5 QUICK MARKETING INITIATIVES YOU CAN DO IN ONE HOUR OR LESS (AND NONE ARE SOCIAL MEDIA)

June 9, 2021

Here’s your quick marketing check-in with things that you can do today, tomorrow, or one day next week that can have a significant impact on your business. Each of the following ideas takes one hour or less and doesn’t require you to be a seasoned marketer. And guess what? None have anything to do with social media. Not that I’m discounting social media, but if you’re anything like me, the constant changes in algorithms recently have been anything but frustrating. Also, I’m a big believer in using an omnichannel approach to strengthen marketing efforts. So, let’s get started putting some time into your other channels:

SEND A PERSONALIZED EMAIL TO YOUR TOP 10-20 CUSTOMERS.

ONE HOUR.

(If you’re feeling extra personal, make it a handwritten notecard.) This ties into the importance of customer appreciation and one area many businesses skip. Taking the time to send a personalized card to your top customers is laying another brick in building a strong relationship with them. While you may have a strong service or product that they already love, the reality is that if you see them as a person and build a connection with them, they will become your strongest WOM (word-of-mouth) channel.

CREATE A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY.

LESS THAN ONE HOUR.

If you don’t know where to start, I always point my clients to Survey Monkey. They have a free basic plan and templated surveys you can pull from. However, let me preface that how you write a survey is just as important as sending one out, so if you’re unsure, start with the templates. When sending out customer satisfaction surveys, start with your customers that had the most recent interaction with your business, so the experience is still fresh in their mind. This data will help you and your team fix areas of opportunities uncovered by results and discover ways to build upon areas of success. Learn more about customer satisfaction surveys here.

CREATE/UPDATE YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LISTING.

LESS THAN ONE HOUR.

If you don’t already have a Google My Business (GMB) listing, it’s easy to set up. GMB is particularly beneficial for businesses that offer their services/products locally (either through a storefront or on-location, although there are ways to set up online businesses as well). Think of it as a snapshot of your business info, including photos, reviews, and operating hours. More importantly, since it is a Google product, they prioritize GMB listings in search results, increasing traffic and conversions to your website/location. If you already have a GMB listing created and live, take this time to check it and make any updates needed. Read a deep dive here.

EXTEND A HELLO TO YOUR NETWORK.

LESS THAN ONE HOUR.

It’s human nature to reach out to others when you need something, but taking time to invest in your network as a human reaps greater rewards. Choose five people in your network or your list of partners/vendors to send a quick email, text, or phone call to check in to see how they are doing. Perhaps they mentioned in a previous conversation that their child is graduating or taking their first trip to Disney World. Whatever it is, just use this time to say hello and genuinely take an interest in them as a person.

WEBSITE AUDIT & CLEAN.

ONE HOUR.

Whether your website was created 5 years ago or 5 months ago, it’s important to do regular audits of your website (aka the hub of your online presence). Here are quick things to check regularly:

Content: The Google Kings likes websites that update content consistently. If you’re not doing e-commerce or blogging, more than likely, your content hasn’t been updated in a while. Check each webpage to make sure it is still accurate and contains keywords that are most important to your business and make updates. This is a good time to also update any images/videos you already have ready to upload.
Update the title tag and meta description of at least your home page. Make sure it speaks to your value prop and includes keywords that you’d like to rank for in search results. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let’s chat.
Check your contact form(s) and contact information. You have no idea how many times contact forms can go down, and website owners never know!

Next steps: block time off on your calendar to do at least 3 of these things in the next week. Put your phone away, close social media, and knock it out.