Rustin Nethercott — April 17, 2017 
You need your small business to bring in money reliably.
But your customers are inconsistent and getting them in the door seems more like luck than science.
How can you turn things around to create a profitable small business?
Don’t worry — with just a few simple marketing tactics, you have the power to create a consistently profitable small business.
Get started with these five tactics:
1. Focus on your existing customers
Small businesses are always on the hunt for new customers.
What many don’t realize is that the fastest way to reach new customers is to nurture relationships with your existing customers.
Use email marketing to stay fresh in your customers’ minds and drive repeat business. A simple monthly email newsletter will keep your audience up-to-date on what’s going on at your business and drive them towards a sale.
In fact, 66 percent of consumers have made a purchase as a result of an email marketing message.
2. Encourage recommendations and reviews
Your current customers love your business.
They are already recommending you to their friends and family. You just need to further encourage they sing your praises online — where their testimonials are publically visible.
Ask for your happy customers to leave reviews on your businesses’ Facebook page.
Encourage your audience to share your email newsletters. And ask for reviews on sites that are relevant to your business, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, or Trustpilot.
Then, make sure you’re sharing these positive reviews in your marketing. Take a look at how Inn at Seaside shows off their positive TripAdvisor reviews in their email newsletter:
3. Dress (your website) to impress
81 percent of shoppers research online before buying.
And yet, many businesses still aren’t making their website a priority. When potential customers visit your website, you want to deliver an excellent experience with clean, easy-to-navigate design.
If you have yet to create a website for your business, look into options like HostGator or Bluehost.
Creating your website doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Start your site with these five website essentials and then add on as needed.
Soon you’ll have an online presence that converts potential customers rather than pushing them away.
4. Build and leverage a strong social media presence
Once you have a great website and a loyal following, it’s time to build up your social media presence.
Social media allows for you to engage with your current and potential customers, addressing any questions they have while also defining your brand identity.
With so many social media channels out there, it can seem overwhelming getting started.
Rather than trying to be everywhere, start by developing a presence on the channels your customers visit the most.
Not sure which channels to start with? Send an online survey to your current customer to help you determine which channels to prioritize.
5. Track your success
You’ll never know what kind of impact your efforts are making if you aren’t measuring their effectiveness.
You should constantly review the numbers behind your marketing. Important metrics may include email click-through and open rates, website traffic, and social media engagement.
You might find that what you’re doing is working perfectly. More likely though, you’ll see that your tactics could be working better and you’ll be able to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Ready to put it all together?
Creating a profitable small business doesn’t happen overnight.
But by focusing on your existing customers, encouraging shares and reviews, building a professional website and social media presence, and measuring what matters — you’ll set yourself up for a steady stream of new and repeat customers to fuel your business.
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