Marketing

Can Small Be Beautiful in Business? We discuss Digital Marketing and More…
Can Small Be Beautiful in Business?
There is the famous saying in business (and in life):
“go big or go home”
While there is much to be said in favour of going big, bigger is not always better. What could easily be made into something so beautiful by keeping it small or minimal can become a jumbled mess when scaled by unchecked ambition.
Here, we are going to discuss some aspects of a business that are better off with a minimalist approach for their beauty to shine through. By dialling it back, these things become more beautiful – hence attractive – in the eyes of your target audience. Mainly, we are going to talk about digital marketing, web design and communication.
Digital Marketing
Whether it is traditional or digital marketing, big brands are going big and shoving more and more ads into users’ faces like never before. And you know what? People are getting tired of them. In fact, 74% of people on social media say they are tired of ads. The message these people are communicating is simple: the ads are obnoxious and intrusive.
The problem that many businesses are facing in the digital marketing space is that they are trying to advertise everything to everyone all the time. This is a big undertaking. However, a more stripped-down approach can help paint their message in the best light possible, making it come off in a less obnoxious and intrusive manner.
What is a Stripped-Down Approach to Digital Marketing?
You shouldn’t focus on delivering bombastic and flashy ads that advertise five products at once on every video user watch on Facebook. Instead, you should focus on cutting down the visual aids, showing users one product, and keeping the text to a minimum. This will communicate a simple and concise message. Also, the ad should also be shown to the right people at the right time.
While casting a wide net makes sense, it can lead to inconsistent messaging that doesn’t resonate with any of your target audience. These types of low-quality ads are what people are tired of on social media. So rather than try to be big in your advertising space and risk losing a majority of your target consumers, consider going small in order to create authentic interactions that matter to the viewers of your ads.
The Same Goes for Content
Not only are people overloaded with ads, but they are overloaded with content. It is good to engage your target audience through blog posts, Tweets, Instagram and Facebook posts and other content channels. But if you decide to go big with the content, you are contributing to the information overload problem – users have so much more information than they know what to do with these days.
The next thing you know, you are spamming your audience with content they don’t care about instead of delivering quality content that touches on their pain points. This will be content that is relevant to you and not them, which will eventually make them tired of you. Surely enough, the engagement levels with your content will see a sharp decline, even though you’re producing more of it.
Rather than think more content is better, deliver less content that is relevant to your audience only when it is necessary to do so. This approach will keep your target readers on edge, waiting to see what information you will have on offer next.
Website Design
A website is one of your biggest assets when it comes to online presence. When people visit your website, you want your message to resonate with them so they can do one thing: perform the desired action. This can be anything from filling a form to subscribing to your mailing list to making a purchase.
It is hard to get your message to shine through when there is so much clutter. Also, it is hard to guide users down your funnel when there are too many distractions on your website. A minimalist approach is the best way to make your website more beautiful while delivering the best user experience.
How to Take a Minimalist Approach to Website Design
- Keep the Design Simple
A simple website design is one that helps your visitors understand more easily without getting distracted. Simplicity has to be ingrained in all the sections and elements of your website, from the navigation to the decorative elements. Anything that is deemed unnecessary should be removed.For example, when it comes to the main header navigation bar, you should stick to the most necessary elements. These could be product, pricing and contact menu items. You can even add a search bar or blog menu item. Other things, such as about, partners, terms and conditions and similar, can be placed in the footer. - Utilize Negative Space
With less clutter and flashy distractions to overwhelm your users, you can use the negative space to your advantage. With more negative space, there is a greater emphasis on text, forcing you to make your message more engaging. Also, white space makes your text easier to read and understood, which makes visitors want to continue reading. This increases the chances of them taking the desired action. - Use a Mobile-First Approach
With over 3 billion smartphone users worldwide (and growing), a mobile-first approach to web design is the smart thing to do to increase web traffic. Moreover, nothing forces you to adopt a minimalist approach than a mobile-first website. There is only so much you can fit on a mobile screen, meaning you are more likely to stick to those elements that will deliver the best user experience and drive visitors to take action. - Consider a One-Page Website
Multi-page websites focus more on clicks while one-page websites focus more on attention. These days the attention span of the average visitor has dwindled so much that you have less than 15 seconds to grab their attention or they leave. This means it is better to condense all the information they need into a single page rather than distracting them with so many things to click on that will send them to different pages.
Communication
A business thrives on building and nurturing relationships with customers. After all, it costs five times more to attract new customers than keep the ones you already have. One of the best ways to maintain strong relationships with customers is through constant communication. However, this doesn’t mean that you should over-communicate.
Just like information overload, consumers are also experiencing a communication overload. No one wants to spend their precious time talking to a business about something they care less about. So instead of going big with the texts, emails and phone calls, consider dialling it back to make communicating with you seem like an attractive option for your customers.
How to Communicate Less and Have More of an Impact
Like in content marketing, only deliver information when you need to and make sure it is relevant to them. That way, they will be more than willing to interact with you the next time you contact them. Over-communication, especially when the communication is not important, can easily get you blocked or labelled as spam – so keep it minimal and important to have the most impact.
For example, your consumers want you to anticipate their needs. So, if a service interruption is about to happen on your website, communicate with them in advance to warn them. This will minimize the frustration of them having to experience the frustration of the service breakdown first-hand and have a diminished user experience. Moreover, they will be on the lookout for more communications like these.
Another example would be if you sell online courses and you are having a 50% off sale on a course your customer wish listed. This way, your customers will always be eager to hear from you about your latest sales and course offerings in general.
Conclusions
Bigger is not always better, even when it comes to business. There is nothing wrong with thinking big, but that doesn’t mean you should get ahead of yourself. As you can see, particularly when it comes to digital marketing, web design and communication, going bigger can make these things less attractive in the eyes of your target consumers.
We live in a fast-paced world, and attention spans are dropping across the board. At the same time, people are also facing a sensory overload of information and communication from businesses and brands trying to get their money. Doubling down – instead of dialling it back and taking a more focused and streamlined approach – can make your business unattractive.
Basically, doing more can cause more harm than doing less (as the cliched saying goes: less is more).
By keeping things small (as counter-intuitive as this may sound in business), you will be able to play to your strengths and find ways to effectively paint a beautiful picture of your business. This will make it more attractive in the eyes of your consumers since your messaging will take centre stage and make an impact. At the same time, you will be able to find and/or create real opportunities for growth.