategy makes it easy to take on too much. Instead, identify where your biggest impact will be. Set a performance goal around a few key areas and focus your resources on the activities and tactics that will achieve measurable performance goals. You can expand to other ideas when you’ve made more progress toward those key goals.
Your successes
Once you have your strategies running and you’ve explored a few things, pay attention to the results. This can inform you of what’s working. As you scale, it’s a good idea to double down on proven methods of generating revenue.
Existing customers
Statistically, acquiring a new customer costs 5 times more than closing an existing one. This means you shouldn’t stop marketing once they’ve made a purchase. Identify opportunities for repeat purchasing, upselling, and cross-selling. Because your existing customers have already made a purchase, they already know and trust you. If you’ve provided a good experience, you’ve given them a reason to do business with you again.
Promotional tools
Use free promotional tools where possible, and only commit to paid tools if you know they will reasonably improve existing operations or performance. The most critical factor is not just marketing but to be consistent. Ongoing promotion builds credibility.
The web
A professional-looking website is one of the most important assets you will create for your BBQ business. This is where you will present who you are, what you offer, where you are, and how a potential customer can contact and benefit from your business.
The blog
Blogging is a great way to generate organic traffic, particularly for current customers and prospects. It can establish credibility in your space and position you as a leader in your field. To start a blog, you can use free website builders to make a free site using one of their templates.
Even if you only publish once a week, it will improve your website’s visibility online and help educate your potential customers on why they should do business with you. If you cannot write blog posts, perhaps one of your friends/family/employees can take it on. This is a great way to start collecting leads and offering potential customers a way to get information especially if they aren’t ready to buy from you yet.
Social media
Social media is a powerful business tool that can help you engage with potential customers, build brand awareness, and promote your products. You want to be seen where your potential customers spend their time.
Videos
With the amazing technology of smart phones, you can produce really good short videos of you cooking and demonstrating your techniques. You can show the quality of your food and processes. You can do this quite easily and people really do view videos, especially on YouTube.
Email marketing
If you’ve converted website traffic into leads, you now need to get them to buy. It’s critical to stay at top of mind and move them closer to visiting your place. Email marketing is a critical part of your marketing toolkit, and it’s an effective method of marketing. In fact, 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come by email. This strategy is an easy, free way to communicate with both new and existing customers.
Word of Mouth
A simple marketing truth, and among the most valuable is word of mouth. That will have a big impact on your business, primarily in repeat purchases and word of mouth. If you provide a great experience, your customers will be more inclined to leave reviews, give testimonials, and tell their friends about you.
Partner up
Connect with other local business owners in your area. Consider partnering with local businesses to create discounts, deals, or coupons for customers. Start a live stream with local business owners during a promotional event or coordinate a giveaway. Connecting with other small businesses is both great for word of mouth and collaboration. If you collaborate with other local businesses, advertise the promotion or sale on your social media outlets.
Your barbeque business is much more than just creating satisfying meals. It requires ongoing marketing and promotions, and only you can make that commitment. Marketing works if you work it.