Businesses are constantly looking to expand. Regardless of goods, products, or services offered, businesses want to build a clientele that will come back to them time and time again. This can be difficult, especially if you are a new business just starting out, or maybe you've been in business for a while now but are struggling to see growth. If either of these statements apply to you, it is time to consider improving your marketing and advertising tactics.
How will you build customer loyalty? What kinds of terms stick out to customers when they are looking at businesses? What can you do/offer to entice more customers to become repeat customers? If you are just starting out or are trying to familiarize yourself with the market, there is some internal marketing terminology that you should know and familiarize yourself with. This will make it easier for you to analyze your data and consider your next business steps.
Internal marketing terms to know
- Conversion: Clicking on a link is pretty easy. We've all clicked on links and browsed businesses, looking at their products and services. However, we have also clicked on links to businesses, purchased nothing, and exited out of the window. Conversion seeks to convert this web visitor into an actual customer. It is not just enough to attract someone to your website. You need to make your business so appealing that customers can't help but to purchase from you. High conversion rates equate to good business.
- Retention marketing: Retention marketing seeks to make customers into loyal, repeat customers alongside acquiring new customers. This includes activities or techniques that business will use to make it more likely that a customer will buy from them again and buy larger quantities of goods and services from them. This increases the potential profit from repeat customers.
- Storytelling: Odds are, you started your business because you had a problem you wanted solved or a question you wanted answered. Or, perhaps you had a product you wanted that you couldn't find anywhere else, so you took it upon yourself to make it. Customers love to know history, so give them your back story. What makes your business different from others? Where do you come from, what do you do, and why do you do it? Establish a purpose and stick with it. Explain where you want your business to go in the future and how you plan to do this. If you tell a story, your customers will feel like they are a part of your mission, like they are characters in your story. Every business has a story. What's yours?
These are just a few of the terms you will want to be familiar with, but they are a good starting point to successfully marketing your business.
Building your brand
Before you can begin focusing on specific marketing strategies, it is important to establish yourself as a unique brand, establishing image and tone. Once you do this, it will become easier for you to hone in on details and target specific audiences.
- Create a slogan: What is the first thing you think of when you see Nike®? "Just do it." This, alone with the characteristic Nike swoosh, is essential to Nike's marketing campaign. You should keep this short and simple. You should also make sure this speaks to your brand's purpose. Being catchy is fun but useful if it means nothing to your business. This is an opportunity for you to establish your voice. You can't expect your business to become Nike overnight, but the slogan will bring you one step closer to being an established brand.
- Well-designed logo: This visual representation of your brand speaks to the purpose behind your business. Alongside a short, simple slogan, you want your company logo to be aesthetically pleasing and easily recognizable. Let's use the Nike example, again. Everyone knows what the little swoosh, checkmark logo means: it means Nike. You should strive for a similar feeling of familiarity. Although you want your logo to be eye-catching, make sure to keep this simple, as well. It should have something to do with your business, so don't make it random. It would also be worthwhile to conduct research on what colors, designs, and shapes customers like to see in brand logos. There is psychology involved here, and you want to use that to your advantage.
- Utilize social media: If you're not on social media, you're about a decade behind. Almost every single adult has some form of social media, whether that be Facebook®,Twitter®, Instagram® or, more recently, TikTok®. Social media is a great way for you to market your business in a space with varying age groups, so you can target specific customers. This will also increase user engagement because customers may be more likely to encounter your business on a social media platform while they are scrolling on their feed than they are to actively search for your business online.
Instead of that, do this
Now that you have a foundation for your business, it's time to start working out the details. When you think about how to market your business, it's important to avoid falling into traps. What we mean by this is it's really easy to throw around popular terms that will grab a consumer's attention, but we don't want shallow, short-lived attention from customers. Here are a couple of terms to avoid when marketing your business and what to use instead:
- Innovative: This term once pointed to the originality of an item, highlighting its newness. This is one of the most overused terms on the market because it is supposed to speak to a products or service's unique qualities. Now, this term has essentially been stripped of its meaning because nothing can be "original" if everything is innovative. That is like advertising your new ice cream flavor with the word "delicious." Obviously, most people would assume the ice cream is delicious since, by nature, ice cream is a dessert and most people find desserts delicious. If an ice cream store wanted to stand out from its competitors, they would scrap the word "delicious" and instead highlight its unique flavors, perhaps pointing to hidden fruit or the new and improved creamy texture. You should do the similar with your product or service. What makes your product/service stand out from competitors? Highlight its newest qualities that make it run faster, smoother, and more efficiently than others. Instead of claiming your product/service is original and creative, show how it is original and creative.
- Cheap: This is a bit of a tricky word. The term "cheap" implies a low price, but it is also a double-edged sword. What we mean by that is customers will know the product/service is inexpensive, but they will also know that the product/service may not be worthwhile. After all, you get what you pay for in this consumerist world! Think about it like this, would you want to be called cheap? Definitely not! There is a negative connotation to this word. Instead of throwing around the word cheap to attract potential attention, you should focus on highlighting how your product/service performs. What will the customer get out of your product/service? Yes, consumers love things that are cost efficient, but we love things that are cost efficient and work well to serve our purpose even better.
