Marketing Small Businesses - Doing the things that work quickly and cost effectively

Marketing small businesses is all about doing things that work, quickly and cost effectively. And by 'work' you are talking about using small business marketing solutions that simply, directly and efficiently move you toward getting that sale.

For many owners, marketing small businesses is synonymous with advertising.

And that's what they do - advertise. Usually very ineffectively.

Effective marketing cannot be achieved through single tool or technique. You need to employ a variety of tactics.

Design Your Marketing Strategy to Get the Sale

The diagram below shows a few of activities you need to include in your marketing plan.

The Continuum of Effective Techniques for Marketing Small Businesses

From the diagram you will see that advertising (including direct mail, flyers and brochures) is pretty ineffective in getting to the sale.

Why?

Because it is so impersonal.

There is an old adage, “People buy from people”. Not surprisingly then, the most effective techniques for marketing small businesses are shown as those that involve high levels of personal contact.

But as you will see, most businesses must plan activities across the whole effective marketing spectrum to build sustainable, repeatable income.

Plan Your Marketing Activities to Get That Sale

Now don't drop your advertising campaign just yet. The trick is to get the balance of marketing activities just right for your company.

Advertising

Advertising plays a vital role in maintaining your customers and prospects awareness of your company, your products and services. The effectiveness of advertising can be vastly improved by concentrating on benefits and using the AIDA formula.

Trade Shows/Promotional Events

Trade shows and promotional events can be highly effective in marketing small businesses. In principal they satisfy the requirement of getting to that all important face-to-face contact. Unfortunately, the majority experience is that you tend to meet the doers and not the decision makers. Sometimes, exhibitors report spending all their time talking to competitors rather than customers.

Publicity/Article Writing

Getting a press release in a local newspaper is reckoned to be up to twenty times as effective in marketing small business as even a good advertisement. People don't tend to believe ads. They do believe what they read in the newspaper. Article writing, particularly a regular column in your local press, is brilliant for keeping your name in the forefront of prospects minds. Dont underestimate the amount of work needed to write a weekly column. And remember that you are unlikely to be allowed to directly promote your services.

Article writing is also one of the premier vehicles for promoting your web site. There are literally thousands of article directories and tens of thousands of web sites that accept articles. Each time you publish an article on the web you increase your profile, get some traffic back to your site, and increase the link popularity of your site. It is a win-win situation.

Public Speaking

Public speaking, to the right audience, can be a fantastic way of getting to the sale. At many events you will be able to take samples of your products along. You may even be able to make sales directly after speaking.

For some people the thought of public speaking is a nightmare (literally). It doesnt need to be.

Read this article on effective public speaking for small business owners and managers Get yourself some good, inexpensive training. Invest in a presentation package. Plan and rehearse.

Your audience want you to do well. They are heavily predisposed to be on your side. So why not give it a go.

Networking and Referrals

If you have looked around this site you will know we are very hot on referrals. If you dont have an active referral programme then make sure you start one now. Its worth saying again though. Referrals give you your easiest sales, produce your most loyal and profitable customers, and cost very little to acquire. Why wouldn't you implement a referral system?

Business networking can be almost as good. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of business networking follow this link for a brief explanation.

Personal Contact

Everything else that you are doing has been to get you to this point. A one-on-one meeting with a primed, interested prospect.

Get to this point too early and without preparing your prospect and you are unlikely to make a sale.

The job is still not done though. You need to have a compelling sales story which backs up all those benefits you have claimed in your marketing literature. You need to be able to show how your products features meet this prospects specific need.

Some success stories certainly help. Testimonials from satisfied clients are great.

In short, you need a script.

Marketing Small Businesses - Getting the Right Mix

The notes on this page only make a start on the range of strategies and techniques you can employ for effectively marketing small businesses.

If you need some help why not check out the JKL Solutions Page

For a much more in depth look at the options open to all small businesses you might like to consider David Frey's Small Business Marketing Bible.David writes in a fresh, easily accessible style. The Small Business Marketing bible is an absolute goldmine of simple business development ideas. I always recommend my clients get hold of a copy. And for something like $50 it isn't going to break the bank.

Other resources to help you on the resource page. Follow this Marketing Small Businesses resources resources link to see more.

Special Note

To continue to do the same things and expect different results is one definition of madness.