Tactics for spreading the word about your business

So you've launched a business. You identified a problem in the market and came with a product or service to solve it. But the product lie in warehouses gathering dust, not because it's not good, but simply because no one knows it exists. The hardest part of marketing is arguably the 'spreading awareness' part of it. It's easy to float your products if people know your company, but doing so when you've been around only for a few weeks or months is a difficult task.

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If you are currently trapped in the same situation, here are four tactics that can help you spread the word about your business:

Convey the benefit clearly

Your brand's unique selling proposition (USP) should be the first thing conveyed to your potential customers. It should also be extremely clear and simple to understand. People don't have the patience to go through lengthy blogs and never-ending videos to find out what exactly your company has to offer. All the content you release should carry the message of your company's purpose and how it can help its customers. Also, your brand's USP should be truly 'unique' — spreading awareness about an early-stage company becomes especially difficult if there are several companies already offering the same product/service to the public.

Utilise the right channels

People nowadays are drowning in a sea of information, which makes the window for your potential customers noticing your brand incredibly small. Unless, of course, you're able to recognise and leverage the channel(s) where your ideal customers spend all their time. Each social media platform, for example, caters to differing demographics. So, select and focus your efforts on the one where your brand's potential customers are concentrated. A sports company geared towards a younger demographic would fare better on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, while a professional-centric service provider would do better on LinkedIn.

Make it interesting

The most effective way to spread the message about your brand is to convert existing followers and customers into ambassadors. When this happens, your brand is exposed to a much larger audience than it can reach on its own. To leverage this potential, a brand should focus on indirect marketing channels by creating content that presents its product/services in a unique and memorable manner. People won't hesitate to share content that they find entertaining and engaging with their friends.

Leverage your customers

There is ample research to substantiate that word of mouth is one of the primary sources of trust when it comes to products. That's why companies seek for customer testimonials as a means to further their marketing agenda. So craft a plan which makes it easy for them to provide feedback, while handing out small incentives. Take Tunnelbear, a VPN service provider, for example. They give customers 1GB of free data for sharing just one tweet — the template for which is even provided by them. So, customers get a bonus for five seconds of their time and the company gets more exposure at no added cost. Pretty smart, isn't it?

Incorporate these tactics in your marketing efforts and you'll soon begin to see your brand awareness increasing with each passing day.