10 Must Have Marketing Tools To Add In Small Business Growth Strategies!

Published on: 12 May 2022 Last Updated on: 12 September 2024

Marketing is an essential part of business growth because people will buy your service only when they know about your existence. And people will know about you only when you promote your business on various platforms where they are looking for your product or services. Therefore, marketing tools play an essential role in spreading brand awareness.

Digitization has provided an equal platform for every large and small business; all you need is the right knowledge and skills to use marketing tools to grow your business.

What are Marketing Tools?

Marketing tools are techniques, strategies, and materials used by marketing specialists of brands to create, enhance, and promote their products and services in order to expand their visibility. They are used for market research, generating leads, data analysis, content creation, SEO, and other categories of marketing.

To increase productivity and make marketing time cost-efficient, there are various marketing tools in the form of software that helps you with various activities related to marketing.

Here We Have Listed Ten Must-Have Marketing Tools:

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools

HubSpot CRM
Zendesk

Social Media Tools

Buzzsumo
Buffer

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools

SEMrush
Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension

Content Creation and Design Tools

Canva
Adobe Spark

Lead Generation Tools

Unbounce
Instapage

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools

These tools let you interact with your customers through data analysis of gathered information. They compile data from various communication channels such as the company’s websites, calls, emails, live chats, and other marketing materials posted on social media platforms. The data analysis helps a business know about customer behavior, their needs, and demands to provide them better services, which is an integral part of growing a business as they help to form business growth strategies to retain customers and drive sales.

1. HubSpot CRM: being free, every small business can have access to this incredible free tool. The tool saves a lot of time for the sales team as it gives you complete visibility of your entire sales pipeline on a clean and visual dashboard. It lets you connect to the prospects through free meeting scheduling, live chat, email templates, click-to-call functionality, and more.

2. Zendesk: it is an easy-to-love sales tool that will boost the productivity of your sales team, make data-driven decisions, and deliver enhanced customer experiences. Additionally, you can build and manage a pipeline that aligns with your business.

Social Media Tools:

social media helps to expand enormously, as most of the world’s population is an active member of at least one social media platform where you can connect to them on a personal level. Therefore, it is highly important to manage what you post and how your followers respond to your content. Social media tools help you schedule your posts and get the right analytics from the posts, even from the channels where it can be hard to get the information.

3. Buzzsumo: The tool explores premium content that can help you get more likes, links, and shares. It analyses a vast amount of data to enhance your social media marketing strategies. Moreover, it helps you find influencers who can be an asset to your campaign. Another most important feature of the tool is that it tracks comments and trends to make a real-time connection with your audience.

4. Buffer: it is one of the most affordable and intuitive tools to manage your social media activity. It analyzes the data, helps your plan and schedule your posts, filters out important comments, and responds quickly to them. Additionally, it lets you track down your activity and analyze your progress to make better strategies.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

SEO is an integral part of digital marketing, as only an optimized website of content is visible on the search engines such as Google, which are the primary gateways for customers to enter a conversation with your brand. Therefore, you need SEO tools to manage and plan various SEO-related tasks such as keyword research, content optimization, or checking your current page ranking.

5. SEMrush: It is an award-winning tool used worldwide as a single platform to do SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC, and social media marketing. Specifically for SEO, it uncovers millions of local, and national keywords, analyzes any domain’s backlinking profile, tracks your SERP position on a daily basis, and runs technical SEO audits.

6. Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension: this add-on browser is easy to install and is compatible with both Chrome and Firefox. The extension shows monthly search volume, CPC, and competition data of keywords on multiple websites. Therefore, it will save you time that you can utilize to strengthen your business growth strategies.

Content Creation and Design Tools:

Content such as social images, logos, blog posts, or eBooks is the most influential way to attract people’s attention to your brand. And there are many tools to create them.

7. Canva: the tool lets you create professional designs with premium features such as brand kit and background remover. It lets you can plan, create, and edit the content on your own or with your team. Additionally, the Built-in comments feature helps you communicate, work, and resolve suggestions in real-time. Therefore, with Canva, you can create world-class designs and share them with the world in just a few clicks.

