The basics of small business marketing

Small business owners often feel that they cannot afford to take and money, to market their business. The reality is that if you are a small business owner, who is interested in growing your company, you can't afford not to market to your potential customers. The desired end result of marketing is the ability to understand your customers' needs, and develop a plan that surrounds those needs. If you want to grow your business, then the most effective way to do that is by focusing on organic growth. You can increase growth in four different ways. They include:

• Acquiring more customers
• Persuading each of those customers to buy more products
• Persuading each of those customers to buy more expensive products, or up selling each customer
• Persuading each customer to buy more profitable products
• All four of these methods will increase your revenue and profit. However, the most profitable way is to focus on acquiring more customers.This is because by acquiring more customers, you will then increase your customer base, and your revenues then come from a larger base. Effective marketing can help you do this when you follow these steps-
• Spend an adequate amount of time researching, and then create a strategic marketing plan.
• Make sure that you guide your product development, to reach out to customers you aren't currently attracting.
• Carefully price your products and services so that they are competitive.
• Always develop your message, and materials based on solution marketing.

When it comes to your potential customers, you cannot overestimate the importance of target marketing. This is important because there is only a proportion of the population that is likely to purchase any products or service. By focusing your sales and marketing efforts, to the correct niche market, you will be more productive and not waste your efforts, time, or money.

Many small business owners mistakenly assume that they can follow the marketing plan of their larger competitors. This is unrealistic for many reasons. The major reason being if you are like the majority of small business owners, your marketing budget is limited. Studies have shown that the most effective way to market a small business is to create a well rounded program that combines targeted sales activities with your marketing tactics. Keep in mind that your sales activities will not only decrease your out-of-pocket marketing expense, but also adds the value of interacting with your prospective customers and clients. Best of all this interaction will provide you with research that is priceless.

Do not let the limitation of a small business marketing budget, keep you from thinking creatively and out of the box. You can launch your marketing campaign by doing one of the following:

• Send your existing customers' referrals and buying incentives.


• Consider the benefit of Public Relations-Free publicity has the potential to boost your business. By doing this you position yourself as an expert in your field.


• Invite people into your place of business by piggybacking onto an event. Is there a concert coming to town, are you willing to sell those tickets? It could mean free radio publicity.


• Call your vendors or associates, and ask them to participate with you in co-op advertising.

Remember that you are only limited by your own creativity. There are not set rules, when trying to decide the best way to reach your target market.

As a final not, you should remember that when you do spend money on marketing, do not forget to create a way to track those marketing efforts. You can do this in a variety of ways such as:coding your ads, using multiple toll-free telephone numbers, and asking prospects where they heard about you. This enables you to notice when a marketing tactic stops working, and then quickly replace it, with a better choice or method.