Tips for small business marketing

Small businesses often feel that since they have a limited marketing budget, that they cannot market effectively. However, the truth is that small businesses that use creativity and planning, can market as effectively as their larger counterparts. Here are some tips for small business marketing-

- Use a postcard-The reason that postcards work especially well for marketing, is that not only are they cheap to produce, (even in color), but marketing studies have shown that your prospective customers are much likely to read a postcard, rather then a full-size ad. Postcards have been found to be able to drive a high volume of sales to either your website or physical location, for a very small cost, giving them a very high return on investment, for your marketing dollars.
- Consider using co-op marketing-Many small businesses find that when they team up with another business, they can pool their marketing resources. This doesn't have to be a complicated effort. Many small businesses find that if they can find a business that will agree to include their business card, or mailer in their outgoing mail, with the agreement that you do the same, they can reach a whole new group of prospective clients, for a very low cost.
- Use the phone as a marketing tool-You can train your staff to answer the phone by announcing your newest marketing offer. However, you should make it blatant, but instead use a phrase that prompts the caller to ask the employee about the offer. For example-You can have your employees offer the phone by saying, "Good afternoon, this John with Widget, Inc. be sure to ask me about our special offer of the week". The bottom line in order to effectively use the phone asa marketing tool, you will need to make sure that your offer is aggressive and has a fairly quick expiration date, in order to increase the sense of urgency, for your customer.
- Stick it on-Another low cost marketing tool, is to use stamps, sticker and even handwritten notes, on your outgoing mail. Whether you are sending a regular business mail, or a direct mail effort, every piece of mail that leaves your business should announce the latest offer in some way. Studies have shown that when businesses put a handwritten message or sticker on the outside of an envelope, that is what their customers will read first. Keep in mind, however, that you will need it to be short and able to be read within 10 seconds.
- Follow-up with your customers-The easiest people to market to, are those that have just bought from you. If you follow up with your customers immediately after they have made a purchase, you are doing two things, first, you are showing them how much you appreciate them, and you are taking advantage of a marketing opportunity. This is a fairly easy marketing strategy to do. Simply send your customers a thank you, for their recent purchase and include a coupon, for a set percentage off of their next purchase. Remember, that the coupon should have an expiration date, in order to create a sense of urgency.
- Send out newsletters-Many businesses shy away, from using this type of marketing tool, because they feel that newsletters are too expensive to produce. However, today more and more customers are turning to e-newsletters to cut down on the costs of production. This is also a cost effective tool, to market to your current customers. You can also use your newsletter to focus on your current customers which helps to build customer satisfaction and loyalty.