Small Business Marketing 101
The marketing function within any business, especially small businesses, is probably one of the most important areas to pay attention to, yet it is often the most over-looked one. Why is it often overlooked? In small businesses there are usually only a few people who have the responsibility for the whole business. Sometimes it is only one person, if they are the sole proprietor.
As marketing is not sales, some might focus their energies on trying to get more sales but this can be a costly mistake. Marketing supports sales in that its purpose is to get your message in front of those who are in the position to benefit from it. In other words, marketing serves to promote your brand to potential customers. There are so many possible marketing avenues that one can pursue, thereby making it crucial for the small business owner to seriously consider the pros and cons of all the available options before taking the plunge into any particular marketing initiative.
As time and resources are at a premium for the small business owner, in order to organize your marketing process and stay focused, it is important to:
Analyze
How are you currently marketing your brand? Are you attending trade shows? Are you doing email blasts? Are you doing direct mailing campaigns? Are you participating in social media marketing? Make an outline of the specific marketing techniques you are currently using in order to determine if and how you will continue to use them.
Evaluate
The next step is to see take a look at and measure how each of your current marketing methods are working. It you are not seeing a good ROI on these methods, you might want to consider either re-designing or re-structuring them. Be careful not to fall into the trap of complacency. Don’t continue using a tactic that is not effective just because it is what you are accustomed to.
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