Michael Epps Utley {kind=image/jpg}
Most of us make resolutions for the New Year. Why not do the same for your business? Here are our top seven marketing-related actions small businesses should resolve to do in 2023 and beyond.
1. Connect with Leads Immediately
Generating leads is only half the battle when it comes to bringing in new business. You must convert them into customers. That’s the critical step.
So, when you bring in leads, don’t miss out on prospective business by beating around the bush. You must set a goal for yourself and your employees on how quickly to follow up on leads next year. Also, develop a documented follow-up process, including scripts, emails, and answers to commonly asked questions – this will increase accountability and make the process more consistent.
Customers typically do business with the company that connects with them first. If all that’s between you and a new customer is the speed with which you get back to them, you should make it your mission to contact every lead as soon as humanly possible. Make it a point to answer the phone when it rings, respond to emails quickly, and follow up with leads ASAP. This urgency will help you and your salespeople turn those leads into customers for the new year. Use a lead management system to streamline the process.
2. Optimize Your Website For Visitors and SEO Alike
The vast majority of people use search engines – primarily Google – to find companies to do business with. Google and other top search engines have recently made several updates to their algorithms that prove their commitment to making the searcher and their search experience number one.
It’s critical for your business to make ongoing optimizations to its website so it better serves not only search engines but also visitors. If you haven’t resolved to do this before, now’s the time! Ensure you continue to do this throughout the year, especially when Google changes its algorithm.
Here are a few things to focus on:
Optimize your site for mobile. People conduct more searches on smartphones and tablets than on desktops these days. Also, Google currently indexes the mobile experience over the desktop one.
Make your site easy to navigate. An intuitive top-level navigation bar, clear and concise page names, simple links, and clear calls to action are critical for SEO success. Google registers smooth and intuitive user experiences and ranks them high.
Include your contact information. You want to prominently display your contact information on your website and your Google Business Profile (GBP) – it helps Google connect your GBP with your site and makes it easy for people to reach you.
Use the right keywords in your content. Keywords continue to play a critical part in SEO. These words and phrases help search engines understand what your site and its pages are about so they can recommend it to the right searchers for relevant queries.
A lot goes into optimizing your website for search engines. Check out our Ultimate SEO Guide to find out more.
3. Go Multichannel, But Not Just Any Channel
Consumers use search engines to find businesses. However, previous brand awareness makes it more likely they’ll look for you.
That’s why it’s critical to invest in multichannel marketing. Your business must be present where your prospective customers are, whether in social media, email, blogs, or their favorite websites. Don’t forget non-digital options, either, such as signage, handouts, and direct mail. Many low-tech marketing options break through in today’s digital overload.
If you’re unsure what media your consumers engage with, ask them. Likewise, develop detailed personas that include information about your consumers’ media consumption habits.
4. Try One New Thing
New marketing tactics and strategies are constantly emerging. Any one of them could transform your marketing, generating leads and sales. If you haven’t tried anything new lately, make it one of your resolutions. Novel digital marketing tactics help you stand apart from your competitors and help you discover and connect with new prospective clients.
“New” can be anything new to you (or even your industry). That said, the idea must be something that seems likely to connect with people in your customer base. It could be old-school Facebook ads or Tiktok. If your customers are there, it’s worth getting creative and trying it. Being a disruptor has worked for some of the world’s top companies. Why not yours?
5. Deliver a World-Class Customer Experience That Delights
Big businesses succeed because they give customers what they expect: An excellent end-to-end buying experience.
People have gotten used to this, whether they’re shopping for food, buying clothes, streaming movies, dining out, and more. They expect the same from the smaller companies they interact with, whether a medical practice, construction business, consulting firm, or anything else.
Have you ever experienced your business as your consumers do? Resolve in the new year to do so. Explore your social sites, website, online ratings and reviews, and physical location from an outsider’s perspective. Look for gaps, disconnects, and other issues with your customer journey. Ask yourself:
Is your messaging consistent and connected?
Are you able to do everything on your website that a consumer would?
Is your online business presence aligned with your real-world one?
Do you feel cared for through the experience?
Can you readily get answers to questions?
Would you like to do business with you?
This exercise will help identify issues that could turn off consumers and send them to your competitors. Ask people on your team — and customers — to test out your experience as well. Different people are likely to see things you don’t. Make it a resolution to do this experience audit regularly. You never know when new issues could enter your sales funnel.
6. Get Visible — Up Your Google Business Game
A complete, active, and accurate Google Business Profile (GBP) (formerly Google My Business) is a prime influencer on local Google rankings. If you don’t have such a profile, resolve to get one ASAP. And if you’ve let yours slide, make it your mission to add photos, post regularly, and consistently update your information in 2023 and beyond.
7. Track Your Results…Then Track Them Again
If you don’t measure and analyze your marketing results, this should be your top resolution for the year. When you invest in something as important as marketing to grow your business, you must know what’s working — and what’s not — so you can keep improving your strategies and tactics. It’s the only way to know for sure whether your investment in marketing is paying off in 2023 and the years ahead.
You owe it to yourself and the future success of your business to understand the metrics behind your marketing efforts so you can get them right and keep improving them over time.
New Year, New Marketing Strategy
A successful year of marketing starts with the right resolutions. Make the 7 actions listed here a part of your marketing plan for the upcoming year and beyond!
