Marketing tips for small businesses

Some of the best tips for marketing a small business can be taken from looking at the way larger rivals operate. In the past this might not have been quite so true as it is today, because then the world of advertising and marketing revolved around how big a budget you could afford to set aside. The way that the Internet has revolutionized consumer behavior means that there are now plenty of ways that being creative can beat a big spend. In fact, the range of marketing opportunities for small companies means that in many cases the larger international corporations and established national commercial outfits are looking at adapting their own traditional methods to fit the new paradigm.

How important is marketing?

It doesn’t matter how good your products or services are if no one knows anything about them or your company. That’s a basic fact of business and it is why marketing has always played such a big role in the success or failure of any venture. Of course, depending on your own area of operations, you might be trying to attract a niche demographic or you might be casting the widest possible mass market net. Even this decision means that you have to have a distinct marketing strategy.

photo/ Gerd Altmann

The right marketing strategy

As with most things involved in running a small company, the marketing considerations will be affected by budgetary constraints. Even if you are able to put a significant sum aside for the purpose, you need to know that you will get value for money and reap the rewards. This means that you have to make the right choices when it comes to the type of marketing campaigns you want to run, and to choose the best ways of reaching out to your target customers.

Online potential

In the past, marketing was often based around physical print elements for small companies, such as post mailshots, adverts in various publications or billboard posters. Other media, such as local radio or TV ads might have been possible for some with decent marketing budgets, but inter state or national advertising costs would often have been prohibitive for locally based companies. That’s why online marketing was a real game changer, giving even the smallest businesses, freelancers and contractors the chance to advertise themselves to an infinitely bigger degree.

SEO, social and more

Just having your own business website offers much potential and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the specialized area of online marketing that has grown up around it. Essentially it is the art of getting your site to rank as highly as possible in the search results so that you gain a bigger profile than your rivals. This can be attained using various tricks and approaches and can really level the playing field between large and small companies. Social media is another way that time, effort and creative thinking can often get better results than a big spend, especially as many customers today prefer the ‘hands on’ approach a smaller company can offer and like the personal touch they provide through online availability.

Old and new

There are some established businesses that have led the way in showing how a company that has been successful using old models can make the transition to using new methods of marketing. In fact, As Seen on TV has gone even further by coming up with a unique mix of traditional marketing and cutting edge methods that show how a creative approach can really work in the current marketplace. By merging an established TV presence and a solid reputation for quality and value with a user friendly website that sticks to core brand values, one of America’s favorite outlets has led the way by embracing change.

Brand awareness

In order to stand out from the crowd your business has to have a recognizable brand of its own. This actually cuts both ways, because if you can’t identify it yourself, how can you expect a customer to do so? Thankfully it is reasonably straightforward, because branding is the biggest marketing tip a small business needs to take on board. Something as simple as a good, clear logo, a recognizable color scheme and one or two snappy bylines, catchphrases or tags can be all you need to set the basics for a strong brand image. Once you have this in place, the thing to remember is to use the themes consistently throughout your marketing so that you build an identity that sets you apart for the crowd.