Small Business Marketing: The Ultimate Guide for Increasing Sales in 2023

So, you want to know how to market your small business to reach more customers and increase sales. And you want to do it on a modest budget.


You’re not alone.


Maybe you have yet to market your business because you’re overwhelmed by all the options.


Maybe you experimented with tried-and-true methods. Or you tried the latest and greatest in marketing tactics. But you saw little to no results.


You’ve come to the right place. This guide is an understandable and easy to implement small business marketing guide.


Are you ready to learn about marketing strategy, how to choose the best ideas for your business, and how to implement those ideas?


Let’s dive in.

How to Create an Unbeatable Small Business Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps

Step 1: Build Trust With Your Customers by Knowing Who They Are

Everyone wants to be known. The more a customer feels known, the deeper the connection, and the stronger the trust. People buy products from brands they trust.


The best way to know your customers is to identify your target market and create a buyer persona.

Identify Your Target Market

Your target market is a group of people with specific characteristics that make up the demographics of your ideal customer. Some of the key characteristics of a target market’s demographic include:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Occupation
  • Income
  • Education
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Marital status

Create a Buyer Persona

The buyer persona takes knowing your target market to the next level. It gives your ideal customer a face.


HubSpot defines a buyer persona as:

A small business marketing plan should include a buyer persona.

What characteristics make up a buyer persona?

  • Dreams
  • Likes
  • Fears
  • Frustrations
  • Challenges
  • Behavior patterns
  • Purchasing patterns
  • Communication preferences
  • Influences

When you know your ideal customer, you build more trust and find it easier to market your services and products.

Step 2: Delight Your Customers by Standing Out From the Competition

You can do this by writing a unique selling proposition (USP).

A USP is vital to your small business marketing strategies.

A USP communicates the reason customers buy from you and not your competitors.

Use the following questions to write a 1-2 sentence USP:

  • What 1 or 2 elements make you better than the competition?
  • What do you know or do that's different from your competition?
  • When talking to people about your business, what aspects do you highlight?

Step 3: Compose an Elevator Pitch That Fuels Your Fire

An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive statement about the purpose and value of your business. It shouldn’t be any longer than the time it takes to ride in an elevator with someone (20-30 seconds). Pique curiosity and create interest in the listener by writing a pitch that gets you excited. Your excitement will be infectious.

Step 4: Reap the Proven Benefits of Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing captivates potential customers by providing valuable content which attracts, engages, and delights.


Attract your target market with interesting content. Engage them in discussion through avenues like email and social media. Delight them with your expertise.

Step 5: Set Goals That Give You Butterflies

Bold goals are necessary for a successful small business marketing strategy.

Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” This is just as true with marketing. Don’t spend time and money on marketing until you’ve set bold, concrete, and measurable goals.

Some potential marketing goals include increasing:

  • Brand awareness
  • Customer engagement
  • Website traffic
  • Social media engagement rates (shares, reposts, comments, impressions)
  • The number of new sales
  • Email subscribes or opens

Step 6: Avoid the Pitfall of Doing Too Much, Too Soon

Start small and build on that foundation. Choose 1 or 2 marketing ideas to implement. Then evaluate your efforts each month. Stick with what works. Tweak or set aside what isn’t getting the desired results.

Step 7: Be Strategic With Your Budget

Small businesses don’t have endless resources to spend on marketing. Be strategic with your budget. Cut out what doesn’t work and spend your money where you see success.

What are some small business marketing budget expenses?

  • Website design and maintenance
  • Brand design
  • Printed promotional materials
  • Advertising (digital and print)
  • Social media tools
  • Giveaways
  • Swag
  • Email marketing
Examples of some potential small business marketing budget expenses.

Now that you understand more about marketing strategy, it’s time to get practical.


What are the best ideas for small business marketing?


I’m glad you asked.


