It's more than advertising
How good of a job is your small business doing when it comes to marketing your brand? Unfortunately, some fail to capitalize on all the marketing options out there. As a result, it can have a negative impact on their companies. With this in mind, is it time you stepped up your company’s marketing efforts?
The marketing ideas that you use for your business are important because they attract attention and build your customer base. The people that are using your services allow you to make more money, and they find you in a variety of ways. Do not be surprised when you need to expand your marketing to start making more money every month.
Finding the perfect marketing team, strategy, and processes can be difficult for a business in any field. Of course that’s not a revolutionary statement, but it’s something that business owners or managers seem to forget at times. Small businesses have an even tougher time making themselves stand out from the crowd and while there are numerous techniques and strategies a business can employ, it sometimes seems like there’s no difference being made.
So how do you ensure your marketing campaigns are successful? There’s no one easy, quick and simple answer to that question, but there are definitely strategies that can help. While there’s no “one size” fits all solution, here’s a list of some very useful tips that will help ensure you’re on the right track to success.
What keeps you up at night?
For business owners, the list can be long, simply because operating a business brings with it so many uncertainties. One of every 5 establishments started in 2014 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) didn’t make it a year. Almost half of those started in 2011 haven’t survived, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The good news is that the survival rate of startups has increased in recent years, according to the SBA and the Kauffman Foundation. Both on a one-year and five-year basis, businesses have a greater chance of living longer than they did earlier in the decade.
Competitive intelligence is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. As an entrepreneur, you need to deal with heavy workload. Without a proper planning, it’s impossible to meet the deadline. So, how can you manage time efficiently?
Basically, it starts with having an enthusiastic approach. Positivity can be the best driving force of your business success. Set a realistic goal and take necessary measures to drive your business growth. Utilise your 24/7 methodically to perform tasks in a timely manner. Start earlier and plan your day before doing anything else. Check your To-do list and proceed accordingly. Instead of being worried about your task list, learn how to prioritise according to the urgency. This lets you accomplish things in a sequential pattern. It’s good to focus on the task at hand. By doing so, things can be executed more accurately without any delay.
With a vast array of marketing tools and activities at your disposal, how do you know what is the right marketing mix for your business?
It must ‘fit’ your business.
For example, guerrilla marketing tactics are perfect for many businesses – fun and high impact, it is the perfect campaign to launch a product or cement a brand. But for other sectors and industries, it would be seen as aggressive and over-the-top, deadening your attempts to grow.
People at Colour Graphics have prepared a quiz to test your marketing knowledge. Take the quiz and find out if the results are what you expected.
Talk to any small business expert – branding is a huge part of any business. Establishing the proper brand can make or break your business. What is a brand? Off the top of your head, it might be your logo, your signage, or the other physical items you’ll need to market and sell your product or service. Branding is so much more than that! Consider it a promise made to your customers that can let them know what they can expect from your small business and what makes you stand out from the rest. Your logo, marketing materials, website, and more should work to support this.
While there are a number of ways to improve your small business’ marketing strategy, blogging needs to be a priority. We recently conducted a survey where we found a number of small businesses don’t have a blog. It can take time, but it’s a valuable tool.
By sharing your thoughts on industry news and other helpful topics, you’re able to bring value to your customers. So let’s break down how to make that happen.
For most businesses, having prospects is the single most important aspect you can have taken care of. It needs to be taken care of. Prospects turn into warm leads that are ready to buy. These people have the highest likelihood of buying your products and engaging with your brand. Having that is important because you don’t want to spend or waste time on unfiltered prospects.
Time is money in this case. The more people you have who’re qualified, the better your efforts are per return on investment. And that’s where automation comes in. Since businesses need a steady source of revenue, the ability to generate leads is worth its weight in gold. But the ability to automate the process is priceless.
For entrepreneurs and independent business people, the internet is an invaluable resource that allows them to advertise, reach new clients and engage their existing client base. It has also given way for enhanced competition and market saturation.
Standing out from a crowded online content space can prove difficult for those who aren’t web savvy or versed on the latest digital trends and sites. Fitness expert and professionals find this especially difficult, in part because they are also grappling with competition from local gyms and fitness centers.