Engage Crowd Sourcing for Small Business

We don’t offer loyalty cards. We’ve never done BOGOF. We’re not intending to join Groupon, give out discount cards or a free coffee reward for every 3 that you take with us. And, for the record, we’re not meanies. The reason that we don’t do any of the above is that as a B2B service our business model doesn’t make accommodation for drivers of consumer behaviour. But that’s us… what about you?

Loyalty schemes and rewards aren’t just for the big boys and girls, small businesses are just as able to create and take opportunities that can enhance their customer experience and encourage customers to return.
They are another example of how the smaller business has the ability and agility to be flexible in a changing market place. Different business sectors will have different objectives in wanting to engage their customers, but it’s a certainty that the potential to grow a customer base and extend customer loyalty shouldn’t be ignored, as neither should the opportunity to re-engage or inspire existing customers to drive repeat business.

Some examples of cheap and quick integration with customers would be:

BOGOF or buy half a dozen and get one free, or buy 3 get one free; you get the idea

Earn points for freebies including the opportunity to trial services

Offers relating to social media can be implemented, i.e. customers who mention the word-of-the-day get a discount

Competitions involving the business reinforce that businesses profile

Offer your knowledge and experience

Leveraging opportunities for the small business, in terms of engaging customers, needs to be directed appropriately for best effect. Identifying considerations of cost identifying the potential most frequent users, and driving interest to your business, will need some homework but it’s definitely not out of the smaller businesses reach. Providing there is an incremental plan, it doesn’t even have to be exceptionally innovative if its consistently executed. Engagement is the measuring stick and the step-up to ways of promoting your business – Give your customers something so that they’ll want to return to you.

In the arsenal of small business is personal service, it’s what small businesses gave to become big business and it’s what big business is marketing itself as giving, to appear small. Every sector of small business is able to promote itself and engage new customers.

We’re not suggesting that you’ll go viral but it’s worth starting somewhere. Your business is worth it…. and so are your customers.

(Image credit: Sreejith K Article credit: Copyright SUF)