Four things to boost your business in 2017

Follow @GhanaCampusBlog

Advertisement Banner

As a new year begins, we start to think about the things we will do differently and the areas we can improve on to make our business flourish.

One way for your small business to gain a competitive edge is to key into the latest effective marketing trends to attract new customers and build customer relationships. Use these hot marketing techniques to expand the customer base and revenues for your small business this year.

Let your business be mobile friendly
More consumers are shopping with their smartphones. This makes it increasingly important for your small business to be mobile-friendly. Check your website to make sure it is designed to show up well on mobile devices. This makes it easier for mobile shoppers to view and navigate your website. It also improves your overall search engine rankings, since Google and other major search engines factor in how mobile-friendly your site is.

Increase your presence on social media
In Nigeria, according to the Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC), there are 93.7 million internet users. So take advantage of that.

Mr Segun Olaoluwa, an IT consultant says social media have transformed the way people do business. “Face book, twitter, instagram are platforms that enable you share pictures, and like they say, pictures can say more than a thousand words. So, once you can showcase what you do, you will see people sharing it and liking it. You will see people’s comments and they will be asking how they can get your product or service. Orders come and that is how you boost your sale. With the internet, you can affordably promote any product you are selling or any service you render,” Olaoluwa explains.

However anyone using any social media network should not forget to include their phone number or contact address.

Using Email Marketing
Email marketing might not initially strike you as a hot trend but email marketing is still considered a very valuable marketing tool for generating sales, strengthening customer relationships, and building your brand identity. Sixty-eight percent of businesses rate email marketing as a good and excellent marketing method when analysed for the return on investment that it produces. Successful email marketing is not about making continual direct sales pitches - instead, regularly offer consumers on your mailing list valuable, helpful information. Every time you do that, you’re strengthening your connection with customers and potential customers.

Word-of-Mouth Referral Marketing
Word of mouth or referral marketing has always been an effective and cost-efficient method of marketing. Research shows that it generates up to twice as many sales as traditional paid advertising. The CEO of Malabis Lingerie, Halima Abba ,says referral and word of mouth remains the best marketing strategy she uses as an entrepreneur. “In my eight years in business, word- of-mouth and referrals remain my best marketing tools,” she said.

One way small businesses can generate a large amount of word-of-mouth advertising is by using social media to get existing social connections to spread the word about sales, new products, or events to their social connections.

Kelechi Ifesinachi, a media consultant explains this further.“For instance, you are a fashion designer, you can link up with a big fashion website/blog, you may pay a token for them to help you promote/showcase your products. Any one that clicks on their website will see your product as well,” Ifesinachi says.

Advertisement Banner