Five Tips for marketing your small business

5 tips to follow to help you define what options you have for marketing your small business and how to plan and track your activities

1. Who are your potential customers?

Consider who you are targeting your goods or services at. What kind of people are they? If you are targeting businesses think about the types of people in the business that you need to target. What characteristics do they have? What else do they do? What hobbies might they pursue

2. Where are these potential customers be found?

Think about where the types of people you have identified could be found. Are they the types of people who belong to health clubs? Are they likely to play golf? Are they likely to visit DIY stores, sports good stores, book shops? What types of services do they use? For example Dry cleaners, accountants, etc.

Once you have identified both the type of person you are targeting and where they might be found you have some very useful information You can now target your advertising at these types of people and these places.

3. Look at your marketing options.

Low cost mass marketing includes:

Posters and flyers. Business cards. . Newspaper adverts Public Notice boards Etc.

Personal Marketing includes:

Networking events Business Clubs Joint Ventures Referrals. Etc.

Internet Marketing includes: Your website Free online adverts. Online forums Pay per click Etc.

4. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses

Look at what options are open to you and which ones are likely to reach your target audience. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses. If you are a fantastic presenter then getting up in front of a large group at a business club or large networking event is a fantastic way to get a very personal advertising message to a large group in a very time efficient way. This may not be the best approach for you if speaking in front of people is a terrifying thought.

To start with use those methods that play to your strengths while you consider how to address those areas where you feel weaker.

5. Build your plan, work and check it.

Build a plan of what marketing activity you will carry out each week and month. How many networking events will you go to? How many newspaper adverts will you place? How many posters, flyers or business.

Keep a track of what you do and what results you get. If possible put unique codes on your marketing material that people quote when they contact you so that you can track which activities generate what results. Keep a track of this.

A word of caution in your planning. Marketing activities can very quickly start to get expensive if you don’t keep a careful check on what you are spending. Establish your budget and stick to it.