Growth is undoubtedly the top priority for small businesses. At the same time, it is also the biggest challenge for them. This happens because entrepreneurs are often short of funds and have limited marketing budgets. For this reason, they are unable to promote their brand and offerings to achieve their growth targets as expected. But is the situation totally bleak for small businesses? Should owners always expect to struggle to reach the growth targets? Are budget constraints the killers that are totally hard to beat for them?
The answers to all these questions are the same- growth is absolutely achievable if you take the right approach. This is where growth hacking steps in. Essentially, growth hacking is all about experimentation with your sales, marketing, and product development strategies. The more you are willing to experiment, the greater are the chances of success. So you must be ready to go the extra mile with the strategies that you embrace for your small business. Here are the most amazing growth hacks that can bring fast and effective results.
- Leveraging the potential of content marketing
Besides being a valuable marketing strategy, content marketing is far cheaper than traditional marketing. Moreover, relevant and informative content has the power to engage with prospective buyers and drive them to convert. So you must surely leverage the potential of content marketing if you want to grow your business fast and sustain the growth.
Start by understanding your audience and create content that matches their expectations. Beyond showcasing your brand story on the website, invest in a blog as well. Ensure that every piece of content you create is compelling, in addition to being optimized with the right keywords. Pay attention to keeping it consistent everywhere.
- Implement organic SEO strategies
Being visible online is another aspect that small businesses cannot ignore. If you really want to be visible, you need to ensure that your website ranks on the first page. Search Engine Optimization is the strategy that you should follow to reach the top without spending a fortune. The best thing about SEO is that beyond being result-oriented, it is sustainable as well.
It comprises the use of organic techniques such as responsive design and keyword-rich content to make the website rank on search engines. When your site reaches the top, users are more likely to click and access it. This translates into higher traffic and better chances of conversions. The fact that SEO is affordable makes it just the right growth hack for small businesses.
- Showcase social proof
While ranking on the top of searches gives you a good start, it does not assure conversions. They happen only if you are able to win the trust of the prospective buyers. The catch here is that the potential customers trust other buyers more than the claims that brands make. For this reason, showcasing social proof in the form of customer reviews and testimonials serves as a great idea.
The best way to take advantage of your product’s popularity is by asking the loyal buyers for positive reviews. You must have them on display right on the home page of your website. Positive reviews and testimonials act as confidence boosters for existing and new customers. They cost nothing but deliver huge value. So this is one growth hack that no small business should miss.
- Invest in paid ads
Even though you may be tight on budget, you must still set something aside for paid advertising. SEO does make you visible online but it can take a long time to get you on the top of the rankings. Paid ads, on the other hand, bring quick and effective results in terms of visibility and qualified traffic for your business website.
As a small business, it also gives you a fair idea of the user intent. Further, it offers the scope to test ad copies and validate ideas that work for your target audience. PPC experts here suggest that you should create multiple ad copies to find the type of messaging that really clicks with the audience. Moreover, a clear insight into the expectations of the buyers serves value to the business as a whole.
- Use customer retargeting
Beyond the conventional PPC campaigns, customer retargeting is another superb growth hacking tactic for small businesses. Basically, it involves following the customers who have visited your website before but left without converting. With retargeting, you keep track of their online activities and show them targeted ads to bring them back.
The best part about customer retargeting is that it yields a high success rate because you pursue genuine prospects. These are the visitors who were once interested in your products and may still want them again. Creating personalized ads based on their browsing history is the best way to maximize conversions. And this definitely can bring a considerable sales boosts with minimal efforts!
- Incentivizing your customers
Growth hacking for small businesses is all about winning customer loyalty for your brand. There is no better way of boosting loyalty than incentivizing buyers. Be willing to provide special discounts, offers, and coupons. These are a promotional expense for your business and generate revenues in the long run. And customer loyalty is the bonus you get!
Think out of the box if you want to come up with unique offers. Share personalized ones to show how valuable your customers are for you. For example, you can share a special discount coupon on their birthdays and anniversaries. Another smart idea is a referral bonus as it will incentivize the existing customers to bring new ones for your website.
- Ask for customer feedback
Another smart move that can bring you customer loyalty is asking for their feedback. This shows your intention to improve your offerings to align with customer expectations. As a result, they feel good about buying from you and want to stay connected in the long run. Beyond boosting loyalty, feedback strategy gets you rich insights about your strengths and weaknesses.
In this way, this serves a dual advantage of high sales volume and lasting relationships with your customers. The challenge, however, lies in getting the feedback as shoppers are usually pressed for time. You can use a popup that appears after every purchase or browsing session. Alternatively, you can try engaging buyers with social surveys. The best way to get feedback is by making the process easy and enjoyable for visitors.
- Be ready to experiment
Beyond the conventional growth hacks for your business, be ready to experiment with innovative and creative ideas. You may find the thought scary, considering the budget limitations that are always there. However, experimenting need not always topple your budget as you can try some cool and inexpensive ways to drive sales.
Why not come up with a differentiated product that no one else sells? What about designing amazing product packaging? Don’t you think that value-adding services can just do the trick? These ideas will surely not increase your spend significantly but can bring massive growth if you use them the right way. Be aware that experimentation may not always succeed but it definitely opens new opportunities.
Growth hacking for small businesses is all about finding new ways to do things better than your competitors. At the same time, it is about doing them without spending huge sums of money. If you are not sure that you can handle these strategies on your own, enlisting professional help would be the best approach. People with the right skills and expertise can create an effective and result-oriented growth hacking plan with the right mix of tactics, all within the budget of your small business.
