You can have the best products and services in the world, but it doesn’t mean a thing if no one knows about you. Marketing is just as important for SMEs as it is for large businesses, if not more so. For example, Google doesn’t need to advertise to you for you to use their service – you already know they’re the best out there.
Now, small businesses have a number of challenges that large multinationals don’t. The budget isn’t there. The reach isn’t there. The preexisting name recognition isn’t there. That can make it seem like an uphill battle, but there are a number of things Toronto’s small businesses can take advantage of that large corporations can’t. Let’s dive in:
Toronto is Big
Slovakia, for example, has around 5.4 million people, but the GTA has about 6.4 million. In fact, Toronto is bigger than over half of the nations on the planet. Trying to advertise your business to all of Toronto is about equivalent to advertising to the entire nation of El Salvador. Toronto is big.
How would you tackle selling in the whole country of El Salvador? Well, you’d probably market to various regions – cities, provinces, and the like. Given the GTA’s similar population, it may be reasonable to take a similar approach. Why target all 6.4 million people when you can segment?
Focus instead on smaller regions, like Oshawa and Markham. You might also opt to focus on neighbourhoods within Toronto. We’ll elaborate on how to focus on these areas as we go on. For now, keep in mind that when you’re selling locally, it’s a good idea to focus your efforts on your own region. People tend to be less inclined to go places the further they need to travel. Delivery services can help curb this issue.
Leverage Your Strengths
You probably won’t be able to make massive ad buys, but you do offer things that no one else can. Maybe those are unique products or services. It might be a great location. You might have good standing in the community. No matter what you do well, put it front and centre. Volunteer and donate to local charities. Use social media to showcase your community work or your beautiful building. Offer free samples and discounts on your unique offerings. These things are all free or very inexpensive, and they can build you a significant following.
Gather Data
One advantage you have over large businesses is that their data-gathering usually happens on a citywide level. You have your ear to the ground, so you can focus on more targeted data-gathering – finding out what neighbourhoods your clients come from, their ages, their average cart sizes, and more.
To do this in person is somewhat impractical, so you should focus your efforts on online data gathering. Offer a survey to your clients – give them an incentive to complete it, like contest entries or discounts. Increase your data-gathering by creating social media pages for your business and taking advantage of Facebook and Instagram analytics.
In this day and age, you more or less need to be offering some kind of online cart, whether to book appointments with you or to sell products. Take advantage of the cart. Get your customers signed up for user accounts so you can send them e-blasts; these accounts should, optimally, include their ages and postal codes (though age isn’t necessary). The more data you gather, the more effectively you can build demographic and psychographic profiles, which means more efficient advertising targeting.
Big players can use brute force. You need finesse. Find out who your customers are, where they hang out, and what they like; advertise appropriately.
Go Online
Billboards are nice. TV ads are great. AM radio is perfect if you’re looking to reach people who listen to the radio (an older crowd, to be sure). These types of ad buys, though, are expensive and ethereal. Toronto’s population changes rapidly. Immigration is happening at a rapid click. One ad buy may not do what you need it to.
Go online. Use search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure your business comes up first for relevant search terms. Everyone uses search engines to find places near them that offer the products and services they want. When people find you through organic (unpaid) search results, it’s because they’re actively looking for what you offer. That’s the kind of person you need to be advertising to when you’re on a small budget.
SEO incorporates all kinds of online optimizations. When you improve your SEO, you improve your social media presence, your online reviews, your blogs, your customer service, and more. The strategy is holistic and always changing. That’s perfect for Toronto businesses – you need to be on your toes, agile enough to meet the challenge of new competition.
You can gather all kinds of data from online marketing and landing pages. All of your marketing will work together, forming a positive feedback loop of data and optimization. Online marketing is the way to go for small business success.
First Rank specializes in Toronto SEO services and is only available for a certain number of clients. Call Today.
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