Meaningful terms that will attract customers
Instead of utilizing overused words like "cheap" and "innovative", as we just discussed, you should think about what types of terms are becoming increasingly popular amongst consumers. Luckily for you, we have already done much of the research for you! Here's a list of some terms and qualities that consumers these days find attractive in businesses:
- High quality: As we just discussed, the word "cheap" is associated with low quality goods or services. This speaks to the importance of quality over quantity. Sure, mass producing a product will allow you to have more to sell and thus more money to make, but is the quality of your products good? Are they sustainable and long-lasting, or are they going to deteriorate in a couple of months? Instead of selling lots of cheap, low-quality products, it would be more worthwhile to sell less, slightly more expensive products that are going to last longer. Customers are more likely to be loyal to businesses that provide quality goods and services.
- Clean: What, like, not dirty? Well, yes, but also no. What we mean by clean is that your product is safe for not only your customers but also for the planet. People are increasingly concerned with health and wellness, and this extends beyond the physical. People want to know that the products they are using and the businesses they are buying from or working with are promoting overall health. If your brand fits this requirement, you are going to be even more appealing to potential customers. This will also make you stand out from other businesses that do not prioritize something like this.
- Cruelty-free: Cruelty-free is similar to terms like clean and ethically sourced. This means none of your products have been tested on animals before, during, or after experimentation. This is popular in makeup brands and skincare products, but this is possible for any kind of business that sells products designed for health and wellness.
- Ethically sourced: If your goods and services are ethically sourced, you are going to gain a lot of attention from the right kinds of customers. Ethically sourced means that your business materials have been obtained in ethical ways. This means the materials came from places that uphold workers' rights, health and safety conditions, and decent working conditions.
Provide incentives
Why should a customer shop from your brand or subscribe to your business? There are countless businesses in the world, so what makes yours worth a second, third, or fourth look or visit? Although customers will shop at a business if they see something they like, they are more likely to become repeat customers if they are offered incentives. Even first-time buyers love an incentive, like when a business offers a discount for a first-time buyer if they sign up for emails or a rewards program.
Speaking of a rewards program, here are a few incentives to consider introducing into your business to build your brand:
- Rewards: Rewards are one of the fastest ways to grow a loyal customer base. We love rewards because they make us feel like we are doing something right. It's like a present! Reward programs are especially popular amongst clothing brans, but a variety of brands and businesses now partake in rewards programs because they are enticing to a customer who is looking to get the most bang out of their buck. You can have reward tiers, as well. This gives motivation to the customer. If they see they can earn rewards at a faster rate if they become VIP rewards members or higher-level rewards members, they are going to be more likely to engage in more purchasing. This will benefit you, but it will also benefit the customer because they will be getting deals only available to very loyal customers.
- Free shipping: This is one of the big ones! Customers love to see the word "free", even if it's referring to shipping and not actual products. This is something to consider offering, especially if your customer is spending a lot of money on your business. You may offer motivation here, saying something like, "Free shipping on purchases $50 or more." This will motivate your customer to spend that extra $5, $10, or $15 dollars to get free shipping. This can also be combined with a rewards program, like offering free shipping regardless of total amount spent for loyal, long-term customers.
- Easily accessible customer service: Impeccable customer service is a must for successful businesses. If customers have questions, concerns, or complaints, businesses must have some form of contact to communicate with the customer. However, it is not just enough to link a phone number or business email. Nobody likes waiting on hold on the phone for hours just for an answer to a rather simple question, and nobody likes to send emails into the void without getting a quick response. Your business needs to have easily accessible customer service that the customer can reach at any time. Customers will become loyal to businesses that prioritize them and their needs. This is also an opportunity for you to directly engage with your customers, making them feel valued and important. You can also use this opportunity to get feedback and improve your business.
Remain honest and consistent
This may sound cheesy, but honesty is always the best policy. Who makes your product? Is it hand-mine by yours truly, or do you outsource? Do any of the proceeds go to charity or other organizations? Where is the customers' money going? Consumers love to spend money but, more and more, customers are wondering where their money is going.
Whether the money is being reinvested into the business to make it better or is being partially donated to a cause of your choice, customers are more likely to trust you if you are honest about your business. Nobody likes a liar, but especially a business liar. You want to build trust with your customers because trust builds loyalty. As you convert customers into loyal customers, your profits will inevitably increase.
Consistency is also key to creating a successful brand. Nobody likes a fluke, so don't be that business that does one thing well but falls short in every other aspect. We discussed a lot of ways to build your brand and to build customer loyalty, but none of this means anything if you are not consistent in your messaging and marketing.
After all, how can you expect consistent customers if your business is not consistent? Be the business that you want to shop from or subscribe to. Use your knowledge as a consumer to influence the way you market your own business. Be your own best customer.
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