Abstract

The greatest strength of small businesses is their flexibility...
What are the methods for increasing sales and attracting customers that are only possible because they are small?

Take the best of both analog and digital!
The author, who has interviewed over 600 small businesses and stores, organizes the often confusing mix of sales promotion and customer acquisition methods and reveals the key points of 50 immediately effective strategies.

Analog Sales Promotion:
- Show the faces of the people selling your products
- Create serious billboard advertising
- Send out New Year's cards
- Practice analog sales promotion
- Do the hassle of local sales promotion

Digital Sales Promotion:
- Stop using social media half-heartedly
- Start making videos now
- Get customers to register on LINE
- Post your store information on Google Maps
- Make your store name easy to search for.

Customer acquisition and sales promotion are eternal challenges for small businesses. Compared to large companies, small businesses have fewer staff and limited time and money to spend; they must constantly think creatively to survive.

The business environment is only getting tougher with work style reforms, recruitment difficulties, rising prices, and rapid digitalization. However, many companies continue to make great strides with unique customer acquisition and sales promotion ideas.

The greatest strength of small companies is their flexibility. Being a small organization allows them to change products, sales methods, and customer targets. They abandon digital strategies that cannot compete with large companies and focus solely on winning online sales methods. They put the faces of their store staff and managers in the forefront to increase their name recognition, capture customers in their trading area, and create a system for turning new customers into loyal customers!

Author’s Information

Marketing Consultant / CEO of Iroha Co., Ltd.

Born in Kochi Prefecture in 1970. After graduating from university, he worked as a magazine editor before moving on to planning and public relations for tourism facilities. He has a history of winning numerous awards for internet business excellence at Rakuten Ichiba and other online retailers. After going independent, he has provided consulting services to large and small companies, as well as training sessions, seminars, and lectures at chambers of commerce and companies across the country. He writes a column every Monday in Nikkei MJ called "Catching Customers with Takeuchi Kenrei," interviewing over 650 companies. His publications include "How to Create a Catchphrase That Will Dramatically Increase Sales (Expanded and Revised Edition)" and "Search Detective" (both published by Nikkei Business Jinbunko), "Stay-at-Home Consumption Marketing: 100 Promotional Tips to Get People to Buy from Them" and "The Complete Guide to Online Shop Management" (both published by Gijutsu Hyoronsha), "Accounting Heaven" (co-authored, PHP Bunko), "Late-Night Overtime" (Kadokawa Bunko), and over 60 other books.