Business Lagging? Try These 4 Essential Marketing Strategies

Sometimes your marketing techniques need a makeover. Maybe products stay on the shelves, or you aren’t getting new customers. Business fluctuates for many reasons, and it’s a normal part of running a company. You can make sure your marketing techniques are working for you. Here are four areas not to ignore.

1. Optimize Your Content

Experts such as Compose.ly, suggest product descriptions, website pages, and blog articles should contain keywords people use to search for your product online. Say, for example, you sell handmade leather bags. That phrase — “handmade leather bags” — contains keywords potential customers would use to search for your product. They may also use similar descriptions, such as “hand-crafted purses” or “leather totes.” Use the variations that best describe your product as you write your content.

Your blog posts should contain relevant, helpful information related to your product or service. A company that sells handmade leather bags may include posts that explain how to care for leather products to make them last longer. You can also write posts about styling them with different outfits.

Backlinks are one of the top factors search engines use to rank your site. A backlink connects one website to another through anchor text. Search engines view these as signs that a web page has value, especially when the backlinks connect to authoritative sources. There’s a right and wrong way to backlink, and white hat link building is correct. It uses trustworthy sites and employs practices within Google’s guidelines. Guest posting and broken link building are a couple of examples. Avoid using black hat link-building techniques such as spamming blog content, private blog networks and buying low-quality backlinks.

2. Use Social Media to Its Potential

If your business doesn’t have a presence on social media, it should. Do some research to learn which platforms your target market uses, then create accounts there. Once you’ve established a presence, engage with potential customers. You can ask questions or create a poll. Then invite people to post answers in the comments. You can also request that people share your page to increase your reach.

Businesses are most effective on social media when they don’t use it strictly for advertising. You can announce sales or promotions through your posts, but it’s a best practice to keep most of them informational.

Are others talking about your business on social media? Join the conversation. Whether it’s a product mention, praise or negative review, following up gives you a chance to speak your piece.

3. Get Out Into the Community

Digital marketing is essential. However, life goes on beyond a screen. Go to trade shows, community events, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and other places you can put a face to your business. Once a potential customer has met you or a representative in person, there’s a face with an online name.

Consider these possibilities:

• College lectures
• Professional associations
• Charitable event sponsorships
• Career fairs

Community involvement not only puts a face on your business but also makes a positive impression. It is good to be remembered as the company that donates time to fundraisers or hires local college students.

4. Change Strategies When Necessary

You’ve implemented every marketing technique you can think of — yet you don’t see results. Don’t panic. Some strategies take time; you can think of them as long-term moves. Also, keep in mind that it can take months or even years to build a brand and reputation. 

If the metrics aren’t budging, change it up when you need to. Maybe you should redefine your target market or adjust your sales methods. Perhaps your competitors have introduced new products, and you must realign to keep up with trends. Whatever the reasons are, it’s not a sign of failure. It just means your marketing can use a refresh.

Put your best marketing skills to work when your business is lagging. Trying a few new approaches or refreshing some old ones may be all you need to generate customer interest.