5 strategies small companies can adopt to increase ROI

For corporate firms and large brands with marketing budgets worth millions, shelling a few thousands of dollars for their monthly marketing is no big deal. However for small businesses, every penny counts and the budget spent in marketing has to garner an immediate ROI.

Is it possible for small businesses to increase their footfalls using the latest technology at the most affordable rates? We present 5 strategies to develop a robust marketing plan that gives the maximum returns on investment.

1. Thoroughly research your market

Researching on your target audience, their pain points and the ideal buyer characteristics has multiple advantages. That includes:

• Helps brands develop a laser sharp focus on marketing since they already know their likes and dislikes of the target audience.
• Targeted campaigns can be run to attract, engage and woe the audience.

The best marketing teams keep a regular tab on their competitors’ efforts and delve into their shortcomings and the untapped opportunities. Rather than focusing heads on the same channels used by competitors, explore the gaps in the market or the domains where they are weak and these are the chances where the business opportunities will grow exponentially.

So if you have a brick and mortar store and are looking for ways to attract local customers via the internet, think about giving discount coupons on Fab and Groupon to start with. Being distinct and offering incentives that actually matter to the audience leads to viral growth effect.

2. Give utmost importance to email marketing

The most effective way to convey your brand’s message to the target audience is via email marketing. 74 percent of consumers prefer commercial communications through emails (Merkle).

Email management services such as Aweber, MailChimp, and iContact offer free email service until you have a few thousands of subscribers and after that you can opt for paid plans. Amid the intense content clutter on social networks, there is a probability that your message gets buried, however email is a surefire way to make your message reach out to the audience.

The key to high open rates for email marketing is to convey your message in the least possible words and in a way that keeps the users hooked to read the entire message. You can also add personalization and incentives such as an exclusive e-book, thus giving the audience a reason to look forth to your emails. Never spam the inbox, many bloggers and companies even mention the frequency of emails when a user signs-up.

3. Optimize for search engines

Many businesses claim that the word-of-mouth is the best marketing strategy, yet before making a purchase offline, 81 percent go online and check multiple product details (according to a report by Search Engine Journal).

Whatever the scale of your business, be it a small scale entrepreneur or a corporate firm, making your website search engine friendly is a must. According to the same report by Search Engine Journal, 75 percent of the visitors never go past the first page in the search results, hence leverage equal weightage on search engine optimization of your website.

If your website appears just in front of the audience whose searching for the service or product, imagine how advantageous it is for your business!