One of the more challenging aspects of starting up a small business is marketing – marketing is everywhere, and you need to have some form of marketing strategy if you are to have any sort of measurable success within your industry. It is a necessary part of operating a business and there are many ways you can go about executing a sound and engaging marketing campaign both online and offline.
There is so much literature available about marketing that it can be very difficult to get started, especially if you are a smaller business which doesn’t have a dedicated marketing department or marketing professional on board. Although the old days of cold-calling potential leads and dropping flyers through doors are gone, there are still plenty of offline tactics you can use within your marketing strategy.
Your marketing strategy does somewhat depend on your business; there are specific nuances within every industry which need to be taken into account when drawing up a marketing brief, however, there is also a lot of general advice which can be applied to businesses operating in all industries.
Three Essential Marketing Strategies
As a small business, you should be starting off with a smaller marketing campaign. Over time, marketing snowballs into something bigger and you do not need a full-blown ad campaign which reaches across all channels and into all cities around the world right off the bat.
If you are just starting out, there are a few marketing strategies which are more essential (and useful) than others – these are the ones which you should start off with and learn about before you try moving onto others.
By getting the most important things sorted and out of the way first, you are setting yourself and your business in good stead for reaping the full benefits in the long-term. Social media marketing is a good example of this – many small business owners think that getting a social media marketing campaign is an essential first step. In fact, this is not the case, social media marketing comes later and is not something which you need from day one.
Even if you are already operating, some of these marketing strategies may be of use to you if you have noticed that you are not getting the site traffic or conversions you had hoped for.
Here are three of the most effective marketing strategies for smaller businesses in order of their relevance and utility.
Printed Banners & Signage
This especially applies if you are a small business which operates physically within a local area. Banner printing is an extremely visible and actionable form of marketing which is unfortunately ignored by a lot of modern businesses. Printed banners and signage are hard to ignore and if you can get the right real estate – i.e. a place with a large amount of traffic or footfall – you have a simple piece of marketing which instantly grabs the attention of your target market and exposes them to your brand, product or service. Companies like Printroom can help you out with their creation and offer advice on the best placement.
Google AdWords
This is a classic form of digital marketing and has been around since the very earliest days of the internet. It is a tried-and-tested method which has provided results for millions of businesses – large and small – all around the world. As far as we are concerned, Google AdWords is well worth looking at, as it has the potential to display your page at the very top of organic search results, even before any of the bigger and better-known websites.
With over 40,000 search queries carried out on Google each second, there is no other form of digital advertising which has the same potential to generate organic and interested traffic for your website.
Coupon Sites
The likes of Groupon et al are a God send for smaller businesses. If you are willing to factor in discount codes to some of your products’ pricing (a bit cheeky, we admit) and hand these out to potential customers, you are on to a great way to build an organic and trustworthy brand identity right from the start.
Consumers love a good bargain, and nothing drives up sales quite like a good old-fashioned coupon code. By offering coupons or placing yourself on coupon sites, your products have the potential to reach a wider audience and generate natural interest. Plus, you could also end up featured on the Instagram page of a social media influencer if a product particularly resonates with them, which can drive up sales ten-fold.
Starting a small business is hard, and the fact that you need to market yourself does not make the burden of small business ownership any lighter. By starting your marketing campaign off on the right foot with the right methods, you will slowly but surely start to reap the rewards and get your name out there above the sea of other businesses all vying for consumers’ attention.
