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Every small business owner knows that effective marketing is critical to business success. There's no point having a great product or service if no one knows about it. However, many small businesses are daunted by the marketing process, unsure where to start and what it might all cost.
The good news is that small businesses don't necessarily need lots of money for their marketing. There are some marketing basics that every small business can follow to start their marketing campaign and build their profile.
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Following is a wealth of information on small business marketing from building a brand to managing a direct mail campaign and growing sales.
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What does your logo say about your business?
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| Much of marketing is concerned with a company's image, both on an individual product level and for the corporation as a whole. Every company and every branded product or service needs a logo for this purpose. |
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Branding - it's for small businesses too
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| On a daily basis we make a host of split-second purchasing decisions based on our feelings towards particular brands. As we know the most easily recognised brands convey in an instant the essence of who they are and what they represent. Just think of the tri-point on the front of a Mercedes Benz; more than just indentifying the make of the car, it signifies superior quality in all respects. |
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Making trade shows work
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| The Internet has enabled the growth of small businesses all over Australia and indeed the world. Skilled business people can start a business with a PC and a website enabling small enterprises to market to and take orders from customers all over the world. But as effective as working a business online can be, there are times when the home entrepreneur may crave a little one-on-one interaction with her customers. That's when the value of a trade show lies! |
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What is Google Adwords - and how can I make it work for me?
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| Used effectively Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a critical component of a highly successful marketing strategy. AdWords, the "Sponsored Links" that appear to the right of the main search results on Google, offer small businesses in particular a relatively low cost and flexible way to pitch their wares and generate traffic to their web site. |
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10 marketing must haves
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| Marketing is the answer to raising the profile your small business. However, with so many marketing options available, it can be difficult to determine which path to take. Use these 10 marketing must-haves to ensure your marketing plan hits the right notes. |
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Should your business have a website ?
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| In today's online environment, a web presence is essential so it is startling to discover that only a quarter of small businesses have a website. There are benefits and drawbacks for setting up a website for a small business so it is important you weigh it up properly before getting in too deep. Some business models simply do not call for a website while others experience significant growth because of one. |
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The do's and dont's of a good email campaign
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| Direct marketing campaigns have come a long way from the early days of online marketing. However, in today's fast paced environment, people's inboxes are often full of marketing and 'junk' email. Consequently, you need to hit the right note to make sure your clients hover over your response links rather than the delete button. |
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Use your expertise to market your company
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| A small number of businesses recognise the opportunity to use their expertise as a marketing tool for the business. There are few better ways to market your business to new clients than to establish a reputation as a specialist or a high performing business. |
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Pros and cons of social media
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| With the unprecedented rise in the use of social media in recent years, many businesses are including social networking sites in their marketing plans. |
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Planning for seasonal marketing
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| It is not uncommon to have a business that relies heavily on certain seasons for increased sales volume. The key to success however is adequate planning so the high traffic season can begin with a bang. |
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Pay per click advertising for small business
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| Used effectively Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a critical component of a highly successful marketing strategy. AdWords, the "sponsored links" that appear to the right of the main search results on Google, offer small businesses in particular a relatively low cost and flexible way to pitch their wares and generate traffic to their web site. |
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Low cost methods of business promotion
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| Business promotion is to running a successful business as what training is to most sportspeople; it may not be a thrilling activity in itself, but you just have to do it! You should spend at least an hour a day on business promotion or planning how to promote your business otherwise you run the risk of being left behind. |
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Building your referrals
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| Growing a small business is a real challenge, particularly acquiring new customers. Finding the best qualified leads from your business does not come from cold calling but from building a strong referral business. Particularly with smaller businesses referrals make sense, as they can, if done effectively, greatly reduce the acquisition costs of each customer. |
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Making trade shows work
