5 Ways Senior Entrepreneurs Can Successfully Market a Business
According to Cision PR Newswire, seniors own more than half of all small businesses in the United States. Because a failing business can impact a senior owner’s retirement savings and quality of life without as much time to recover as a younger business owner, ensuring business success is critical. These tips can help you build a successful marketing plan.
1. Set Your Goals and Budget
Setting goals gives you a target to shoot for with your marketing efforts and helps you determine whether your marketing plan is effective or not. Set goals that are measurable, specific, relevant, attainable and time-based. While marketing is important, no one has an unlimited marketing budget. Allocate funds to specific segments of your plan, such as website development, branding, search engine optimization, advertising, promotional materials and labor.
2. Identify What Makes You Unique
Build your marketing efforts around what makes you different from your competition. For example, as a senior business owner, you could emphasize your experience or your unique understanding of the needs of senior customers. If you need help identifying your unique selling point, try asking yourself a series of questions:
- What is your favorite thing about your products and services?
- Why do your customers choose you instead of a competitor?
- What unique skills or knowledge do you have?
- How do your products and services benefit your customers?
- Which parts of your business do you highlight when telling strangers about it?
3. Identify Your Target Market
No one has the resources to market their products to every potential customer. Instead, Buffer suggests that you identify and focus on the specific segment of customers who are most likely to be interested. For example, if you sell mobility aids, your target market may be older people and customers with disabilities that affect mobility. Start by considering the characteristics your customers have in common. Next, identify the best ways to get your message out to those customers and finally determine the reasons those customers should buy your products and services.
4. Offer Free Products and Coupons
One thing most customers have in common is that they love to get something for free. Offering free products can help your marketing effort in multiple ways. First, giving something away for free is a good way to get customers in the door who hopefully will either buy something from you right away or in the future. Second, offering a free item or a coupon is a good way to get customers to try your product which hopefully motivates them to purchase more of it. Third, giving away branded items is a way to get your customers to do some advertising for you.
5. Earn a Business Degree
An online business degree can give you the skills and knowledge you need to effectively market your business. You’ll learn about the different aspects of marketing, including advertising, public relations, and product development. In addition, you’ll gain an understanding of consumer behavior, which is essential for developing targeted marketing campaigns. With a solid foundation in marketing, you’ll be better equipped to take your business to the next level. Go here to learn more about the different types of online business degrees available.
Put Your Plan into Action
An effective marketing strategy can help you ensure that your business succeeds so that you don’t have to worry about your business sinking your retirement plan. Start by developing a marketing plan, and then implement processes to achieve those steps. Also, consider earning an online business degree to improve your business and marketing acumen. It takes some effort, but putting in the work will get your business in the minds of more potential customers.
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