Four Small Business Marketing Tactics That Work

Service businesses can’t afford to wait until the busy season to win customers. Lead generation starts with brand and service awareness before it’s in demand. Marketing tactics for small businesses must incorporate a mix of channels and messages to stand out from the competition when it matters most. We’ve put together four tried-and-true service business marketing ideas to get in front of past and prospective customers.

How to Stand Out from Competitors – Change the Channel

Many small service businesses rely heavily on traditional marketing tactics like door hangers, print ads, and direct mail. To be clear, those can be effective elements of any local marketing campaign, but don’t discount digital advertising. Email, social media, and other digital marketing channels provide cost-effective options with measurable results, helping small businesses accurately measure return on investment and make informed budgetary decisions moving forward.

1. Email Marketing

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Email is one of the best marketing channels for small businesses because it offers a consistent and direct line of communication with customers. Through personalized newsletters, automated service reminders, and engagement-based drip campaigns, small businesses can access the right customer at the right time with the right information. Plus, it’s affordable and email offers $36 in revenue for every $1 spent.

Tactic: Amplify your marketing team’s impact with automations. Set up automated email flows to welcome new customers, remind past customers of upcoming service needs, and reward loyal customers with discounts on additional services.

2. Social Media

Social media is a simple yet effective way to reach customers in your service area consistently. Post engaging, informative content and keep it social; reply to comments, questions, and reviews to show prospective customers you care. If it makes sense for your budget, consider using paid aids and boosted posts to position valuable content in front of qualified customers based on geographic location, interests, and other criteria.

Tactic: Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are ideal channels to deliver promotions and coupons.

3. Local Service Ads

Also known as LSAs, Local Service Ads are a category of Google Ads that generate local, high-quality leads for service brands. Owners can set their budget and industry, define their service area, and use platform metrics to improve results. The best part? You only pay when customers actually contact you directly from the ad.

Tactic: Adjust LSA advertising spend based on operational capacity. If you’re booked out several weeks, consider lowering spend to ensure customers schedule appointments upon conversion, rather than look for more immediate service.

4. Google Business Profile

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Roughly half of all Google search queries are local, which means users are looking for information on products and services nearby. For mobile users, the intent is even more striking; 76% of mobile search queries result in a store visit or service inquiry within 24 hours.

Google Business Profile is an effective way to position your brand in front of customers ready to convert. Optimize your profile by including important information and regularly updating details like hours and services.

Google Business Profile is also invaluable for collecting reviews. Consider including a reviews link on customer invoices (or in one of your new automated follow-up emails!) to solicit reviews. Find a place on your website to collect Google reviews as well.

Tactic: Assign a trusted employee or a marketing partner the job of acknowledging all online reviews – both positive and negative.

Improve Marketing Efficiency with Successware

Data is the key to marketing. Small businesses collect incredibly useful information about their customers, their needs, and which services are attractive — and when. Successware’s CRM and sales tools are designed to collect and organize customer data based on service history, location, and more. This data can help you in your marketing efforts.

Successware also lets you track marketing campaign success so you can see what campaigns are producing the biggest Return on Investment, or ROI. See what else Successware can do for your growing business.

Learn more about our work by calling (888) 272-8009 or requesting a demo today!