8. Adobe Spark: it is a collection of three web/mobile apps, namely Spark Page, Spark Post, and Spark Video, to allow the creation of social graphics, flyers, logos webpages, videos in various themes, and other types of content in no time. It has thousands of templates that any beginner can use to create effective content.

Lead Generation Tools:

To expand your business, you need to generate leads, and it is the most challenging part of marketing. Lead generation tools will help you make the lead generation process easy and simple as their automated features increase the process of conversion.

9. Unbounce: with this tool, you can launch overlays on top of any web page that has a call-to-action feature. You can customize the triggers and targeting rules to choose who sees the offers and when. This feature helps to make your brand reach the relevant audience whose chances of conversion are maximum. Additionally, you can personalize your overlays by making your copy adaptable to what your audience searches for.

10. Instapage: the tool lets you create and optimize relevantly, on-brand, mobile-responsive post-click landing pages and experiences without the help of a developer. It helps to increase visitor engagement and conversion with unique landing page experiences for every ad and targeted audience.

The main motive behind using these tools is to enhance the productivity of your sales department. You can make the best use of these marketing tools by hiring an expert who knows them in and out to save your time by focusing on your product and services and letting them do the rest of the job.

The best part about these marketing tools is that they are affordable, and some of them even offer free trials and templates. So, even if you are short on funds, you can still make use of these marketing tools to grow your small business.

Author Bio:

Joe Martin is a long-time contributor in the tech industry as a leader at Adobe, CMO of CloudApp, and SVP at Scorpion. With his business and marketing degress from Utah and Stanford and his work in tsech he brings a unique balance of strategy and execution to help businesses large and small grow.

Arnab

Arnab is a professional blogger, having an enormous interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, He carries out sharing sentient blogs.

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Why Every Business Needs Digital Marketing

