If you are reading this, I assume that you’re pretty familiar with the concept of telephone services over Internet Protocol – better known as VoIP.

But maybe you’re still not quite sure how to go about marketing VoIP to local businesses. Fear not, my friend – here are some tried and tested strategies that I and other local marketers use to great effect.

1. Understand Your Target Market

We all have different tastes, but at the end of the day, we’re all consumers. Therefore, it stands to reason that we’ll all be interested in the same sorts of things: cool phones, fast WiFi, and so on.

So if you’re selling VoIP services to individuals, you need to ensure that you’re addressing their needs. If you’re marketing cloud VoIP services to small businesses, you need to understand what makes them tick.

This is easier said than done, I know – but by taking the time to get to know your target audience and understand their needs, you’ll be able to craft a much more effective marketing message.

2. Utilize Social Media

Whether you realize it or not, your customers are already online – and more and more of them are using social media to connect with brands and businesses they trust.

The most popular social media sites don’t just help people connect with each other – they also allow businesses to interact with their customers on a more personal level. This is hugely beneficial when trying to sell a product or service, and it can also work in your favor when marketing VoIP services to local businesses.

The key to effective marketing on social media is to find platforms that your target audience uses, and to utilize those platforms to your advantage.

3. Measure And Analyze Everything (And Everyone)

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re a fairly successful marketer. You’ve got a product that you think is great, and you want to start promoting it to local businesses. You do your market research, and discover that 85% of your target audience is located within a 100-mile radius of your headquarters.

Great! So you head off to design your marketing strategy, map out your plan, and begin to work your magic. After a couple of months of hard work, you discover that your marketing efforts are paying off: sales are up, and you’re on the road to eventually doubling your revenue.

How’s that for magic?

Well, when you start to measure and analyze everything (including yourself), you’ll quickly learn that there’s more to success than you ever thought possible. But ultimately, that’s what makes it so satisfying. You set a goal, and work hard to achieve it.

4. Be Creative

Instead of following the crowd, be creative. Find your own way to stand out from the pack, and do what makes you different. Use your own unique talents to solve problems, and be persistent whenever possible.

When you’re operating under time constraints, and you’re struggling just to get by, it can be somewhat challenging to come up with unique marketing ideas. But that’s exactly what makes it worth it in the end. Being creative will often mean coming up with ideas that are completely out of the ordinary, but it can also inspire you to create unique marketing content that will engage your target audience.

5. Be Brave

It’s easy to get scared, and hide from the world. But if you want to be successful, you’ve got to be brave. Hone your skills, and learn to communicate with confidence. And while you’re at it, be the change you wish to see in the world.

When you’re scared, you do everything in your power to avoid risk. But ultimately, that’s what keeps you where you are. So rather than avoiding risk, why not take it? Why not try new things, and challenge yourself? Why not reach for the sky, and give it your best shot? What have you got to lose?

Ultimately, you’ll discover that there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Just because one method worked for one person doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Never be afraid to try something new, and if it doesn’t work out, you’ve only wasted a few hours of time.

But if you stick with what you know and what has worked in the past, you’ll never grow. And you’ll never be able to tell yourself that you’ve tried everything – because you haven’t. Stuck in a rut, and unwilling to change, you’ll keep yourself just where you are – and that’s not okay. Remember: the only constant in life is change.