Learn by Example: 7 Successful Small Business Marketing Campaigns

Successful small business marketing campaigns

To fully grasp how marketing campaigns can benefit small businesses, check out how the following companies achieved success through marketing. 

1. Dollar Shave Club

One great idea and a viral video skyrocketed this small business to the top. With a marketing budget of only $4,500, co-founder Michael Dubin took the subscription box and shaving industries by storm. Before Dollar Shave Club’s 2012 video, brands like Gillette and Schick had the men’s shaving market locked down, and the subscription service industry was just getting off the ground. By 2015, Dollar Shave Club had 48.6 percent of the online shaver market, according to Slice Intelligence, CNBC reported. Unilever acquired the company in 2016 in a $1 billion deal, and it was sold to Nexus Capital Management in 2023.

The Dollar Shave Club video hit every marketing principle perfectly. It was fun and informative, it listed the company’s information repeatedly and it communicated why the company was different from its competitors.

2. Airbnb

Airbnb is the poster child for persistence in marketing. In 2008, Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia started renting air mattresses. By 2023, Airbnb was valued at $73.34 billion, according to Statista. 

However, Airbnb did not experience growth until it focused on marketing. It relied on email and content creation to drive site interaction. The Airbnb team sent prospective renters and property owners emails recommending highly reviewed rentals in destinations an individual had searched for recently. The company even included location suggestions in some of its marketing emails to spur an interest in traveling. 

The email campaigns were so successful that Airbnb went on to create a vacation inspiration travel blog. 

3. NOOMA

Another company that relies on content creation is NOOMA, which is an abbreviation for “no more artificials.” This company sells plant-based athletic drinks for health-conscious customers. NOOMA drives engagement and sales with its blog. Many companies rely on blogs to drive interest, but not all of them are successful. NOOMA creates engaging and informational blog posts with recipes, workout routines, health information and an occasional sales pitch. 

However, a good marketing campaign should not focus entirely on sales pitches. Instead, companies should create campaigns that provide valuable content that engages their audience so people come back to read the blog regularly. [Read related article: Sell Yourself: 7 Secrets to Appearing Confident During a Sales Pitch]

4. Good! Snacks

Good! Snacks, formerly known as Good Greens, is the nutrition bar version of NOOMA. Both companies cater to health-conscious consumers and rely on content creation in their marketing efforts. Good! Snacks has an active Facebook presence and shares content that often focuses on how its products support customers’ busy and active lifestyles. Its bars are front and center in every social media post, highlighting the colorful packaging. 

5. Uber

When Uber started its operations, the company’s marketing zeroed in on how its supply could meet demand. It relied on customers spreading the word about its service being reliable, easy to use and available when cabs were at a premium. Using this brand advocacy, Uber slowly attracted a customer base and transformed the startup into a household name that’s now synonymous with ride hailing.

Uber relies primarily on mobile marketing and its YouTube channel. The company’s mobile ads and easily digestible video content successfully enticed users to download the app. The Business of Apps estimates that, as of 2023, 137 million people use Uber or Uber Eats at least once a month.

6. Doritos

Doritos has long been a household name in the Frito-Lay snack lineup, so there was no need for extra brand recognition or loyalty efforts for one recent marketing campaign. Instead, Doritos sought to engage a specific target audience: gamers.

The company invented an app, Doritos Silent, that could remove the crunching sound from real-time digital audio. The marketing campaign and the app earned acclaim from users and the press, with several news outlets reporting on how the app allowed gamers to silently nosh on their Doritos. 

7. Liquid Death

With a name like Liquid Death, the canned-water brand automatically set itself apart from its many competitors. Since its inception in 2018, Liquid Death has carved out a niche target audience by not taking itself too seriously. Through a series of over-the-top commercials that employed slogans like “Murder Your Thirst” and “Death to Plastic” and creating a hypermasculine design for its cans, Liquid Death used humor to build brand awareness and connect with an untapped demographic.

Do’s and don’ts of successful marketing campaigns

If you’re trying to replicate the success of these marketing campaigns, here are some tactics to keep in mind.

Do use the right channels.

The primary goal of marketing is to connect a business with the correct target market. If you choose the wrong channel for a marketing campaign, the target market will not be engaged, even if the content is perfect. For example, TikTok is not the best channel for a program aimed at older adults.

Before you choose a marketing channel, consider how your target market interacts with social media, emails, blog posts, television ads and print media. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all channel; sometimes experimentation is valuable.

Don’t push your product or service. 

Nobody appreciates a pushy salesperson. Build rapport with potential customers before you make a sales pitch. Customers who feel appreciated will be more likely to engage with — and ultimately buy — your product. 

Consider a soft push instead of a hard one. A soft push focuses on persuading customers while creating a low-pressure sales environment. This gives the customer a chance to decide to buy a product on their own. A soft-push approach takes time and nuance, but the result is a loyal customer base.

Do create valuable content.

It’s important to create content that your audience wants to interact with. Valuable content creates a sense of trust in a company while sharing how the product meets consumers’ needs. 

To produce valuable content, demonstrate your authority in your business’s area of expertise. Use research, and show your work. To attract the largest audience, keep the content simple. This is especially important for tech-heavy industries or businesses that use industry-specific terminology.

Don’t overshare or spam your audience.

It’s easy to spam your customers with alerts and messages. However, when you do that, your message can become diluted and confusing. The goal of marketing is to widen your customer base, not lose subscribers from content burnout. Keep your company’s reputation intact during your email marketing campaign so you don’t come across as spammy.

Stick to a content schedule with clearly defined goals. A schedule makes it easier to plan promotions, track engagement and analyze performance. Build a calendar around new-product launches, holidays and specific service promotions. A standard way to do this is by breaking a schedule into fiscal quarters. [Read related article: Everything You Need to Know About Email Marketing Campaigns]

Do pay attention to data and analytics.

Marketing can be expensive; you don’t want to waste resources on ineffective campaigns. Analyze the success of your marketing campaigns by examining engagement, revenue changes and the effectiveness of different channels. Are you reaching your target market? How is your return on investment? Is your messaging clear? If you can’t answer these questions, you may not be paying close enough attention to your marketing data. 

There are various tools for analyzing marketing data, but don’t be afraid to outsource data analytics to a third party or to crowdsource content if the numbers tell you more content is needed. 

Don’t try to replicate large corporations’ marketing efforts.

There is no one-size-fits-all marketing campaign or marketing strategy. What works for one company may not work for another. This is especially true for small versus large businesses. A marketing campaign’s success ultimately depends on the differences in the products, marketing budgets, advertising channels and campaign scaling. Consumers appreciate a creative marketing campaign, so focus on what makes your company unique.