Marketing tips and general advice for your small business

Marketing tips and general advice for your small business

With the small business / handmade business sector ever growing it is becoming harder and harder to set your business apart from the rest. 

As a small business owner pricing your products competitively can have a detrimental impact on the success of your business, so to keep your head above water you need to make sure you stand apart from the crowd in other ways. Whether that is done by the uniqueness of your product that nobody else can compare to or the exceptional customer service that you provide. However if nobody knows about your business then it doesn't matter how unique the product is, how well made the product is, nor the price or the customer service, people aren't going to come to you as they aren't aware you exist.

Algorithms and website statistics make being seen even harder but there are some things  you can do to improve how your business is marketed to potential customers.

Audience - Think about:

 Who your customer is?

What are you trying to sell them?

How will this product benefit them?

Why do they need this product?

Why should they buy it from you when they might be able to get something similar  elsewhere?

Content - Make your content relevant, targeted and valuable. Try not to push a product but instead explain how it will benefit the customer and their lives. 

Personal content - Optional - Some people like to share behind the scenes or their personal lives on their social media along side their products and some potential customers like to get to know the human behind the business, but it is your choice. ( I personally prefer to just show my face every now and again via a picture, whereas other's constantly update us on there day to day activities and show their faces daily via videos or pictures. It depends how confident you are!)

Images - Make sure your images are clear and show off the details of your product. Make sure the background is presentable and fits in with the product. Make your images recognisable by making them unique to your brand. You can also use photo-editing apps or online tools to watermark your images so that other's know that image belongs to you if it ever got used by another account pretending to be you (which happens more often than you think).

Video's - Video's of your product and how it looks in a real life setting can be more effective than pictures as the product can be seen being worn or from different angles etc. When making video's with speech, make sure you add captions via a video editing tool as 85% of video's are watched with no sound on. (You can find video-editing apps or online tools to help with this.)

Boosted / Promoted posts - These can help beat algorithms and widen your audience but  they are not always effective at getting you sales, they are better for getting more likes and potentially more followers. 

 

Business cards - Make sure they hold all the vital information such as your business name, what you sell, your shop/website/Etsy shop name, email address etc. Make sure you update them as your business grows and make sure they are relevant and suit your business aesthetics but still try and make them stand out from others.

Website - If you have your own website, make sure to keep it up-to-date and redesign it every now and again to keep it looking fresh. Make sure the layout is clear and it is easy to navigate to different sections on the site.

 Social Media - Make sure you have a Facebook page, an Instagram page and potentially a Pinterest page or board. If you make a Facebook shop on your page, you can then link it to your business Instagram and product tag your images so that potential customers can click on the link on the image and be taken straight to your shop page to purchase. (If you need help setting up the Instagram product tagging then just look online and it will give you instructions on how to do so.)

Blog - Optional - If you fancy it, you can set up a business blog. This is a great way to update your audience with new products and exciting projects you are taking part in. This is optional and you may find you don't have enough to say or write about so it might not be worth it. It also can be time consuming so only do so if you think it will benefit your business.

Product Range - Make sure you continue to grow your product range and adapt your product ranges based on selling habits from previous customers. Keeping up with current trends from the high-street is a great way to offer a handmade alternative to fast fashion options, or common objects sold in high-street stores.

Network with other small business owners - You can network with other small business owners in person at events, or via social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Most of the handmade small business community are lovely and always there to offer advice and support to each-other. Don't be afraid to message someone first! Also commenting on other businesses posts can help break the ice too!

Craft fairs / Markets - Taking part in events such as local markets and craft fairs are a great way to get your products out there and get a different audience for your business. This way potential customers can see your items in person, try them and feel them and this often has it's benefits over purchasing online. You can also interact with potential customers and it's a great opportunity to up-sell therefore making you more sales and more money. If you do the same event in the same location more than once you may find you have repeat customers, this is great way to build a relationship with your customers and if you remember them always make sure you mention it to them! It shows you care and are paying attention to your customers! You can also interact with other small business owners around you. It's a great way to make friends and I always find events great fun to do!

Social Media - Small business sharing - You can find lots of pages on Instagram for example that give the chance for small businesses to be featured on their page, often for free too! Our page @shophandmadeuk does just that! We share handmade businesses from the UK on our page, in a free, fun and fair way. You can take part in our daily events or you can tag us in your images on there for the chance to be featured. There are of course other pages that offer similar to us which you can search for on there.

Giveaways / Coupons - To gain more awareness you can hold a little giveaway on your social media for one lucky winner to win something from your shop. You can make the rules to enter whatever you want but most people suggest; like the post, follow and tag people, the more you people tagged the more entries. But it is completely up to you! Coupons and money off codes are a great way to help get customers. You can offer a 10% discount on your Instagram so they have to have found you on there to be able to use the code and most people use the code INSTA10 for example. You can also set up a discount code for customers so that they come back for more. This encourages repeat buying and it is always easier to keep customers coming back than it is to find new ones, so show your appreciation with a little discount!

Reviews - Always try to encourage customers to leave a review, whether you pop a note in the package or you include a little reminder in the shipping email/message. Reviews are really important and can be a deal-breaker for potential customers when they are debating whether to purchase from you or not. Reviews also gain trust between you and potential customers too which is so important as a small business.

  

- shophandmadeuk

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