Fox 8 asked us what we thought were the most important marketing trends of 2012 for small and mid-sized businesses to pay attention to this year. We summed it up with M.S.R.P. (Mobile, Strategy, Resourcefulness and Price) Here’s the in-depth answers. All of these tactics certainly aren’t for every industry and we definitely didn’t cover everything, but we think there’s a few things in here that might be worth a look.
What’s The Number One Trend a Small Business Should Focus On In 2012?
Mobile – We live attached and sleep next to our smartphones. Now this stretches into the entire online universe but step back and see how your brand fits into our mobile world. For what terms are your customers searching? Is your Google Place page information accurate? When they land on your website, is it optimized for a mobile screen? If they check their Fox 8 news app, is your add there? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 million Android devices and iPhones were activated on Christmas day and it’s estimated that 1 billion apps were downloaded in the week between Christmas and New Years, thanks to the man in red. To say that your attention should be here would be an understatement.
How Can a Small-To-Medium Sized Business With a Minimal Budget Capitalize on Mobile?
Strategy – You’ll see a lot of people point to social media, but it’s more than just a Twitter page and done. Give people a reason to talk about you. Start with the basics: Who is YOUR customer? What are they into? Maybe they’re using new apps like Pinterest or Instagram more than Facebook. Find ways to use these new mediums as a way for people to discover your brand. After all, if you don’t know how a customer SHOULD find your brand, then how will they.
Once you’ve determined who your customer is and how it is they should be interacting, make sure the process is seamless. (Aggravation can kill the buying mood faster than a credit card bill.) How are they becoming aware of your product? What attributes do they discuss? Who do they seek for an opinion? More specifically, are you reaching out with an email on a regular basis to stay top of mind? Give your customer a reason to refer their friends. Want to take it even farther? Build your own app. The site Biznessapps.com can make you a first-mover in your field for less than $200. This was our favorite tool in 2011…So please bring it back to us sharpened.
In Addition To a Familiarity with Digital Mediums, What Are Other Marketing Skills That Small Business Owners Need?
Resourcefulness – Get creative. Plain and simple. Your greatest asset as a small business is your ability to act and react quickly. Find stories in the news that apply to your industry and let the ideas fly. If you sell pants and another Anthony Weiner-esque scandal occurs, have a sale! New ideas will make sure your customers (and competitors) view you as an innovator in your field. And don’t forget the value of well-timed press release. Those are still free by the way. I don’t care if you fix cars or sell plungers, be different. We often get so bogged down in the day to day that we rarely step back and ask ourselves how we’re actually different from our competitors. Have you dropped your product from space lately? (Just no flash mobs…please.)
Also, learn your way around Youtube. It is the television now for many of us. At 2 billion views a day, you need to develop your brand’s community. It’s easy once you try.
Is There Anything That Businesses Should Be Wary of In The New Year?
Price – The Internet will be your best friend and your fiercest competitor. It’s already happening, but in 2012 you’ll see the boiling point reached for consumers who are shopping in store and then ordering online. Smartphone apps like Amazon Price Check, CouponSherpa and Red Laser make it easy for a person to find exactly what they’re looking for and order it elsewhere before they ever leave YOUR store. My suggestion, take 3 seconds to do the same research yourself. How much cheaper is it actually online?
Most consumers now understand that there is a premium to be paid for personal service. Having a living, breathing person with whom you can discuss the pros and cons of a product is worth paying a little extra and make sure your employees know this. At the same time, be wary of how much that markup is. Additional ideas for moving your customer from the aisle to the register are to plant your own coupons. Sites like Retailmenot.com and FatWallet.com are just a few of the sites that allow you to post your own.
Also, promoting daily contests and giveaways that require an in-store check-in on sites like Facebook or FourSquare guarantee that you’re customers are actually coming in and that they’re interacting with your brand for their network to see. Make sure to include the URL for your website, it’s great for your search engine optimization (SEO)… But that’s so 2011, right?