HAPPY NEW YEAR!
That felt fantastic. “Hey, last year, see you never.”
Well, that’s not entirely true…before we store “2020” in the cloud (and in our minds) in the “DO NOT OPEN” file, let’s take a look back at some of the lessons learned and successes earned during this complicated, uncertain year.
We reached out to some of our fellow SMBs, asking them to share the silver linings that came about during this often dark time.
We share these “wins” not to overshadow the hardships that so many companies endured over the past 10 months but to shine a light on positivity and possibilities.
So, as this new year begins, let’s take one last look in the rearview mirror and pull some inspiration from these success stories.
1. Fresh Content, Drip Feeds, and Sales Funnels
“The first half of 2020 was definitely rough for us. When widespread lockdowns happened, our organic traffic disappeared overnight. The professionals we work with weren’t booking, because of course people aren’t looking for lawn care and landscaping at that time.
So our site became obsolete as it was.
We had to reevaluate and find a way to land new leads to assist our clients when they were ready to open back up.
We did this by pivoting to a model of content creation, drip-feed marketing, and sales funnels. The idea was that we would create quality content and offer most of it for free, with some locked behind an email subscription. The email capture allows us to advertise directly to potential leads, and we can slowly cultivate them into productive leads that will be valuable to our clients.
It’s worked very well and we’ve been able to grow as a result, even if the beginning was very rocky.”
- Dan Bailey | WikiLawn
2. Collaboration and Cross Promotion
“Hi there, I am Samantha Myers and I co-own a business called Let’s Dress Up in the heart of New York City.
…We worked hard on updating our social media outlets and aimed to offer free resources for stressed-out parents during the shutdown and beyond. We changed our refund policy for all the canceled birthdays and honored whatever the customer wanted because it was simply the right thing to do.
We pivoted to add virtual offerings which we had NEVER done before.
We commiserated and collaborated with our peers. We have always believed in there being room for everyone especially in NYC so we worked together to share ideas and cross-promote. We also learned who our neighborhood organizations are and took advantage of all the free resources and webinars we could possibly manage.
…It’s been a year, to say the least, but we pivoted while still remaining true to our original business line, we learned a lot, we added offerings and we are proud of how we handled ourselves…”
- Samantha Myers | Let’s Dress Up
3. Long-Form Content for the Win
“One factor of success was consistently publishing long-form content in my smartphone review and comparison articles.
In a time when people are cutting back on leisure spending, I try to provide informative and unbiased content that helps the layman make an educated buying decision.
I found that long-form content is more effective at establishing readership loyalty, increasing shares and click-rate, and reducing bounce rate.”
- Antti Alatalo | Smart Watches 4 U
4. Engaging Social Media Strategies
“In 2020, we re-evaluated our business model and came up with unique marketing strategies to thrive during this time – especially focusing on social media as it’s the cheapest and fastest way for marketing.
We have used our social channels to stay connected with our audience, share helpful content and show them exactly what’s happening behind the scenes.
Having a strong social media presence has helped us gain credibility and improve our access to the customers.”
- Syed Irfran |Physicians Thrive
5. Self Promotion Is Key
“…People don’t like to self-promote because of fear of sounding like an egomaniac.
But if you won’t, who will?
Self-promoting your business lets people know what you can offer them and can increase the network of your potential customers. Learning how to focus on the things you do for your business can show quality in service and taking time lets you plan ahead what your strategies are before acting.
These are the things I keep in mind and I believe that thinking like this made me successful this year.”
- Chris Muktar | WikiJob.co.uk
6. Helping With a Telehealth Model
“I am the founder and CEO of an addiction treatment center.
2020 was a tough year for us given that we mainly rely on our clinics and in-patient rehab facilities for our operations and the lockdown forced us to quickly adapt our patient care.
We had to quickly adapt to telehealth as a company by developing telehealth solutions, training all our employees and offering fully virtual options for our outpatient clinic patients. We now use our telehealth solution to see hospital patients with the click of a button which is working very well for us.”
- Kevin Lee | JourneyPure
7. Customer Focus and Performance-Based Marketing
“Since the pandemic started, we decided to completely do away with face-to-face customer meetings, pivoting to a fully streamlined digital process. This was a necessary change in order to meet shifting consumer needs and preferences. The primary way we now interact with our customers is via phone, email, and video conferencing.
In order to provide a strong digital experience, we had to thoughtfully adjust internal processes to reduce waste and increase operational efficiency. As a result of these improvements, we feel we are able to provide a better customer experience.
…In terms of marketing, we reallocated funds, choosing to cut down on non-essential expenses and spend on marketing efforts that provide objective, measurable value. For our small business, this meant shifting to performance-based marketing over brand based. We increasingly leveraged inbound channels, like SEO, and reduced outbound tactics, like distributing Facebook ads for branding purposes.
