Even the best products in the world will fail to shift from the shelves if no one ever gets to hear about them.
In an increasingly crowded marketplace, finding ways to make your products and services distinct from those of the competition is becoming increasingly difficult.
Unless your business is truly breaking new ground, the best approach is to leverage existing forms of marketing but to add something of a little twist to help pique the interest of the public at large.
Conduct due diligence
Before you take any steps to improve the online visibility of your website or your business, it’s important to take time to study the analytics of how many visitors your site is currently getting.
Finding out the exact search terms that are being used by consumers looking for the kind of products and services that you sell will let you see exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are and the reasons why your site may not be performing the way you want it to.
According to the latest research, 94 percent of people using the internet to search for goods and services never bother looking beyond the first page of results. This means that if you want to maximise the chance of getting business, you not only need to ensure your company features on the first page but that it features near the top of the results for optimal visibility.
Optimise your site
The easiest way to achieve a higher ranking is to make use of search engine optimisation, otherwise known as SEO. The complex algorithms that control the way search results are sorted are constantly being tweaked and updated, meaning your SEO requirements might change over time, especially if you want to retain your position in the results table over the long term.
To ensure that you and your company remain knowledgeable in the latest updates, you need to keep reading the reviews for the best SEO tools available, both free and paid, to give your business the best chance of success.
Make your branding distinctive
Having a distinctive brand logo is essential if you want to be sure that your business stands out from the crowd. Take your time to carry out some research into the meanings that people generally associate with certain colours and shapes before you make any hasty decision.
Always bear in mind that, for today’s business, your corporate logo won’t only be seen on the letterhead of your company stationary, it will also be used as a tile on a smartphone home screen. As far as possible, try to find a way to say something about the nature of your business within your branding.
Signs of success
At first glance, the logo for Beats by Dre seems pretty simple – a lower case letter b inside a circle. It’s only when you look more closely that you realise the larger circle represents the human head and the “b” represents the large, over-ear style of headphones the company is best known for.
With online shopping powerhouse Amazon, the small yellow line in their logo begins at the letter “a” and finishes at the “z,” cleverly demonstrating the full range of goods which they sell. Often described as an arrow, the yellow line itself is actually a smile.
The multiple colours on the logo of the Museum of London at first seem random but the larger shape represents the outline of the city, and the various blobs of colour represent the geography of the city and how it has changed over the course of time.
Give your customers content
Ever since the dawn of the world wide web, content has been king. A well-written web page full of engaging content will always attract more attention than a handful of boring product descriptions.
Creating content in the form of blog posts, company or industry news can be an easy way to ensure a steady stream of fresh content is being added to your site to maintain your position in the rankings and keep visitors coming back for more. To better improve your originality with regards to your content, consider including videos and infographics.
Be controversial
If you want to raise your profile dramatically, you could try blogging about mildly controversial topics on commenting on the industry in which you work. It’s a delicate balancing act to pull off as the last thing you want to do is offend anyone, but the more it becomes known that you have strong views on certain subjects, the greater the chance that you might get asked along to speak to a presenter on a local radio station or be interviewed by a local reporter.
Establishing local strong local links in this way can then make it easier to become a nationally known figure, and this can lead to the name of your company being spoken about no radio and television stations from one end of the country to the other.
Build a reputation through verified reviews
Many small business owners are wary of being featured on review sites as they worry about the impact of negative reviews. In fact, customers have been shown to be more likely to trust a site that has a few poor reviews as they feel suspicious about any enterprise that presents itself as being perfect all the time. Customers are human, they know business owners are too, so you can make a few mistakes.
If you do find yourself getting a negative review, you can further mitigate any potential damage by responding promptly and doing your best to resolve the issue. If, for example, a customer ordered something that did not arrive, make sure to answer them back, provide compensation and help give them either the order they are waiting for or all their money back. You need to be empathetic to your customer’s needs if you wish to retain their custom or acquire new customers.
Fair play, always
If a potential customer sees others getting this kind of treatment, they are more likely to bring their business to you as they know they will be treated fairly.
Of course, there are always going to be some customers who are completely unreasonable. The important lesson here is never to stoop to their level and begin trading insults as this is a game you will not be able to win. Instead, explain the situation as briefly and simply as you can and let others who see the review read both sides of the story and decide for themselves which one of you is being unreasonable.
Eyes on the prize
If you think that customers will only enter a competition if there is a chance they might win an expensive prize, you’d be wrong. While giving away products or services might appeal to some, a simple quiz that allows people to show off their general knowledge or that tests their powers of observation is enough to get more people stimulated.
Competitions are also a great way to attract headlines and get publicity for your company but be very careful about exactly what you offer. Back in 1996, Pepsi ran a television commercial for a competition in which consumers could get points for each can they drank and win numerous prizes such as sunglasses and t-shirts.
The commercial ended with a shot of a Harriet Jump Jet which, according to the caption that appeared on screen, could be had for 7 million points. The company ended up in court when one enterprising young man realised he could purchase that many points for $700,000 and convinced five investors to lend him the money on the basis that the jet was worth some $33 million. The claim was eventually dismissed but Pepsi – and many other companies – learned a valuable lesson. Never underestimate the ingenuity of your customers.