One of the hardest things for a service-based business to do is get the exposure they need to attract and sell to the right customers. If lightning hasn’t struck your business with that perfect “viral” moment despite all your social media posts and reach-outs, how can you best leverage paid media to boost sales and build a more robust customer base?
Think of targeting and messaging the right customers to build a higher level of name recognition, value of what you offer, and trust. By timing your paid efforts to be used alongside other outreach methods, you can create the ideal sales and conversion environment. Here are just a few ways to do that:
Geo-Target Ads to Reach the Right Local Audience.
Where are your ideal customers? Think location and overall demographics such as median income and household composition. Using appropriately geofenced or radius-targeted ads that can effectively reach and introduce your business to the right audience will help them feel like they “know” and can trust your company.
Use Your CRM Data to Build High-Value Retargeting Lists.
Many companies are sitting on a gold mine but fail to leverage it. If you’ve used a CRM to capture customer data, use your best-fit customers as a model to build your target audience — your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). By skipping generic outreach and going directly to audiences with proven affinity and lifetime value to your brand, you’ll likely get better and more durable results.
Additionally, customer and prospect addresses and emails can be used to build custom audiences and future retargeting lists to expose cooler contacts to tailored ads designed to take them from casual interest to committed customers. Remember that a prospect’s first exposure to your company is rarely enough to get them to purchase. Think of touching them at least 8-10 times.
Run Paid Social Ads to Drive Referrals.
Running social media ads featuring attractive referral incentives (e.g., “Give $50; Get $50”) solely to your existing and past customer audiences will help bring more traffic to your door. Don’t forget to boost posts and testimonials as social proof of the value of what you offer.
Bid on Branded Search Terms to Build Trust.
The first thing prospective customers often do is run a search on a given company. When you bid on paid advertising, make sure you’re targeting the right branded terms and reputation-related queries (company + reviews, company vs. competitor, etc.). This way, when customers search for you to support their decision, your paid campaigns reinforce the validity and trustworthiness of your company and brand.
Pair Digital Ads with Direct Mail for Better Results.
IP-targeted advertising is a great channel to use, but combining it with additional channels such as direct mail and local billboards reinforces and strengthens your outreach efforts and gives you the opportunity to concretely measure results through reporting.
These are just a few ways to leverage paid media to help boost customer engagement, acquisition, and sales. The best way to get started is to work with a knowledgeable marketing partner who can help you develop a customized marketing strategy for your business and budget. Let’s talk.