In crowded and highly competitive markets, small businesses’ most significant hurdle is standing out in a sea of competitors. This problem is exacerbated for small companies since they do not have tons of resources or personal connections to establish a brand presence.
New York City is often regarded as one of the most challenging markets. However, that does not mean that it is impossible to succeed in this market. Using a few tips and working with a dedicated marketing agency can help your business stand out to potential customers.
- Prioritize Customer Service
Having a vital online customer service and feedback portal can significantly improve your brand reputation. Highly responsive and helpful customer service suggests that your business cares about its customers. This is especially important for E-commerce businesses where face-to-face interaction with clients or customers is not possible.
Since brand reputation is vital for small businesses centered in crowded markets, you must have more than one option for customers to contact your company. Ensure your website has chatbots or a dedicated customer service team to field customers’ and potential customers’ questions or issues.
- Make and Maintain a User-Friendly Website
Your business website also heavily impacts how potential customers perceive your brand. The critical aspects of having a good website are having a robust design, making it user-friendly, and maintaining the website with regular updates and inventory refreshes.
While creating a website, ensure that it doesn’t have overly complicated features or unnecessary additions that clog up its appearance. It should also be adequately optimized for every platform, including mobile and desktop. It is crucial because first impressions can make or break your conversion rate. A study shows that 88 percent of online customers are less likely to return to your website after a bad experience.
Whether you have a website already, need a site redesign, or need help building one for the first time, you can consider opting for digital marketing company services in New York. Working with a marketing agency can help ensure you’re making the best site possible.
- Choose Your Social Media Markets and Be Active on Them
Social media is extremely popular among New Yorkers, and it is a powerful platform for effective marketing. As such, it can be quite tempting to jump on every social media site available. However, that would result in a waste of company resources and an ineffective marketing strategy.
It is essential to analyze which social media platforms the bulk of your customers use and develop your social media marketing strategies for those select platforms. If there is a social media site that none or a very negligible percentage of your customers use, then you can avoid that platform altogether. However, if your business does decide to be on most social media sites, you should make sure that your marketing strategies are tailor-made and aren’t mere re-posts from other platforms.
- Buy a Billboard or Placard
New York City is aptly described as “a city that never sleeps.” Being a bustling metropolitan, New Yorkers spend a lot of hours commuting to and from their workplaces. Thus, billboard or placard advertising can prove to be an extremely efficient form of marketing. In fact, 71 percent of Americans look at roadside billboard advertisements while commuting.
When developing a billboard advertising strategy, ensure that the billboard’s content is as catchy as possible. Additionally, the billboards should be placed strategically. For example, since New York has a robust subway system, placing billboards near subway stations can pay off dividends.
- Offer In-Person Marketing
marketing is a great way to improve your company’s credibility. People like putting faces to names, so in-person events can also promote customer loyalty and brand awareness. It will also help your company stand out in the digital era. During the pandemic, you can opt for Zoom events so that your potential clients can learn more about you, your staff, and your company’s values and mission.
Be Inspired, But Don’t Follow Blindly
Many small business owners in New York might look at the marketing strategies that other large corporations employed and attempt to follow suit. However, if looked at closely, most of them did something that very few other corporations did at that time, which helped them stand out in the market.
As a small business owner in New York yourself, you can look at such big corporations for inspiration. However, be sure to develop your marketing strategy to reflect your company’s vision and ideals in the best way possible.