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| The Internet has enabled the growth of small businesses all over Australia and indeed the world. Skilled business people can start a business with a PC and a website enabling small enterprises to market to and take orders from customers all over the world. But as effective as working a business online can be, there are times when the home entrepreneur may crave a little one-on-one interaction with her customers. That's when the value of a trade show lies! |
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Why thought leadership can lead you out of the doldrums
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| Thought leadership is a term that is often discussed but rarely understood. Business managers understand the value of thought leadership in principle but are often concerned about giving away intellectual property to their clients. The following article provides practical advice as to how you can bring your client closer to you and provide true thought leadership. |
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Building better client relationships
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| We all talk about the benefit of business relationships but do well all really live it Having better relationships improves the chance that we get referrals and future business and can even help recession proof business operations. Relationship management skills do not necessarily have to come with the completion of an MBA, it can be as simple as following some common sense advice. The following are a few things that you can do to grow important business relationships. |
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Working the pitch
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| The elevator pitch is a short, sharp summary of your business that can be effectively delivered between the floors of an elevator. Put it this way you have between floors one and four with your best prospect, alone and uninterrupted in a lift. What do you say that will make him or her want to buy your product or solution and make them want to buy now! |
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Winning the even battles
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| In depictions of medieval England there are often tales of duels between knights to win the hearts of fair maidens. In most of these tales, the good guy triumphs in a battle of seemingly impossible odds, generally against a dastardly villain. But what happens when both of the knights are good guys Even worse, what happens when they are both good and evenly matched in skill and bravado. |
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Business networking
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| Networking is a bit like finding the right group of friends at school. It's all about finding the personalities that click with yours. But there are some things you can do, and things to avoid, to try to make any networking event as effective as possible for you and your business. |
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Landing those big fishes
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| Every business needs to ensure that they are keeping the wolves from the door with a successful sales acquisition strategy. But how can smaller business compete with the big boys and their bigger marketing and advertising budgets Any business can get a leg up on the competition - with a little effort. |
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Prospects
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| Do you remember the tale of the ugly duckling - the one that turned into the swan The morale of that story is that appearances can be deceiving and you should not judge a book by its cover. Your sales prospects are the same. Sometimes the ones that on the surface appear to guarantee you an infinite revenue stream and all the riches you imagine turn out to be the exact opposite. But how can you tell? |
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Planning marketing success
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| Have you ever had that moment when you sit and stare at a blank piece of paper, willing words on to the page There are lots of small business owners who feel the same way when it comes to writing a marketing plan. Unfortunately marketing can often be considered to be the poor cousin of sales and doesn't really get the attention it needs to be a success. However, in most cases it is inadequate planning that defeats the marketing effort before it even gets off the ground. |
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Know your customers
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| Generally most businesses have the basic information of their customers and prospects, the key is to not only capture this information but capture it in a way that you can use at a later date to better seize future opportunities. |
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Direct mail campaigns
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| Direct marketing is a very powerful and effective tool when done right. When done wrong it can be a waste of your valuable money and time. Many small businesses think that all they need to do send out a flyer to as many people as possible. However, you'll need to be a bit smarter than that. Following are our Top 10 Do's and Dont's for Direct Mail campaigns. |
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Marketing in a crisis
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| In challenging economic conditions a strong brand can be the difference between mere survival and growth. Research shows that in tough times customers lose much of their appetite for new products but they will buy if they trust your brand. The challenge of building brand value and effectively stimulating demand in a difficult economy lies with the sales and marketing teams. |
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Chasing new business
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| When running a small business it's easy to fall into the trap of chasing every lead. However, many leads will never result in a sale and as you grow it's important not to waste time and resources on poor leads. You need to separate the good from the bad. |
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Targeted campaigns
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| Every time you conduct a direct mail or telemarketing campaign you are contacting people who may become customers but will be bad payers. This ends up costing you a lot more than just the initial marketing spend. It means you have bad debt and have wasted time and money chasing it. |
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Prospering in a downturn
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| To give your business every opportunity to be profitable during times of economic uncertainty there are a range of strategies businesses can use to build their existing customer base. We've selected the top 10 marketing tips for the new financial year. |
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