When it comes to small business marketing ideas, “social proof” doesn’t usually come to the minds of business owners. Local business owners typically think in terms of the features of their business, rather than the benefits. Small business marketing ideas that focus on benefits, along with “social proof” of those benefits, will always be more successful than marketing programs that focus on features.
Small business owners typically must wear many hats such as bookkeeper, financier, marketer, as well as providing the vision. And most aren’t specifically trained in all these areas, so they do the best they can.
So let’s start with some marketing basics, like what is the difference between a feature and a benefit? It’s pretty easy to figure out the features – if you look at a product, the features are its size, its weight, its color, its name. The features of a business can include hours of operation, location, what services and products it offers, how much these products and services cost.
Benefits are harder to discern; they are usually intangible and involve feelings. How will a customer “feel” when they use the product or service? Will your business give the customer a satisfied feeling, a successful feeling? The more you are able to convey what the benefit is the customer will get from using your product or service, the more likely your campaign will attract new business.
Taking this one step further, you must provide proof that the potential customer will experience these benefits. What is the best way to do this? Social Proof! Social Proof includes things like testimonials, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, etc. Testimonials are by far the most important and MUST be real. Always include several testimonials in your advertising with the name and location of the person giving the testimonial. A picture, if possible, adds more impact to the testimonial.
Coming up with small business marketing ideas is easy, if you have the right tools. Always focus on benefits in your marketing, and always include social proof. If you do these two things, your results will skyrocket!