Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Business

One of the first things that business owners should understand is that marketing is not advertising. You need to realize that marketing is a process, not an event. Marketing involves planning marketing goals, and implementing (often a series of), marketing strategies to achieve them. This does not mean that it has to be a complicated process; however it does mean you have to know what you want to achieve, and get out there and work at it. Businesses of every size (and marketing budget), can use these strategies to successfully market their product or services.Here are some marketing strategies you can use to increase your customers and sales.

• Join local business organizations and networking groups, in your community-There are many of these types of groups and best of all most are inexpensive to join. The marketing benefits from these types of groups can be huge, once they get to know you and what you do. If you join the right groups, the other business people in your group will mention your business to others, and may even give you referrals. Local business organizations can also be great opportunities to create and participate, in some cooperative marketing strategies.
• Get noticed by offering some free classes/workshops related to your products and/or services-This can be done in your home, in a rented venue or through a local education institution such as a Community College. You will want to target specific audiences or events that would be interested in your product or service, for purchase. Use this as a means to reach your target market.
• Create your own blog-If you do this you can use it to build an audience of people who would be interested in your products and/or services. Do not feel overwhelmed as creating a blog is easier than creating a website. A quick search online can get you started with the basics.Then you will need to write regularly about topics that are related to your business, and what your business is doing. This is a great way to start connecting with other bloggers, business people and potential customers.
• Create or become front and center in a charitable event-It has been proven over and over again, that businesses can get huge amounts of press for events like this, which can then translate into new customers. Keep in mind that you don't even have to go to the trouble of creating your own event; many charities have established events that you can become a very visible part of by becoming a sponsor. Just make sure that you choose a cause or charity that your potential customers will care about.
• Join and use Twitter-This is the new wave of marketing, so savvy business owners are getting to know and use a variety of social media. Many marketing experts pick Twitter out of all the social media out there, because it's so quick and easy to use. If you are unsure how to use it, Twitter provides a getting started guide. It is recommended that you don't use Twitter exclusively, to promote your product, but to find and converse with potential customers, who may be interested in what you're doing.
• Ask for referrals-This is especially important if you operate a service-based business. This works well because asking for referrals is the easiest and least time-consuming of all the marketing strategies. And you may be surprised to learn that it's also one of the least used marketing strategies. If you don't regularly ask your satisfied customers for referrals because you don't know how or feel awkward doing it, you are overlooking a valuable (and inexpensive), way to successfully market your business.