Personalised Marketing Ideas for Growing Small Businesses

Growing a small business comes with its challenges - sometimes there can be many of them. Teams not only face the financial challenges common to most businesses, but must also adopt different strategies from larger competitors, balancing the need to attract new customers and drive growth with the demands of limited operational time and staffing resources. From an alternative perspective, you could argue that small businesses also have more freedom to be creative and bold in their marketing strategies, as mistakes tend to have less impact than those made by larger companies.

In many cases, small businesses — particularly those in the initial stages of launching — won’t have a dedicated marketing team or expert to create and implement their marketing strategies. Instead, it’s common for individuals in these teams to take on marketing tasks alongside other full-time positions. This makes time and money incredibly important for small businesses, meaning that to put money into a marketing campaign or idea, they need to trust it with confidence. In this article, we want to share a marketing technique that already works for so many successful start-ups, and one that small business owners can tailor to their budgets, as it can be used organically or in paid advertising too. So let’s explore personalised marketing and practical ideas for growing small businesses looking to use it.

Custom Packaging

If you’re a growing small business within the ecommerce sector, you’ll be no stranger to package design, prototyping and packaging production. Custom packaging is a great personalised marketing method which is particularly beneficial for owner-operated and independent businesses. For these businesses, a customer is far from simply a number. Any consumer that shows interest in your products or services is valuable and could be strategically converted into a returning customer. So how can custom packaging be used to drive customer retention?
​
For customers who have already purchased from your business, whether that’s online or in-store, custom packaging can be used to send them personalised packaging for any future orders that could include a thank-you note or a helpful insert offering them a discount or a guide on how best to use the product. It’s necessary for custom packaging to be tailored to each customer, rather than feeling generic and conventional.

When customers get to read a personal message, addressed to them and signed by the business team, they feel valued as a customer, which a relationship can easily be built upon. It’s unlikely that competitors of your business will be taking the same approach. When consumers compare your business to theirs, the close-knit relationship you’ve established could just be what encourages them to choose your products again.

Milestone Incentives

Customers like to feel as though their loyalty is both recognised and appreciated; otherwise, they will consider alternative options in a heartbeat. Offering milestone incentives and freebie gifts helps brands to communicate that they value their customers and their continued engagement. This technique is also notably successful and encourages repeat purchases as customers always appreciate gifts. For brands, this also presents an opportunity to provide customers with exclusive samples of new products, making them feel acknowledged while encouraging them to try, enjoy, and ultimately purchase the full-sized product.
​
Businesses can also use a similar concept to celebrate milestones or anniversaries in their customers' personal lives, such as birthdays or national holidays. It’s important for these gifts to feel special and considered, which is why it's a great idea to send them a personalised gift or promotional giveaway.

Interactive Polls and Voting

Another personalised marketing technique for small business is to regularly create polls and votes, allowing customers to share their opinions on new product ideas, upcoming campaigns, packaging suggestions or influencer collaborations. When customers feel involved with your business, they establish a stronger emotional connection to it, making leaving and choosing a competitor significantly harder to do. You can make it simple and easy for customers to make their suggestions by using stories on instagram or poll features on linkedin and facebook.
​
Once customer feedback and ideas have been received, brands should celebrate and acknowledge the contributions they choose to implement, allowing customers to feel actively involved in the brand’s community. This approach can also help keep the business at the forefront of customers’ minds and may encourage them to engage with the brand online more frequently to stay informed about new developments, updates, and opportunities to contribute.
​
Unquestionably, personalised marketing requires additional time and consideration compared to other growth marketing tactics. However, when done correctly, businesses can build communities of loyal and engaged customers, who will continue to use your services while advocating your brand to new audiences to encourage growth.