9 Engaging Small Business Marketing Ideas to Attract and Convert Customers

These ideas don’t cost outrageous sums of money. In fact, ideas 1-4 are completely free. Ideas 5-9 will cost you money, but they won’t break the bank.


As you read through these ideas, ask which options are best for reaching your ideal customer.

1. Happy Customers Who Share Their Experience

Transform happy customers into small business brand ambassadors.

The best marketing is a happy customer who shares their experience. A happy customer results from a quality product and excellent customer service.

What are some small business marketing tips to create happy customers?

  • Listen to them
  • Offer periodic customer satisfaction surveys
  • Nurture your customers through regular communication
  • Provide after-sale follow up
  • Ask for referrals
  • Create a customer referral program
  • Encourage happy customers to share their experience

2. An Online Presence to Be Proud Of

An internet presence is essential for small businesses.

Here are some free ways to cultivate a professional online presence:

  • Create a Google business profile
  • Make sure your information is consistent across all profiles and pages
  • Monitor your online reputation regularly
  • Start a blog and optimize for SEO
A Google Business Profile is one way to market your small business online.

An example of a Google business profile

3. A Foolproof Social Media Game Plan

You don’t need money to market on social media. You do need to choose your social media channels and strategically engage with influencers and potential customers.

Choose Your Social Media Channels

It’s tempting to hop on every platform and begin posting. Don’t do it. Be strategic and go where your target market is.

What are some social media options for small businesses?

  • Facebook business page
  • Business Instagram account
  • LinkedIn business page
  • Twitter account
  • Other social media channels where your ideal customer might be (including TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, etc.

After choosing the best channels, it’s time to market by attracting, engaging, and delighting.

Social media marketing for small businesses should focus on attracting, engaging, and delighting customers.

Engage With Others on Social Media

Some ways to engage with others include:

  • Follow experts and influencers in your niche
  • Create and post helpful content
  • Like, comment, and repost relevant content in your niche
  • Enter into a dialogue with your connections
  • Promote your blog posts and offers
  • Post quality images and helpful videos
  • Collaborate with influencers in your niche
  • Use relevant hashtags
  • Tag other businesses and people in your niche
  • Repurpose your content for other channels

4. A Daring Networking Strategy

Put yourself out there and network with others. Connect with people in your niche. Listen and learn, but don’t be afraid to talk about your business. This is the perfect opportunity to share your elevator speech or USP.

Networking possibilities include:

  • Join a local club (Rotary, Toastmasters)
  • Tap into your local Chamber of Commerce
  • Join online groups specific to your niche (LinkedIn is perfect for this)
  • Join business associations
  • Apply for business awards
  • Create industry partnerships
  • Cross-promote with another business
  • Network online with influencers from your niche
  • Attend networking events (in person or online)

5. The Tantalizing Impact of Paid Ads

Targeted ads, created specifically for your ideal customer, are a great way to reach new customers.

What are some of the best options for ads?

  • Google or Microsoft ads
  • Targeted social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn)
  • Local newspaper ads
  • Create a print brochure
  • TV or radio ads
  • Targeted podcast ads
Facebook ads are a great tool for your small business marketing plan.

An example of a Facebook Ad

6. An Online Presence to Be Even More Proud Of

Spend a few dollars and take your online presence to the next level.

Some ways to do this include:

  • Design, launch, and maintain a website
  • Optimize your website for SEO to boost your Google rankings
  • Start a podcast
  • Host a webinar or virtual event

7. Email Marketing That Provides Jaw-Dropping Value

Email marketing is powerful and effective. It's one of the top channels for marketing and it’s a great way to nurture potential and existing customers.

What are some best email practices:

  • Use an email service to manage your list and send out emails
  • Write and send emails with helpful content
  • Optimize your email headlines for maximum openings
  • Include a call to action in your emails
  • Track your performance so you can adjust accordingly
  • Be consistent by sending emails on a regular schedule
  • Include an opt-in on your blog or website
  • Give away a free download to people who join your list
  • Segment your audience based on certain characteristics to help focus your efforts

8. Free Giveaways to Delight Customers

Include free giveaways in your small business marketing budget.

