There have never been more ways to promote your business. From traditional to digital marketing, ways for getting the word out about your services have multiplied.
Since the pandemic hit, even more companies and organizations saw the importance of creative digital marketing. But where does that put you with your service-based brand? After all, it’s not always easy promoting something that isn’t tangible and physical, even though it’s being promoted online.
That’s why we put together this neat guide to get you through some basics and creative ways of promoting your service-based business brand.
The Key Difference in Marketing Service Businesses
There isn’t one uniform way of marketing online. And there are a few key differences between marketing products and services. That is mostly due to the nature of service-based industries in themselves. When trying to convince someone to purchase the intangible, one word comes into mind - trust.
Trusting a business means that the customer feels assured that they can rely on your promise of the service being able to solve their problem. After all, you can return a product. But returning a service? Good luck with that. So building trust and loyalty through honest and savvy marketing is a must.
Marketing can be summed up in the famous 4P’s - Product, price, place, and promotion. But service-based business marketing has extra three words that you should pay attention. These are people, physical evidence, and processes.
Without further ado, we’ll dive into essential ways of promoting a service.
Clearly Define What You Sell
A foundation of a successful marketing strategy is defining your service so people get the message of what you’re trying to sell. You’d be surprised that even product-based businesses fail miserably at this step.
But let’s say you’re a business that does website design and development. Thankfully, you’re one of the service businesses that can show off your work to potential customers. Case studies, testimonials - all of that can be added to the website. But apart from that precise proof of work, your website should clearly show, through words, visuals, and proper layout, the message that you want.
That means that you should clearly state how you operate, which steps the service you offer includes, etc. All of this is done so potential clients know what to expect. That also lowers the number of inquiries your customer support team will get, but it won’t solve all of their questions. There will always be questions regarding a blip in the usability of your service. If you’re unsure how to handle some or all of your client inquiries, think about enlisting the help of expert managed services.
Define Your Unique Selling Point
In 2020, there were 31.7 million small businesses in the U.S. To make your business stand out, you have to make certain aspects of your service stand out.
Research is crucial in this step, as you should go through your competition and check out their offer and how they market it. Do you have something that customers want, while your competitors lack that feature? Or do you both offer the same feature yet yours is better? Both can be neatly marketed as a unique selling point.
Either way, devise a list of things that make you stand out. That way, when creating a marketing strategy, you can use those things to define the message that you will be continuously sending out to your target audience.
Remember, it’s not that much about what your service is, it’s more about what it does for the client and how it makes their life better.
Find Your Niche and Target Audience
There is no such thing as targeting everyone. You have to make a choice - pick your specialty and find your audience. If you aim too broadly, you will end up losing money and missing out on customers. Because, as the saying goes, sometimes you can miss the tree from the forest.
When you pick a niche, try going for one that has multiple smaller niches in it. That way, you are targeting a narrow group, but leaving space to branch out and target individual groups of people with various marketing campaigns and service features.
Also, by picking a niche, you are sending a message to potential clients that you aren’t just offering a general service that’s void of value. Instead, you’re sending a message that you’ve dissected that area of interest, and you came up with solutions for the problem.
Now, to better find your targeted group and who fits into your offer, you need to find out the buyer personas, and details such as:
- Age range
- Location
- Marital status
- Income level
- Education level
- General interests
And how exactly should you communicate with your targeted audience?
Finding your target audience is vital to find the right leads. The process of finding leads for a business can be challenging and time-consuming. That’s why it is so important to find the right leads generation service that will help you find and contact the right prospects. For example, if you’re a solar company, third-party providers like Clean Energy Experts can get you verified solar leads without hassle.
Work on Your Message Through Copy and Content
You will promote your business through your website, ads, and your social media channels.
After all, a good copy can do wonders in attracting customers. When producing a copy think about what your clients know about your business already and what you want them to find out. Start with providing clear descriptions and summaries of your business through a simple brand awareness campaign. This campaign should dominate your ads and social media channels.
Keep creating unique content through infographics on your website, as well as blog posts, client stories, and testimonials. Your website is also a great place to provide free demos and trials for those who sign up for the newsletter.
And don’t forget to make your content as interactive as possible by adding different links and videos to your blog posts. That keeps users engaged and keeps offering essential information.
Final Word
If you have a service business and are just starting your marketing efforts, keep this article close to you as a guiding star for developing a way to promote your brand. While we have covered the basics, this is just scratching the surface.
Remember, the most important thing is to focus on how your service meets a client's requirements. Concentrate on how it will make their lives better and how you can be a part of someone’s solution. It make your business grow, and it will make you feel good about doing your part in the world.
