When you operate a service business, especially in a saturated market, standing out from the crowd is your key to success.

While it’s true there are plenty of tried and tested marketing ideas that all businesses should follow, it also makes sense to harness more unique ones.

Whether you run a business offering virtual assistance or IT technical support services, or anything else for that matter, you’ve come to the right place for boosting your brand profile online.

Take a look at the following eight ideas and discover how these ways can help you supercharge your firm’s profits and boost its market share:

1. Emphasize Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Did you know that many service businesses lose market share because they forget about their USPs or Unique Selling Propositions? These key points make their brands more attractive to their target audiences.

For example, a firm that maintains IT systems for businesses might use cutting-edge workforce scheduling software that helps clients track the ETA of field technicians. Yet, they don’t boast about using such internal processes.

Always think about your USPs and ensure you incorporate them into all your online marketing strategies.

2. Use Actionable Sentiment Analysis

In a nutshell, actionable sentiment analysis is a way of extracting insights and information from data to help businesses make informed decisions through specific actions.

Actionable sentiment analysis identifies what people say or feel about something, such as a brand, the services it provides, and even how it delivers those services.

Examples of how you can use actionable sentiment analysis as part of your online marketing campaigns include:

• Analyzing customer feedback;
• Scrutinizing service reviews and recommendations; and
• Reviewing employee satisfaction surveys.

3. Make Data-Driven Marketing Decisions

One of the worst things any service business can do as part of their marketing strategies is guess what they think people (their customers) want.

Marketing campaigns are significant business investments, so it makes sense to spend money on them once you’re satisfied that you’re sending the right messages to the right people.

Data-driven decisions ensure your service business isn’t spending money targeting the wrong audiences. The data you use can come in many forms, such as the sentiment analysis mentioned earlier, sales statistics, and regional service demands.

4. Deploy Website Chatbots And Virtual Assistants

Most people own and use a smartphone daily as it gives them a convenient way of being productive on the go. Sometimes, consumers may need help deciding which services best meet their needs before placing orders – even if your offices are closed for the evening.

Thankfully, you can use 24/7 chatbots and AI virtual assistants to help answer customers’ most commonly asked questions about your services. Moreover, you can use that fact as a marketing point (i.e., “We’re always here for you when you need us”).

5. Consider Unusual Marketing Methods

Online marketing practices like SEO are something all businesses should use online, but did you know there are some unique and even unusual ways you can promote your service business online? Take a look at the following examples for some inspiration:

• QR Codes – consumers can scan QR codes on products, corporate stationery, and even offline marketing materials like newspapers, magazines, and brochures to learn more about your services;
• Easter Eggs – an inconspicuous logo or graphic on your website or even in management software you deploy to each user’s device can be fun ways to promote your brand further and explain more about your other services.

6. Focus On Targeted Content Marketing

There’s no denying that targeted content marketing is the perfect way to reach specific online audiences.

Much of your online marketing activities should incorporate targeted content marketing strategies, such as guest blogging on sites in a similar industry to yours, social media outreach, and more.

The good news is you can devise targeted content marketing campaigns without much expense, thanks to the vast amounts of free guides online and low-cost marketing services.

7. Let Customers Be Your Marketing Team

You don’t have to do all the hard work yourself; let your customers be your brand ambassadors!

It’s commonplace for firms like yours to offer customers incentives through affiliate marketing campaigns and, in turn, receive new customers and more orders for your services.

For example, you could offer a “refer a friend” incentive where both your customers and those they refer get discounts off their future orders.

8. Personalize Content With Predictive Analytics

Lastly, an exciting way you could use AI or machine learning is by getting your website to predict what your customers want and offering services (or deals on them) most likely to appeal to them.

One example might be when a person uses a specific keyword or phrase on a search engine, and it refers that person to your site. Armed with that knowledge, you could tailor your content to highlight the services they are likely to buy.