Sometimes, it’s the little things that count. This is especially true if you’re a small business owner trying to grow. With the right strategy you can grow your business without a big budget or a big campaign.
What is Tiny Marketing?
Tiny Marketing Actions, says marketing expert and business coach Pamela Slim, are a series of small daily marketing actions delivered consistently over a long period of time that add up to measurable business growth. These Tiny Marketing Actions are characterized by the following qualities:
- They focus on a specific audience. If you own a coffee shop, you might want to make a small effort to reward your regular customers when they bring in new customers.
- They’re small enough that they don’t require a lot of time or money. The purpose of Tiny Marketing Actions is to grow your business in a way that is convenient and effective for you, the busy business owner. This could be as simple as sending an appreciation message to regular customers to entice them to return or offering free samples outside your store to attract passersby. Think small, think creative!
- They can be refined and repeated. Your Tiny Marketing Actions need to be simple enough that they can be continued on a regular basis and reused and built upon by every person in your business.
Confused? Think of your Tiny Marketing Actions like pieces of Lego. To build up to a comprehensive structure, you’ll need to assemble lots of small pieces together. Similarly, your Tiny Marketing Actions are the small Lego pieces that’ll help you build the brand identity you want. You just need to keep adding more! And that’s something we can help you out with. Check out Pamela’s tips on how to create the perfect Tiny Marketing Action recipe:
1) Create a Pinterest pin that links to your website
Visuals are a great way to capture a customer’s attention, especially
if your business relies on showcasing a certain aesthetic. And the best
part? You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money on the perfect
visual.
Pinterest is a great platform to showcase your visuals and
create a direct path that leads customers to your website. You can use
photos, or even create engaging Pinterest graphics using PosterMyWall.
All you have to do is select the right template, add a few
customizations, and publish to Pinterest with your link. This tiny
action will direct a significant amount of traffic to your website.
2) Build partnerships through words of appreciation
This is the era of influencer marketing and strategic partnerships.
As the owner of a growing business, it’s your job to know which
influencers or experts are the most relevant to your business clientele.
Even if the influencers are local.
Pam says that reaching out to an
expert can be super easy if you do it the right way. Start by picking
out someone who appeals to the same audience as your business, and send
them a message, email, or letter letting them know how much you admire
their work. You can add a link to your website or product at the end of
your message. Often this can lead to referrals or even a collaboration
opportunity!
3) Connect with past colleagues and customers
Changing your line of work doesn’t mean you need to build a contact
list from scratch. Reach out to past colleagues, customers, and others,
connect with them, and let them know what you’re doing now.
Odds
are, they’ll be happy to support you in your new endeavors, give you a
shoutout, or recommend your new business to someone they know. Either
way, connecting with old contacts is a great way to expand your
network.
4) Check in with your favorite customers
We all have a customer or two who are our ideal client. They’ve asked the right questions, supported our businesses, and helped us grow.
But where are they now? Are they still regular clients? If you haven’t seen them for a while, check in with them.
Send
your favorite clients a message and ask how they’re doing. Let them
know how much you appreciate their business and offer them a discount on
future services. It’s a way to successfully retain an ideal customer
for very little cost.
5) Reach out to local journalists
Whether it’s an online outlet or a traditional print publication, local media can be instrumental in getting your business in front of new people. Reach out to a local journalist who covers your beat and let them know who you are and what you do. To build your relationship, you can share other articles they’ve written with your audience and retweet any of their posts that are relevant to your audience. This way, not only will you form a collaborative relationship, you’ll get the chance to be featured in their next review.
6) Find the peanut butter to your jelly
This point might seem confusing, but let us explain. Finding an
expert who compliments your business with their services is the ideal
way to cross-market. How? Well, start by finding an expert who serves
the same audience as you, but with a different product or service. Let’s
say you own a coffee shop and your customers are mainly people rushing
to get breakfast before work. Why not look for a home-based baker who
can provide you with fresh bagels, pastries, and muffins to go with your
coffee? That way, the other business owner will increase their sales,
and you’ll have a larger offering. Your new partner can promote your
shop to her customers. And your customers will have more options to
choose from so you won’t lose them to the cafe down the street! Everyone
wins!
Pamela calls these strategic collaborations the “peanut butter and jelly combo” because they go so well together!
Get started on your own Tiny Marketing Action recipe today!
We hope Pamela’s tips helped inspire you to create recipes for your
own Tiny Marketing Actions. Download Pamela’s free workbook and build
your own Tiny Marketing Action recipe today!