If you want your business to grow at a steady rate, you must be able to reach your target audience as quickly as possible. In this day and age, this isn’t possible unless you have an active social media presence that your customers know about. Today, a business without a sound digital marketing strategy is doomed to fail. Several types of research show that if your business, whether new or old, isn’t visible on social media, will become a flop. If you aren’t already tapping into the potential of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media marketing, you should seriously start thinking about the potential leads and customers that you’re losing because of it. Social media has changed people, the way they function, and the way they do business with each other. When social media was first setting its root, no one believed that it could be beneficial for the world of business. But today, in a matter of a few years, digital marketing has proved to be so influential that no business can do without it. The truth is that social media has become necessary and we incorporate it into our daily lives every chance we get. To keep up with the way businesses are revolutionizing because of social media, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are coming up with new techniques. These platforms keep up with the demands of their users because they know that without these enhancement sad improvements, they would not only lose relevance but also their loyal users. Using social media platforms is essential for your business and will help you grow even further as a brand. When used right, this platform can be a cause for your company’s success and this is why it is growing even more popular as a tool for businesses around the world. If you think that these platforms for businesses are a passing fad or trend, think again and look around at the possibilities they have created for other businesses and brands. In fact, there are many English tuition Singapore companies that are benefiting from social media and getting students from all over the world. Here are a couple of interesting facts that will have you intrigued about social media and all it can do for you. 8 billion people use social media in one form or another Adults (18-34) are most likely to follow a brand on any social media 71% of customers with good experience with a brand are more likely to recommend it to others 50 million small businesses use Facebook to connect with their customers There are approximately 500 million tweets per day So now that you’re fully aware of the potential power that social media networking websites hold, let’s talk about why you need to benefit from this powerhouse and the benefits that it can bring to your business. In the next section, we’ll talk about the importance of implementing a good digital marketing strategy for your business. Why is Digital Marketing Essential for Your Business? Digital marketing for your business will come in handy on many fronts. When used correctly, it has the potential to change the fate of your business for the better and can bring you all-rounded success. So without further delay, let’s look at the several ways in which digital marketing can have a positive influence on your business or brand. Social Media Brings In Targeted Traffic and Boosts SEO : If you have a website that you spend a lot of energy and money building, you must also be looking for ways to promote it so actual customers visit and pay attention. Designing and developing a new page on your website may not be as challenging as having people visit it. However, if you do want your landing page to be noticed, you have to work on your social media because that makes a world of difference. When strategically placed, social media has proved to bring customers to websites that were previously only getting a handful of visitors. One of the things that help you bring traffic to your website is SEO. And digital marketing helps you with SEO as well. If you have a killer content strategy for your website’s SEO, it will help you in earning a spot at the top in search engines and proper social media marketing will help you drive it even further. Social Media Helps You Stay Ahead of Competitors : The biggest mistake you could make is to skip on the benefits of social media and let the competitors get the best of it. One of the things you need to be crystal clear about is that if your competitors are on social media (which they probably are), you need to join the bandwagon as well. If you don’t want to fall behind and play catch up later, you need to get serious about digital marketing the minute you start your business. This won’t just help you get recognition as a brand, but will also help you get the potential customers that you might have lost to competitors if you didn’t participate. Being active on social media networking websites can help you turn friends and followers into traffic for your website. If you’re an English tuition Singapore company, this particular tip can help you a lot. The best thing about social media and digital marketing for small businesses is that it brings equal benefits for all. Though a few brands will have bigger budgets than others, all companies will initially start off with equal footing when they enter the arena. You can find examples of many small businesses that made it big just because they were attentive, clever, and knew the best tactics in making their content catchy. Digital marketing will also help you with your competitors because unlike traditional media where you often miss news about your competitors and even