Make Your Elevator Pitch Perfect

You should be prepared to discuss your company at any time. Spend some time developing a brief
elevator pitch, or a summary of your company's operations, that not only explains what you do but
also inspires interest in learning more.

You typically have only 8 seconds to capture their attention. You have roughly a minute to sell them
after you've aroused their curiosity. Work on your pitch until the words come naturally.

Request an Online Review or Testimonial

It does not matter what industry you serve, online reviews matter. In a survey conducted by Ask
Your Target Market, an astounding 90% of respondents indicated they have checked online reviews
about a business. This means it’s highly likely some of your prospects have already scoped you out
before they appeared on your radar.

Ask your best clients to rate your business or leave a review on Google or your social media pages.
Incentivize them with a high profile prize drawing, or offer a coupon or other small reward to
everyone who participates.

Ask for Referrals

Referral marketing is possibly the single most cost-effective marketing tactic you can employ, costing
you as little as zero dollars and a few minutes of your time. However, there are a few dos and don’ts
when it comes to asking customers to share their contacts with you:

DO only ask happy, satisfied customers for referrals.

DO provide an incentive to both the referral and to the person referring if their lead converts.

DO make it a regular habit to ask for referrals.

DON’T continually badger the same clients for referrals. They may feel that’s all they mean to you.

DON’T let hot leads get cold. Follow up on all referrals immediately.

DON’T ask yes-or-no questions to get a referral (ex. Do you know someone who might be interested
in this service?). Keep questions open-ended.

Create Sticky Customers

Studies show it costs 4 to 10 times more to gain a new customer than it does to keep an existing
one, so don’t forget to allocate some of your marketing budget to the people who already like you
and know about your business.

Talk to your current customers about other products and services you offer. The key is to provide
value as many different ways as possible so you can remain their go-to choice whenever they need
something you offer. Creating a sticky customer is a bit different than typical customer retention.
While you don’t “lock in” a customer to your services, you do get them invested in multiple parts of
your business that makes it a little more difficult for them to jump ship and switch to your
competitor.

Employ Social Media Marketing

Nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find a business of any size that isn’t established on social media
in some way. Maintaining a consistent social presence can help attract new customers and retain
loyal customers by keeping yourself top of mind and sharing the ins and outs of what makes your
business great.

And, contrary to popular belief, social media marketing does not always involve a hefty time
commitment. Stick to these small business marketing secrets to stay on track:

Only set up social media accounts on channels where your target audience is likely to be. You don’t
have to be everywhere to get noticed.

Start with one or two platforms and work from there – you may find that’s all you need, or all you
can responsibly handle. This helps avoid the time-zapping, resource-draining “Social Media Fatigue”
that plagues many small businesses who eventually determine that social media isn’t worth the
effort.

Use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule posts on your behalf. This way, you can
touch your social marketing less frequently yet still provide fresh content on a regular basis.

Use Paid Ads to get directly in front of your target audience, and no one else. You set the amount to
spend (even as little as five dollars!) and your social media channel goes to work putting your
information in front of the people who most likely need it.

Start Using Video

If you’re looking to get in front of your audience and bring valuable traffic, start using video.
Currently, video converts better than any other type of content on the Internet—especially on social
media. According to a recent study, social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images
combined, what’s more, consumers are 85% more likely to buy a product after watching a product
video.

With numbers like these, it’s hard to ignore the amount of potential adding video to your marketing
efforts can bring to your business overall. It’s the best way to reach your audience, engage them,
and turn them into loyal customers.

Thanks to its growing popularity, creating and publishing high quality video is no longer reserved for
only big brands spending millions on advertising. Small businesses now have access to great DIY
options and software that won’t break the budget. Between shooting video yourself, using Facebook
Live or YouTube Live to air a broadcast, and using one of the many online tools that popped up over
the past year, the options for affordable, professional-quality video are endless.

The bottom line is you don’t need to be a marketing expert or to allot a corporate-sized budget to
effectively promote your company, nor do you need to commit a lot of time. With a minimal
investment and a little planning and effort, you can set your small business marketing in motion, and
focus more on what you do best.