There are close to 31 million small businesses in the United States. With numbers like that, there’s bound to be businesses near you that are in your same industry. These are your competitors or local competition, and your failure is directly linked to their success.
It’s a harsh but true reality that business competition means trying to steal customers from each other. Luckily for you, this Halloween season, we have tips to teach you how to scare your competition and increase leads.
There’s nothing quite like the sweet victory of knowing your business competitors are on their toes because of something you did.
1. Catch Customers In Your Spider Web(site)
The intricate pattern — and deadly nature — of the spiderweb makes it one of the key symbols of Halloween decoration. Similarly, the ever-connected interweb is one of the key symbols of the 21st century. Why not make your website irresistible, so it catches customers like flies?
Designing a great website is one of the best ways to dominate your competition. While many businesses have websites, most look like they’ve come straight out of 2004. They repel a large number of customers who only have single-page interactions — or bounces. However, if you treat your website as your new front door, you’ll welcome a wealth of new customers.
Get yourself acquainted with a great website design service, and you can’t go wrong. Just like you need architects and designers to build a great in-person location, you need great web designers to make sure your website is structurally sound. But don’t get spooked by the thought of losing control. A great website design company will help you out by allowing you a certain amount of agency over who you want your website to run. You can choose which fonts you like, which colors you like, and let the experts run away with your idea.
Your competitors might have a nice in-person location, but if you can set up a wonderful website, you’ll prove to them that you’re the fastest spider in town.
2. Cultivate An SEO Pumpkin Patch
The beauty of a pumpkin patch is that it doesn’t need to advertise to bring people in. It’s so big and there are so many ways to get to it that everyone can leave satisfied with something that they want.
SEO creates a similar experience.
What is SEO, you may ask? It doesn’t stand for spookily efficient organizations. It stands for Search Engine Optimization, which means the process of designing your website so that it ranks high on search engine results, and it’s a key tactic in scaring the daylights out of your competition.
First of all, you’ve already done well for your SEO by designing a great website. A well-designed website is a website that people want to spend a long time on. The longer people spend on websites, the higher Google ranks those sites on search engine results.
Second of all, you’re going to need to fill your SEO pumpkin patch with pumpkins — or keywords. These keywords are the phrases (not necessarily words) that your customers use when searching for your products. If you can pinpoint these phrases and work them into your website, you’ll rank higher on search engine results.
This sort of research isn’t easy to conduct, which is why we recommend hiring SEO experts. They’ll save you lots of time so you can figure out your specific SEO keywords.
For Extra Scares, Get Extra Specific
This is not information we’ve always shared, but because we’re in the Halloween spirit, we’ll let you in on a little secret. Making use of SEO is spooky, but if you really want to put the whammy on your competition, you’re going to need to make use of specific kinds of SEO.
Are you aware that voice search is becoming more and more popular? People use different terms when they search with their voices (for example, they might speak a bit more casually and use longer phrases). Before you choose your keywords, consider how someone might search using their voice.
Mobile search is also becoming more relevant than ever. Is your website optimized for someone who’s making use of their mobile device? Nothing makes someone leave your website faster than not having it optimized for mobile viewing.
These specific types of SEO are going to become more popular in the future. Make use of your SEO crystal ball, and catch your customers years in advance.
3. Bring Back Leads From the Dead
One of the best ways to scare your local competitors and show that you’re the best at local business marketing is to resurrect some leads from the dead. Are you aware that 65 percent of business comes from remarketing to the same people?
By mastering the art of remarketing, you can effectively bring leads back from the dead. You’ll be the master of all the competition, controlling your zombie army of customers who keep coming back to your business.
Get To Know Your Customers
If you want to turn simple one-off customers into devoted undead followers, you’re going to have to get to know them pretty well. Start by becoming familiar with the names of every person who comes into your store more than once. Then, get to know what your customer’s preferences are as far as goods and services go.
If you can greet your customers and get started with their orders as soon as they walk through the door, you’re more likely to get them to want to come back. They’ll likely tell their friends if they’re satisfied, and bring in more folks that way.
Check In With Old Customers
Sometimes, all it takes to make old customers new again is a little check-in. Email customers you haven’t heard from in a while to let them know about new deals you might be running, or to ask them how the product/service you provided them with is working for them.
Before you know it, you might get more business through your door. A one-time satisfied customer who simply forgot about you due to the speed of life can become a trusted friend of the business.
Use Customer Reviews
Every potion needs to have its ingredients, and the one that brings back leads from the dead requires a heavy dosage of customer reviews. The fact of the matter is customers trust one another. The world of the internet has led people to become more connected than ever, and they’ve used this connectivity to let each other know which businesses are best.
You might be nervous about opening yourself up to this sort of criticism. However, if it goes well, your competitors will surely run for the hills. How are they supposed to compete with a business that has that level of online credibility?
If customers look online and find that your competitors have no reviews and that you have positive reviews, they’ll become suspicious of your competitors. What are they hiding? Why don’t they leave themselves open to reviews?
You’ll effectively disrupt your local business world if you do this. You’ll force your competitors into a situation where they’ll have to adapt or perish. That is truly spooking your competition.
4. Say Boo With Your Branding
Hey look — they can’t all be great puns.
The point is, most businesses are slightly lacking when it comes to the world of branding. Branding is the way you present your business so that it lives in your customer’s minds. A great in-person store and website is one thing, but true business happens in the brain.
If you can get people to remember when your business’s colors are and logo is, you can generate hype by way of word of mouth. Most local businesses just don’t have the kind of brand power that allows people to walk around repping t-shirts with your logo on them with pride.
However, if you contact a great logo design company, that can all change.
A good logo lets your audience know exactly what your company is about. If everything goes right, your audience will remember your logo just as much as they remember your business’s name. All they’ll need to do is see your business’s logo to be reminded of just how great your company is.
Branding will also make any future marketing decisions much easier. You won’t have to worry as much about how to represent your brand. At the end of the day, you can come back to the same image that defines who you are.
Learn How to Scare Your Competition
If you’re looking to learn how to scare your competition this holiday season, all you have to do is catch customers in your spider web by designing a great web SITE, cultivate a pumpkin patch of lead generation SEO keywords, bring back some leads from the dead with remarketing best practices, and say boo with your branding to stay in your customer’s heads forever.
For more information, get a free quote with us today.