your products, social media will help you keep track of everything. Social Media Strengthens Customer Relationships : Know why digital marketing and social media are so cool in today’s world? It’s because it gives you and your customers the to interact freely with each other and knows things that weren’t obvious. As a brand, it gives you the opportunity to show your human side to the public and target audience so they can feel more connected with you. It also tells you a lot about the customers’ likes and loves and also gives you the chance to get a sneak peek into their lives. If you play your cards right you can use these networking websites to connect with journalists and other influencers to give your business the much-needed boost. Another advantage of using social media to improve your brand is that your messages aren’t taken as marketing tactics. This is why customers are often a lot more receptive to them and are more likely to hear what you have to say. It also helps you to target and retarget ads according to location, industry, purchase history, and even education level. When you target ads according to these characteristics of the user, you’re a lot likelier to convert these people into solid leads and even sales. Social Media Improves Brand Image : Finally, though digital media has a lot of other perks, we’re going to talk about how it affects positively on your brand image. When your customers are facing problems with your product or services, you get to know about it immediately. This, in turn, gives you a chance to rectify the mistake without having to go through a long and tiring process. Several studies have shown that customers appreciate brands that respond positively to customer complaints and don’t run from their responsibilities. When you’re active on your social media and show a united front, it helps your brand build loyalty. Brands that have active profiles have a proven record of customers who’re loyal to the brand and their message. It will help you become a corporation and associate trust and reliability with your name. This is one of the best techniques for English tuition Singapore branding because it helps you get noticed. Digital media marketing is essential for your business because it helps you make the mark in this millennium. If you don’t have an active existence on social media, this is your chance to start. How Should You Get Started? If you haven’t started to represent your brand on social media, your brand doesn’t really exist. Digital marketing is important for your business because it makes you reach customers far and wide so you can start interacting with them in the best way possible. So now that you know most of the benefits of adding digital marketing to your brand’s marketing techniques, let’s look at a few quick ways you can get started. Set Your Goals : The most important decision you’ll need to make before stepping into digital marketing is the goal or objective you want to get out of it. Though this is an all-rounded marketing strategy, you need to specify if you’re trying to generate revenue or using it to provide customer service and build customer relationships. The reason why you need to answer this question is that the type of content you post or share will directly affect the outcome of your goals. Content is King : We have all heard it but no one really takes it seriously unless they’re in too deep with digital marketing. When you know what your customers are looking for and what they need from your social media profile, you need to make it a point to create content that’s informative and important to them. Remember not to give up because, with continual effort, you will come out successful. Also, bear in mind that content isn’t just about the same old ‘text’ and written information you provide. Instead, experiment with your artistic side and create cool memes, infographics, and other such visually appealing content to keep your audience busy and satisfied. Incorporate Your Marketing Strategies : All your social media accounts, as well as the other marketing strategies you use to promote your brand, should be integrated together. You should have a consistent tone of voice and cross-promote your campaigns both online and offline so the efforts work together without any glitch. However, one thing you must remember is to focus on the quality of digital marketing and not necessarily the quantity. Posting 10 things on social media that don’t do a lot for the customer will be of no use. Instead, focus on bringing in quality so you have 1000 highly engaged fans instead of 10,000 who aren’t interested in what you have to say. Have a Schedule : Once you have started your social media and have a good handle on it, you don’t need to spend a lot of time managing it. If you stick to a schedule and ensure that you devote that specific time for the marketing, you won’t skip on the activities that keep things going. So for instance, if you have an English tuition Singapore page on Facebook, you can spend an hour each day to look into it and answer queries for customers. Digital marketing is fun and can be made very easy if you simply know how to go about it. But don’t make the mistake of ignoring this essential part of your business because that’ll just make you and your brand down in the long run. Use these tips and find many others on the internet to know just how important it is to know the ABCs of digital marketing. Read Also : Should You Hire A Digital Marketing Agency? The Importance Of SEO Based Digital Marketing Services Social Media Marketing: Six Trends To Keep Your Eyes On

