Small businesses have been using outbound marketing to bring in customers for decades, and there’s only one reason they still employ the strategy – because it works! If you’re looking to build your own outbound marketing approach, we have some valuable tips to help you make the most of your time, budget and effort.
1. Define your targets.
The thing about a small business’ target demographic is that it’s always changing. With every new product you launch, with every new service you offer, the number of people who can benefit from it grows.
To successfully develop an outbound marketing strategy, you need to constantly monitor and revise who you’re marketing to. Just because a demographic was your target last quarter doesn’t mean it’s still true this quarter.
2. Personalize your marketing content.
A direct mail campaign addressed to “current occupant” is unlikely to earn your small business any ingenuity awards – or any return on its investment. If you want to wow customers with your strategy, you need to do a bit better than that.
Market to the individual instead of the masses – or at least make each person believe that’s what you’re doing. Simply addressing customers by name and following up on past purchases will make them far more receptive to additional marketing attempts.
3. Go out to bring them in.
Outbound marketing sometimes requires you to stand on a sidewalk and exclaim about your products or services. But eventually you need to convince customers to come inside.
Some people will be so hooked on your sales pitch that they’ll follow willingly – others might need a little enticing. Consider offering your leads something in exchange for a visit to your small business, a Like on your social media page or some interaction with your website.
4. Don’t be afraid to get crazy creative.
Sometimes you’ve got to think outside of the box – and your comfort zone – to bring new customers in. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. In fact, we recommend against it!
Whether it’s a quirky sales call script, a staged flash mob or a bunch of costumed employees roaming the streets of your city handing out coupons and product samples, the phrase “It’s so crazy, it just may work” has its place in outbound marketing.
5. Benefit from our experience.
At Mischa Communications, we’ve spent a lot of time creating unique outbound marketing strategies for small businesses and recruiting new customers for them. And believe us, people don’t usually show up unannounced and start beating down our door.
As a small business, it’s hard to tackle every facet of inbound and outbound marketing on your own. This is where Mischa comes in. Drop us a line or give us a call, and we’ll help you create a comprehensive marketing strategy that gets your small business in front of customers.