Ten common-sense marketing tips for busy entrepreneurs
I dare say that marketing a small business has never been more challenging.
Innovation, rapid technological development, increasing accessibility to technology and the wide spread adoption thereof have had far reaching consequences for the entrepreneur. It has not only presented small businesses with opportunities (and even advantage) in a global business landscape but also presented the challenge of reaching customers through increasingly fragmented channels.
Sir Winston Churchill once said, “It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.” Often small business owners fall into the trap of trying to outshine their competitors, reinvent the marketing wheel (with some outrageous once off campaign) and forget what is required. In today’s world where we are bombarded with information from every angle (sms, email and advertising for example) a clear well targeted message conveyed simply is often the most effective.
Sweet marketing simplicity in a world filled with possibility on a small business budget. Daunting or do-able?
MARKETING MUSTS:
1. Ethics
Ethics is the foundation of good business practice. In marketing this means that you keep your word and deliver on your promises. Customer service and word of mouth are lethal weapons in the marketing arsenal.
2. Targeting and research
You cannot be everything to everyone. Research your market and break them up into market segments. This will ensure that you allocate marketing resources correctly to produce effective results.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel! There are times that it’s wise to imitate not innovate. Focusing on what works can prevent failure and save your money. Often the basics are effective. Strive to strike a balance between innovation and imitation.
4. Creativity and branding
Don’t market or advertise like a big business! Large companies have money to spend on awareness and brand campaigns. You however need to design marketing campaigns to produce sales (now). This entails promotional activities which will provide short term instant results.
5. Messaging
Translate your product or service offering to meaningful benefits for your customer. Your service offering or business proposition should focus on the benefits not the features of your product or service.
Customers want to know how the product will add value to their lives. Will it make their business more profitable, will it make improve their productivity, will it make them more socially responsible, will it improve the quality of their life? Define how your product and service will make their life easier, better, less stressful and more fun. It must be something that they can relate to.
Market to build awareness and provoke response. Thomas Jefferson suggested that “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do” and this is a good maxim for writing good marketing material.
6. Collaboration
Buddy marketing is a form of collaboration. Try and create value-added joint promotions with other role-players and businesses through combining complementing products and services offerings.
7. Explore new technology and methodology.
The adoption of the internet and the fact that South Africa has one of the highest cell phone penetration rates in the world has created new ways of advertising and reaching customers. Mobile marketing and online advertising are not only cost effective but allow for complete control and measurability. In addition it presents you with an opportunity to reach a global audience.
The business landscape today is no longer bound by location and time zones. Technology has changed the way people do business and has created a need for mobility and connectivity. Virtual offices and business hubs have embraced this phenomenon to offer entrepreneurs cost effective solutions to a mobile lifestyle addressing the need for connectivity and small business support.
8. Use the internet – it provides free tools and services.
There are fantastic programmes and services available online. Platforms such as Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Skype are already popular ways of sharing and communicating. Why not expand your arsenal of free applications and tools by using online resources in other aspects of your business?
OpenGoo is an Open Source Web Office - a complete solution for every organization to create, collaborate, share and publish internal and external documents. Blinksale allows you to send invoices online, while Basecamp allows you to manage and collaborate with co-workers on client projects. Picnic is a great alternative to Photoshop.
9. Bridging the gap between marketing creativity and budget.
Single marketing efforts don’t work. It’s as simple as that. A small marketing budget need not be your excuse for an ad-hoc, bull in a china shop marketing approach. You have to vary your approach and rotate your marketing efforts to ensure consistency. Look at your budget and at the marketing strategies available and draw up a schedule to include different channels o your target audiences at various intervals.
10. Track your marketing and learn from your mistakes!
Building evidence of advertising and marketing effectiveness is vital in any future decision-making processes and the proper management of your marketing initiatives. Why guess if you can base your marketing decisions on experience and previous statistics and data? Avoid guesswork, especially on large scale activity.
22/09/2008 at 11:04 pm
Hi Bev
Very useful and insightful as always. You have a unique gift for putting essential processes into words.
27/09/2008 at 2:17 am
Thanks for this Bev, it’s very well said.
I think that your last point about tracking your marketing efforts is so important. A common mistake is that entrepreneurs often don’t set clear objectives before they start a marketing activity. It’s difficult to track if something has worked when you don’t know specifically what you wanted it to achieve in the first place.
Was the promotion meant to increase sales, improve awareness, establish credibility, generate feedback, etc.? Depending on the answer, entrepreneurs then need to know how to measure that and know what targets need to be met for the marketing activity to be considered successful.
Thanks Bev.
28/09/2008 at 4:21 am
great post Bev.
08/10/2008 at 4:51 am
Liza - *blush* Thanks for your comment.
Robynn - Thanks for the comment and for elaborating on it. I think most smaller businesses are so overwhelmed with the daily running of the business, and simply getting the marketing out there that they often forget to measure whether it is actually working.
Shawn - Thanks darling!
31/10/2008 at 3:23 am
Google Docs is amazing and I hope it’s something that more people will use. The best thing about Google Docs? It’s free.