Chances are that if you are here you have a business made from bricks and mortar. There are countless people that think internet and buzz words will be the ultimate maker for your business. The answer is in the foundation of your business.
1. Your Business
2. Your Products/Service
3 . Most Importantly - Your customer service.
Tip: For the next week have your employee's say Yes Sir, No Sir, Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am).After all they are your customers and they are king, you treat them as they are, I can assure you they'll be back, as people really love respect.
These are simple ingredients for your business, and no doubt you have heard that millions of times.
If your business is built around the local community, jump onto Vista Print and get some flyers made up and post them out to your local community.
We have come to a stage in business where e-mail is ok, but between retention and your junk e-mail box, you may have a few troubles considering that your customers are most probably receiving multiple e-mails daily from daily deal sites and all the other hype which is in direct competition with your business.
Business Owners are busy, right?
Of course, running a small business requires your dedication attention. But I would advise spend 4 hours with a friend down at a coffee shop each week, and plan your advertising or promotion for the month. It's much more cheaper than hiring a marketing company to do this for you.
Also keep your eyes open for new innovation that can help as value add to run alongside your business, like if you are a beauty salon you may add a simple to install booking agent to your website, this can save a few hours each week, instead of using old books and paper, as technology is there to help you and save your time.
Good Luck People! I hope that helps.