For many small businesses, the seasonal nature of the product being sold is reason enough to have a slow winter season. However, the world of small business marketing is undergoing a major shift as online marketing gains more and more momentum, leaving many small businesses are at a loss for how to reach new customers. If you find that you are experiencing trouble gaining exposure with new customers, here are five possible solutions to your problem:

1. Too much emphasis on the wrong kind of marketing

One common downfall of many small businesses today is that they are pouring too much time and money into marketing tactics that are poorly suited to their business. You have to be sure that your target audience is truly paying attention to the type of advertising you have chosen as the best way to spread the word about your product. For example, if your clientele is mostly older and is not as accustomed to using the internet, online marketing and social media might should probably not make up the bulk of your marketing strategy. Divert your time and energy to other, more traditional mediums of marketing and advertising, such as radio and TV ads or billboards.

2. Not understanding your target audience

Related to the first problem of not recognizing the best marketing medium on which to reach your target audience, comes the related problem of not understanding your audience’s behaviors and tendencies. Proper marketing requires truly being tapped into the mindset of your customers. What are they doing and where are they during their free time? How do they usually find out about new businesses? What would be the best time of day (or night) to expose them to your ads? All of these questions must be answered before tackling any marketing plan.

3. Not using social media correctly

Even if you’ve “bought into the hype” and begun to use social media accounts for your business, you shouldn’t expect to see results from your social media marketing efforts unless you truly understand how to use these accounts. Being signed up and adding a few pictures here and there isn’t enough. These accounts are called social for a reason: you need to use them to engage new customers and develop relationships with existing customers. Give your business a voice. Use your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social media accounts as a way to show that your business is the friendliest, funniest, or otherwise most social in your industry.

4. Bad online reviews

Having bad online reviews floating around the internet can be doing much more damage to your business than you realize. In many cases, all it takes is for the customer to type in your business’ name into a popular search engine to encounter several popular review sites with all sorts of comments from your customers. Be sure to take a look at these reviews; your clients’ opinions of your business are right there for the whole world to see! Nothing serves as a better framework for improving your business than honest criticism from your clientele.

5. Blending in with your competition

Don’t just mimic what other businesses in your area are doing to promote themselves. Think outside of the box. Setting yourself apart will expose you to new customers because, up until this point, they have been an untapped market in your industry. Create interesting and unique content for your website and social media accounts; think of funny or clever advertisements to show around your community; or come up with a catchy song or eye-catching logo. Standing out will surely serve as a smart way to attract new customers.