Career Spotlight: Becoming A Market Research Analyst

Do you know how a company just knows what you want? They collect a few surveys, and suddenly they know more about your requirements than you! Is it all automated? Short answer, no! Someone is sitting and analyzing every behavioral data of a consumer to create profiles. They are called market research analysts! Are you just fascinated with the idea of a market research analyst? Or someone who is planning to become one? This is how you can become a market research analyst - Let’s begin with understanding who a market research analyst is. What Is A Market Research Analyst? Market research analysts are the strategic brains behind a company’s marketing decisions. Their job is to gather data on consumers and competitors and then use that information to guide business strategies. Whether a company is launching a new product or planning a marketing campaign, market research analysts are the ones who determine the best approach. They don’t just guess; they rely on cold, hard data. What Do They Do? A market research analyst’s role involves several core responsibilities. Why don’t we go through them to know the responsibilities a little better? Data Collection: Gathering data is the starting point of any market analyst. This could be through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or analysis of existing market data. Trend Analysis: After gathering the data, they identify patterns and trends that provide insights into market behavior. For example, what products are gaining popularity, or which consumer needs are currently unmet? How can the company they work for help meet them? Market Forecasting: Analysts will often predict future market trends. However, this is not just through guessing. However, when a company plans to launch a product next year, these professionals will forecast whether the market will be favorable or not. Furthermore, they also inform about whether the product will launch in the right direction and be liked by the audience you are targeting. Consumer Segmentation: By analyzing consumer data, they segment the market into groups based on behavior, preferences, or demographics. Reporting and Presentations: Then, they communicate their findings to decision-makers through reports, presentations, and visual data displays. Competitor Analysis: Understanding competitors’ moves and strategies is key. Market research analysts monitor what competitors are doing and how they’re positioning themselves in the market. What Degrees Do You Need To Get? There isn’t one fixed path to becoming a market research analyst, but certain degrees, and conceptual skills can give you a strong foundation: Bachelor’s Degree: A degree in marketing, business, economics, or statistics is often the starting point. Subjects like research methods, consumer behavior, and data analysis are crucial. Advanced Degrees: Unfortunately, just a bachelor's degree wouldn't do for more senior roles. Therefore, a master’s degree in market research, data science, or business analytics can be advantageous. An MBA is also beneficial if you’re aiming for leadership positions. Your educational qualifications should focus on building a mix of analytical, research, and communication skills, as these are the backbone of a successful career in this field. Later you can also upskill by becoming a data scientist, and it can open more doors for you. Tools You Will Need To Learn As a market research analyst, you’ll need to know the art of upskilling. You can do so with various tools and software that streamline your work: Data Analysis Software: Tools like SPSS and Python are complex tools. Mastering them might take you years. However, you should still try to master it because it is great for running statistical analysis and handling large datasets. Survey Platforms: Software like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, and Google Forms help design and analyze surveys. CRM Tools: Understanding tools like Salesforce and HubSpot are essential for tracking customer data and trends. This ensures that market research analysts do not depend on guesswork. Data Visualization Tools: Tableau, Power BI, and Google Data Studio are crucial for presenting data in a visually engaging way. Competitive Analysis Tools: SEMrush, SimilarWeb, and BuzzSumo provide insights into your competitors’ strategies and their market performance. After all, you will need to know what others are doing for their customers. That is always a sign of a good market research analyst. Mastering these tools will enhance your efficiency and make your work more impactful. Life Of A Day Of A Market Research Analyst What does a typical workday look like for A Market Research Analyst? We will go through it step by step to have a better idea of their role as a Market Research Analyst. 1. Morning: Data Collection And Initial Analysis The day often begins with reviewing the latest data from surveys, focus groups, or market reports. Analysts spend the early hours gathering information that will guide their day’s analysis. 2. Midday: Deep Dive Into Analysis The core part of their job kicks in around midday. This is when they run statistical models, crunch numbers, and identify key insights. Meetings with product teams or marketing departments often happen around this time to discuss early findings. 3. Afternoon: Reporting And Strategy Discussions After the analysis, it’s time to translate data into actionable strategies. Analysts prepare detailed reports highlighting key trends and recommendations. Then, they might deliver a few presentations to senior management to guide their decision-making. 4. Late Afternoon: Market Monitoring And Competitor Analysis Keeping a pulse on market trends and competitors is crucial. Analysts usually allocate some time in the late afternoon to social media updates, reviewing industry news, and studying competitors' moves. 5. End-of-the-Day Planning And Strategy Tweet Before wrapping up, their main job is to refine strategies based on the latest social media insights and plan for the next day’s tasks. After all, without understanding whether your current plan is working or not. The final work would involve technical analytics, strategic thinking, and effective communication, which would also include talking to their team. How To Get A Job As A Market Research Analyst Getting your foot in the door as a market research analyst requires more than just the right degree. Here’s a practical guide: Start with Internships: Right after you have finished your bachelor's degree, many companies offer internships in market research, allowing you to gain real-world experience while studying. Create a Portfolio: Build a collection of your best work. Whether from academic projects, freelance jobs, or case studies. A strong portfolio can showcase your analytical and research skills. Get Certified: Professional certifications, such as the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) or Google’s Data Analytics Certification, can give you an edge. Network Actively: Next, join industry groups, attend webinars, or engage in professional forums. Networking can open doors to job opportunities and keep you updated on industry trends. Tailor Your Applications: When applying for jobs, customize your CV and cover letter for each position. Highlight skills like data analysis, research methodologies, and strategic thinking. Best Career Options & The Potential Salary The field offers diverse career paths. Depending on your interests, you might specialize as: Consumer Insights Analyst: Focus on understanding consumer behavior and preferences. Product Research Analyst: Specializes in product development and testing. Brand Analyst: Concentrate on evaluating brand performance and strategy. Competitive Intelligence Analyst: Monitor competitors and track industry trends. When it comes to salaries, market research analysts can get a reasonably good salary, provided you have the skills to back it up. Especially when your analysis begins to work for a company and starts bringing in a lot of profit. Entry-level positions typically offer between £25,000 to £35,000 annually. With experience, salaries rise to £50,000 or more. For those in specialized roles or with advanced degrees, six-figure jobs are not uncommon. Final Note! The path to becoming a market research analyst combines curiosity, a knack for numbers, and strategic thinking. It’s about more than just crunching data; it’s about turning data into insights that drive real business results. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance in this field, there are plenty of opportunities for growth and impact in the business world. Especially with the advent of digital marketing, you will have enough opportunities in terms of SEO, and website data analysis. So, are you ready to dive into this world where data meets strategy? You could be the one predicting market trends and helping businesses shape their futures. Read Also: Crucial Aspects To Bear In Mind When Selling Your Business How To Execute An Effective Video Marketing Campaign How to Market a Small Business in a Big City?

