Marketing 4 Small Business - Ignore At Your Peril!

INTRODUCTION:

As business advisors and small business accountants we often see businesses who market, get busy and then when they get quiet, decide to market again. This is if they can afford to do it while things are quiet but the problem is they can't afford NOT to do it. There is no magic marketing bullet. If you speak to a marketing expert there are usually a number of things you should be doing and very rarely is it using just one medium.

Here are some tips to help generate some new business.

Figure 1: Be creative when marketing. Using a mascot such as "Balmain Baz" can generate leads!

1. Choose Your Marketing Channels

Being a good marketer is being able to identify which channels you should be using. You will need to firstly create a customer 'persona' which simply means sitting down and look at what your target market looks like:

• Where are they?
• How old are they?
• Why will your product or service solve a problem they have?
• How many are there?

Once you have established these facts you can then think about how you will get them to see what you do. It also means that you should be able to get better cost effiicencies when advertising and a better bang for your buck.

Do you need to advertise on:

• radio;
• television;
• magazines;
• social media;
• website;
• mobile app;
• SEO (paid and unpaid);
• sponsorship;
• your existing database?

The last point is important as many try to spend money on getting new customers when they are doing enough marketing or selling to their existing customers who already know and trust you.

Figure 2: Having an app can sometimes be a great marketing tool.

2. Test & Measure

Marketing can be a bit hit and miss sometimes so it pays to test and measure. You will find that certain combinations work better than others at certain times of the day, week, month and year. Always measure what works best and then keep doing it if it is producing results.

3. Appoint A 'Champion' In Your Team

Always have a marketing budget and a plan. Put these into action and into a calendar. We find that having a 'champion' who makes sure that the plan occurs works best. Otherwise, the marketing can drift away and not be effective just as it is getting momentum.

4. Be Consistent

Generally it's best to keep marketing in good times and in bad. Waiting for things to dry up and then start can lead to long lead times and the consistent message of your brand has to be started all over again. In fact, ceasing and starting again could actually cost you more in the long run.

5. Get Expert Advice

Whilst we are business advisors and have a good grasp of marketing, we also get help from experts and so should you if you are not getting the results you want. Somebody who assists other successfully and has a good track record is the sort of person you want to help you get business growth through a nice steady flow of leads.

CONCLUSION:

 What marketing are you doing at the moment? Is it effective or is it just costing you money? Consider the above as a start and get your machine rolling!