We became heavily reliant on using quantitative data to measure progress and ROI. The strategy paid off: we’ve been able to capture and convert more qualified leads, as compared to our pre-pandemic marketing and advertising results.”
- Nishank Khanna | Clarify Capital
8. Driving Traffic With Highest-Value Content
“As a content-based business, it was critical to change my messaging to keep my audience engaged.
I added Covid related topics to my content strategy.
For example, I created articles addressing the rise in package theft, cybersecurity issues, and online shopping safety issues in the wake of the pandemic outbreak.
By providing valuable Covid related insights to my readers, I was able to build my monthly traffic up from 2,000 per month in March to over 20,000 per month in November.”
- Kristen Bolig | SecurityNerd
9. Building Strong Social Engagement
“Because the pandemic caused my referral stream to stop, I sought other ways to gain new clients.
First, I amped up our social media presence, maintaining daily engagement with our potential clientele.
I also shared my methodologies with parents and educators for free via my blog and facebook group, and also by contributing in articles, lives, and podcasts. Additionally, I networked with like-minded individuals who have been resources for ideas, meaningful connections, and new clients.”
- Lindsey Wander | WorldWise Tutoring LLC
10. Bring Customers in…With Live Streaming!
“We are a small family-owned jewelry business that had to close our brick and mortar store during the pandemic. We had to come up with different strategies to keep business going during this time, and when people were still cautious afterward.
Two weeks into the crisis we started doing live streams through Youtube and Facebook. These live streams were both educational and commercial in nature. These live shows allow visitors to view our items, buy online and ask questions.
It is something we had discussed in the past, but never went through with, due to time constraints.
We advertised our live streams beforehand through emails, our website, and social media. We are now getting about 1000+ viewers watching our show each time.
Not only has it helped to stay connected with our customers, it has generated a ton of sales ($12,000 from our last show) for our business. It has been so successful that we have continued it (on the 20th show I believe), even with our store now being open.
It has really helped in terms of revenue with the reduced amount of people coming into our store.”
- Jeff Moriarty | Moriarty’s Gem Art
11. Leveraging Technology to Forge Relationships
“I started a branding/marketing firm 19 years ago. The biggest change for me/my team/clients from the virus is the shutdown of all networking events/travel/conferences. I have had more Zoom/Skype calls in the past 15 days than the prior 12 months!
Pivoting to online meetings/webinars is a smart/productive way companies can continue to have conversations that educate/inform/build relationships/move forward during this crisis…
This is also a great time to build your brand through online marketing/social media.
Pick a few things you enjoy doing and do them really well like Content Marketing/Thought Leadership which are greatways to build your brand, increase your visibility more broadly, raise your profile and attract more clients/customers.
You do not need to blog or be on all social media platforms but make sure you are active on the ones where you are. If your audience does not use Facebook/Twitter/Instagram to find you then you do not need to make them a priority. For many professional service businesses like mine, leveraging LinkedIn matters the most.”
- Paige Arnof-Fenn | Mavens & Moguls
12. Focus on Valuable Content
“My name is Trond Nyland. I am the Founder and CEO of Cordless Drill Guide. I love startups and have been in the online business since 1998. This pandemic has allowed me to really make a go at my most recent business and what can I say, it’s flourishing.
Creating a guide based from a hobby makes so much sense. It is a passion of mine so the work is effortless. I have always been updating my site but with lockdown I could really concentrate the time needed to perfect the content.
Even more people are searching for valuable information online now. This leads to more traffic and revenue for my business. I need to ensure that the content I am sharing is up to date, knowledgeable, and easily followed…
Valuable content is great for generating organic traffic. I am now able to spend more time on my online business, therefore more time with my family. The perfect work/life balance.”
- Trond Nyland | Cordless Drill Guide
13. Find a Need – Provide the Solution
“My name is John and I am the founder of My Pet Child, an online resource for pet owners struggling due to COVID19.
…As someone who started my business in response to COVID19 I feel like the project has been a success! I started MPC because through my work as an animal fosterer I found out that rescue organizations and shelters were getting record numbers of surrendered pets.
Pet owners were facing the economic toll of the pandemic and were unable to afford to keep their beloved pets, despite the various resources that are actually available. But if you don’t know about them, you can’t access them!
As a marketer, I have always strongly believed that feeling passionate about your idea isn’t as important as having an idea that is in demand, and I was lucky to have an idea that covered both of those criteria…
…My database has grown over the past few months to include vet clinics, rescue organizations, pet food banks and financial aid across the USA despite only starting with a few local pet rescue listings. The need was there so I knew where to pour my energy and resources.
That is an important lesson from 2020: find the need and provide the solution…”
- John Cho | My Pet Child
Will Your Brand Be on Next Year’s List?
We hope these stories helped get your creative juices flowing as you continue to strategize and plan for Q1 and beyond.
If you need any assistance or insights, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your team of experts at any time. Whether 2020 was a success or you’re trying to rebuild, we’re here for you and your brand.
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