5 Traditional Marketing Techniques That Still Work

It is the age of digital marketing but that doesn’t mean businesses should abandon traditional methods of promoting their products or services. While many people seem permanently attached to their smartphones, some people choose not to be constantly connected. Since these people may still be interested in what you have to offer, you will need to reach them through traditional marketing techniques. Digital and traditional strategies can work well together. Let’s discuss some of the old-school techniques which continue to bring in business. 5 Traditional Marketing Techniques That Still Work: 1. Neon Signs: Signage is still an excellent form of promotion and neon signs are still impactful. They are vibrant and highly visible even from a distance, yet inexpensive. This is especially helpful for small or new businesses that need lots of exposure but don’t have a huge marketing budget. Neon signs can be made in almost any shape and size so they can be used for logos, words, or anything else you may have in mind. These signs are easy to set up and they last a long time. They are great for bars, gaming lounges, tattoo parlors, and other fun, edgy businesses. 2. Billboards: Billboards are another convenient way to get your message across using visuals. The 2017 Nielsen Poster Advertising Study provides evidence that customers still respond to this traditional marketing technique. They are perfect for communicating evergreen content to large numbers of potential customers over an extended period of time. People driving along the highway or other busy streets can’t help but notice a large compelling image or carefully crafted word. Since many people take the same route every day, they will see your message frequently. If you have a product with mass appeal, billboards should be used in conjunction with your digital marketing efforts. 3. Direct Mail: Email marketing is a key part of many digital marketing strategies but you shouldn’t neglect traditional direct mail. In fact, it’s making a comeback, so you may want to prepare hard copies of your catalogs. Emails often end up in the spam folder or get ignored or deleted because people get so many of them. Direct mail is on the decline so recipients are more likely to open an envelope that comes to their home. It also seems more personal than email and is more likely to get a response. Direct Mailing Services may also bring a greater return on investment. If you're interested in direct mailing, you should take a look at this EDDM guide. 5. Flyers and Brochures: If you have a brick-and-mortar business like a store or a restaurant, don’t underestimate the power of handing out flyers and brochures. Brochures help you to share lots of information about your products or services in a tangible form. Flyers, on the other hand, are an excellent way to notify people about sales or offer special discounts. These handouts also allow representatives of your business to interact with potential customers and answer their questions. 6. Telemarketing: Don’t dismiss the idea of cold-calling in the 21st century. Research suggests calls have conversion rates of between 30 to 50%, making them one of the most effective marketing solutions. Calls were found to last almost 16 times longer than a website interaction so this traditional marketing technique should not be dismissed. Telemarketing is especially helpful in the B2B sector where you can properly segment your markets. It’s also great if you’re looking to upsell current customers or clients. Random calls will not have high conversion rates so you need to do your research and have a strategy before you pick up the phone. It’s easy to think that you should focus solely on digital marketing. However, some of the best promotion strategies involve both modern and traditional marketing efforts. Neon signs, billboards, direct mail, flyers and brochures, and telemarketing can all work well depending on your locale and target market. Read Also: Signs Your Traditional Marketing Campaign Is Working Digital Marketing: Utilize Facebook To Support Your Hospitality Business Why Every Business Needs Digital Marketing

10 Must Have Marketing Tools To Add In Small Business Growth Strategies!

What are Marketing Tools?

Here We Have Listed Ten Must-Have Marketing Tools: