When it comes to selecting the best marketing tactics for your small business, one of the best ways to learn is from those who have been extremely successful at it.
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Gwen Jimmere, CEO & founder of NATURALICIOUS, one of the fastest growing natural haircare brands in the U.S., to learn a few of her tried and true marketing tips.
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Let customers do the talking
One of the main ways NATURALICIOUS reaches new customers is through word of mouth. When a product is phenomenal and has excellent utility, it sells itself in the form of current customers talking it up. Word of mouth has always been, and will always be, the best and least expensive form of advertisement. The fact is that consumers, in general, do not trust brands. They trust people who like them first, then people they admire and third party experts. People like them are the most effective when it comes to making a purchase decision. By over delivering on quality and customer service every time, and continuously wowing our customers, they do a lot of the marketing for us.
Connect with select influencers
Social media  provides everyday people with a brand new career opportunity to become celebrities in their own right, and therefore influencers in their space. This is a win-win for everyone. As with any career opportunity, there is usually a dollar amount tied to that. Unfortunately, because companies oftentimes pay hefty salaries for positive reviews, sometimes it dilutes the authenticity of what the influencer is saying. Consumers are very smart and savvy, and most see through this sort of practice. However, there are several key influencers who are very selective about the companies they work with and the reviews they provide. Some others seem to “love†every item they’re sent, as they’ve been paid to say so, unbeknownst to their viewers. Legally, influencers are supposed to reveal when they’re being paid for a review, but many don’t. We absolutely love positive reviews and we adore our influencers, so we do our best to work with those who have a reputation for being authentic and organic in their testimonials.
Focus on being a big fish in a small pond
We host and attend live events all the time, but we are careful to not always go where the competition is, which is usually natural hair events. NATURALICIOUS is a haircare company, but our target customer base doesn’t spend all day thinking about their hair. They are into other things also, such as fashion, personal finance, live music, family events, etc. We find that by forgoing some of the beauty events and instead having a presence at other places that our customers frequent, we can be a big fish in a small pond. Don’t misunderstand: we absolutely do attend natural hair events. But we also make sure that we show up at other events where our customers are, but where the competition is much less or sometimes nonexistent, allowing us to reach more people more easily.
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