Considering the numerous online and offline small business opportunities and the fact that governments provide small business help, starting a small business is comparatively easy. However, making the business a success through effective marketing is something that most businesspersons find difficult. Yet the fact is that there are numerous strategies and tactics for marketing one's small business without much expense.
Marketing for Small Business
Small businesspersons typically make some common mistakes:
- Publicity is not targeted: Unless they are experienced marketing persons, the marketing efforts of new businesspersons are often just wild shots that they hope will hit the target. For example, one might just distribute a lot of leaflets without looking at whether these reach real prospects for the product or service. Distributing leaflets about the opening of a fashion outlet meant for young people in a neighborhood whose residents are mostly retired people is a case in point.
- Unwillingness to Spend Money on Marketing: Not all small businesses see marketing costs as an investment. Instead, they see is as an expense, and try to reduce it. While non-targeted publicity (as mentioned just above) can of course be wasted expenditure, a targeted and well-designed marketing campaign is an investment that can produce long-lasting results. Sponsoring, say a sports event for young people, while a little expensive, can bring the fashion outlet to the notice of many prospective patrons of the business (who might continue patronizing it for a long time).
- Exclusive Dependence on a Limited Number of Marketing Initiatives: For small businesses with limited budgets, the best strategy is to employ a variety of marketing tactics. These can reach a much wider audience of likely prospects. For example, the fashion outlet can not only organize a young people's event but also advertise in local newspapers, distribute leaflets at places frequented by young persons, announce promotional discount pricing for a limited time and gain some free publicity through a press release in local press.
Small Business Advertising has to be targeted
Marketing campaigns such as newspaper, magazine, radio and TV advertising reaches a wide audience. Many members of this audience will not at all be interested in the product or service that one's business is offering. The first task of marketing is to identify the type of persons who will be interested in buying the business' product or service. Then try to create a mental image of that person and how he or she can be reached with your sales message.
Does the person read a newspaper or magazine? IF so, which section of the newspaper is that person likely to see? Or does that person get the news from listening to radio or viewing TV? If this is a person who is not interested in news at all, what program is this person likely to watch? Or what event is this person likely to go to?
Once you have some idea of what your prospective customer sees regularly, you can get your message to that person through that medium. Media selection is, however, only one element of targeting, which also involves tailoring the message in a manner that appeals to the target group. For doing this, one needs to know the motivations and preferences of one's target customer and create a sales message that appeal to these. Why does the customer buy the product? How does the person decide where to buy it? Answers to these questions will help a business do the selling much more effectively.
Find Ways to Track the Results of each Marketing Campaign
Unless a business can track the results of marketing campaigns, it can continue wasting money on ineffective strategies and tactics. On the other hand, if such tracking is done, it will provide invaluable insights into customer behavior and help the small business to fine tune its strategies and approaches.
Tracking can be through the use of special phone numbers, coupons printed in particular publications, special website landing pages or just a simple query to the customer how the person came to hear about the offer.
Small business marketing has to cope with limited budgets and fewer marketing staff. This means that each marketing campaign must produce the maximum impact, which needs clear identification of the target customer group, reaching them effectively using different tactics and appealing precisely to their motivations and preferences. Starting a small business should always include developing such a marketing plan.
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