Happy customers are excellent brand ambassadors. Free giveaways make happy customers. Everyone loves free stuff.

How can you delight your customers?

  • Create and giveaway swag (branded pens, notebooks, t-shirts, etc.)
  • Hold an in-store business card drawing
  • Create and offer coupons
  • Hold a social media giveaway contest
  • Start a frequent buyer program
  • Start an affiliate program

9. Qualified Help to Lighten Your Load

Don’t feel embarrassed if you need a little help. There are small business marketing services to help with your marketing efforts.

Some ways to enlist qualified help include:

  • Hire a freelancer to help with your efforts (content creation, copywriting, social media, SEO, website development)
  • Bring on a local college student to serve as an intern
  • Hire a virtual assistant to help with administrative aspects of marketing
  • Hire a part-time person to oversee marketing tasks
  • Use social media apps to automate your postings
  • Subscribe to services such as Canva or Adobe to help with design

3 Tips to Achieve Small Business Marketing Success

Developing a strategy and choosing a few marketing ideas is not enough. It's important to be strategic. Follow these 3 tips and you will reap benefits from your marketing efforts.

1. Create a Scalable Small Business Marketing Plan

Many small businesses fall into the shiny object syndrome. They try to do too much and see little to no results. Other small businesses avoid marketing altogether due to overwhelm at all the options. The answer is to start small and scale your marketing plan based on results. What gets you the results should be where you spend your time and money.


Start with 1 or 2 marketing ideas and expand as you go.


2. Commit to a Regular Review of Marketing Results

A marketing strategy for small businesses must include a regular review of results.

It's been said that you can't manage what you can't measure. This is no less true for marketing. Don’t waste time or money on what you don’t measure. Commit to a regular review of your marketing results. When starting a new channel, it's important to review monthly.

Some results to review may include:

  • Website traffic
  • Number of email subscriptions
  • Social media engagement (follows, likes, shares, retweets, clicks, replies, views)
  • New sales
  • Overall sales numbers
  • Clicks or sales from ads
  • Google rankings
  • Customer activity during ad campaigns
  • Email subscribes and opens

3. Adjust Your Plan and Your Budget Accordingly

Don’t fall into the trap of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Adjust your plan and budget based on your marketing results. Spend your time and money on what works.

Small Business Marketing: What’s Next?

It's time to put your new marketing skills into practice.


You've learned what it takes to market a small business effectively.


So, what now?

Take action and start your small business marketing plan.

Over the next few days, set aside time to develop your small business marketing strategy. If you do this, you will have done more than most small business owners.


But don't stop there.


Choose 1 or 2 marketing ideas and begin your experiment.


Try them out for a month and then review your results. Readjust as necessary and conduct another month-long marketing experiment.


And so on. And so on.


If you stick with this, your marketing frustrations will be a thing of the past. You’ll no longer feel discouraged and overwhelmed because you will see incremental marketing success.

FAQs

What Is Small Business Marketing?

Small business marketing is how small businesses attract and nurture existing and potential customers.

Which Marketing Is Best for Small Businesses?

Online marketing is the best avenue, as it offers cost-effective ways for a small business to tap into a larger number of potential customers.

How Do I Market My Small Business Locally?

Local small businesses will benefit from online marketing. However, there are local marketing ideas to help small businesses impact their community.

Some ways to market a local small business include:

  • Networking with other local business owners
  • Attending local networking events
  • Cross promoting with another local business
  • Local radio or TV ads
  • Local newspaper ads
  • Advertise with your local Chamber of Commerce
  • Design a brochure to hand out
  • Sponsor a local sports team
  • Put magnets on your company car
  • Sponsor a local event or charity
  • Plan a local business workshop
  • Host local classes or events
  • Do an in-store business card drawing
  • Join local business clubs
  • Offer in store coupons