Marketing Your Small Business

According to The United States Small Business Administration, small businesses account for more than 99% of the unique businesses in the country and provide jobs for more than 50% of the private sector. Some are involved in small business because they prefer to work for themselves. Others don’t mind having a boss but would rather work in a more familiar environment. Whatever the reason, small business is a prevalent force in the United States’ economy. If you are involved in one, then you know how customer-dependant your business is. This may sound simple minded, but consider that business seasons and other environmental factors can realistically be less harmful to franchises that are most often backed by corporate budgets. If one store is down, but another is picking up the slack, they cancel each other out as part of something greater than their individual initiatives. For those of you that own or operate a small business then you understand how nice that kind of cushion would be at times. Important buzz-building, traffic-driving marketing is critical to keep you on the path that will ultimately increase your bottom line – in good times and in bad.

Marketing can be a true lifeline for small business. It is one of the factors that can directly and indirectly lead to increased revenue and profitability. A small business must approach marketing form a different standpoint than a large one. Small business deals with leaner budgets and often more precisely targeted customers. Large businesses can afford a variety of marketing outlets and can step outside of targeting specifically in an effort to attract new customers. Small business must think about what they do, how they do it and ultimately who they do it for. Here are some tips to consider when putting together your small business marketing plan.

Tips to market your small business

Establish you presence- You have likely already chosen your location. Ideally you are easily accessible to your customer base. You need to make sure that they see you.

• Is your physical location physically visible? If not ensure that you have signs that announce your presence.
• You also need a virtual presence. If you have not done it already, set up a website and maintain it. You may opt to pay someone who knows more than you to do this for you. This is not a bad idea as web knowledge can get very deep very fast. Remember, people take to the internet when making purchasing decisions these days, whether you do or not.

Find your best customers- As you are involved in running the business, you know who your best customers are. These clients use you regularly and constitute a considerable portion of your overall revenue despite the fact that they may not be a considerable number of your total customers. These people are extremely important.

• Get to know them! Find out personal things about them that you can include into regular interaction. This will help you communicate with them on a more personal level and help you to find ways to please them while you are doing business. These factors combined will help you to keep them and their revenue.
• Ask them for referrals. These customers are coming back because they like your business and think that you do a good job. Ask them to refer their friends and colleagues that can use your services. Word of mouth is the best advertising and there is no shame in asking for it.

Position yourself- In marketing terms, positioning means to present yourself so as to communicate how you are different from your closest competitors. This seems basic but many businesses fail to do it.

• You can start as early as choosing a name. Think of something memorable that clearly describes your business. Carry this attitude and idea of your business over into communicating with customers. Describe yourself in your chosen way when talking in person or placing written content on your website.
• Making friends with non-competitors is another way to do this. Find other small businesses that you feel have the same “feel” as yours and that share similar customers. Partnering with them for promotions is a great way to find new customers that match your target market and making connections with fellow business owners can lead to new opportunities down the road.

This is not a comprehensive marketing plan but it is a good start. Take these thinking points and decide how they can be applied to your business. These tips all focus on low to no monetary cost techniques. As a small business, see what you can do for yourself without spending a lot of money first.