You don’t have to be a marketer to market your small business. Seriously. Marketing, boiled down, is spreading the word about the value you offer to clients. Odds are that you love your business and are passionate about providing value to your clients. Great! Now all you need is a flyer that says just that, and you’ve taken your first step towards a practical marketing strategy.

1. Create an ideal customer profile (ICP)

One thing we always stress at ADV Marketing is starting with a target. Sometimes, businesses underestimate marketing’s power to win hearts and minds because they’ve experienced marketing applied in shotgun fashion – a big blast of scattered ideas without a clear direction. There may be a 60% chance you’ll hit something, but there’s a 100% guarantee you’ll waste valuable resources and energy in the process.

An ideal customer profile (or ICP) is your bullseye. It directs your strategy. Creating an ICP directs how you’re thinking and gives you a set of criteria to judge future marketing ideas. If you’re a business-to-business (B2B) company, then your ICP might tell you that an Instagram-based social media strategy might not be the best place to put your resources. If you’re a business geared towards younger generations, then you might opt out of email marketing and redirect it to high-impact video marketing.

If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. If you aim at your ICP, the leads will close themselves.

2. Use the free (yes, free) tools at your disposal

Several free (yes, we said FREE) tools exist to help small businesses or start-ups, and they apply to B2B and B2C alike. First, install Google Analytics on your website. Google has 92.47% of the search engine market, so even though there are other search engines, installing Google Analytics is a great place to start.* Then, design a social media post in Canva – don’t worry, they have hundreds of fantastic free templates to use. Then, check the free analytics provided by the social media platforms to see how you did.

Looking for ideas for your post’s content? Read on!

3. Create a social media post (or two) featuring client testimonials

You’re fighting two enemies in your battle to win clients’ hearts and minds: fear and confusion. One of the best ways to combat these formidable foes is to include testimonials that establish your credibility, experience, and capabilities. Your prospective clients are taking a chance on you when they enter a business deal, and that risk would be scary for anyone. However, with client testimonials at your side, you have evidence to back up your value and wear down your prospect’s defenses.

Once you post, remember to follow up. The marketing doesn’t end when you hit the “Publish” button. Track how engaging the posts are, and modify your content strategy based on the feedback.

These are simple, easy, and most importantly, practical marketing tips for businesses that are just starting out or creating a marketing strategy for the first time. Remember to be intentional and targeted, and you’ll create a basic marketing plan for yourself in no time. If you’d like to learn more, check out our Special Edition Marketing Matters podcast, where we discuss a real-life case study with a guest that uses practical marketing strategies to grow his business.

Contact ADV Marketing

As always, the ADV Marketing team is open to any questions or special case scenarios you have that could use some professional marketing advice. If the needs of your marketing have overtaken the tips outlined in this article, reach out to us. We’d love to dive into your story and learn more.

*Don’t forget to include the appropriate Privacy Policy on your website once you do