Market your Business Effectively

To bring customers to your small business, you need to market your business. What’s important to realize is that marketing isn’t just advertising in, say, the newspaper or through direct mail. It’s also word-of-mouth, networking through professional organizations, email, your website, and using social media such as Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube among others. It’s being available to your current customers and potential customers 24/7 through mobile access. Successful strategies involve tracking and analyzing your customers to anticipate their needs and shut down products or services that won’t. In short, marketing is how and what you communicate to your customers.

But before you reach out to those customers, you need a plan, one that clearly identifies how you differ from the competition, what your goals are for the year, who your customers are and what they want, how you’ll meet your customer’s needs, how you’re going to measure the results of your plan and what criteria you’ll use to identify a successful marketing plan. Ask yourself these questions and you’ll consolidate a unique brand message and establish your one-of-a-kind position in the marketplace.

Once you have a plan and a message, you can confidently broadcast it to your customers. Today, technology for small business has opened up a wealth of new ways to reach people. And often it can be cheaper and faster to leverage this technology to market your small business than through traditional advertising. The key is to know how to use this technology effectively. To learn more about the different elements that go into a strong marketing approach for your small business, both on- and offline, click on a category below:

Marketing online: With a high-speed Internet connection, email and a website, you’ve got the foundation for digital marketing. Now you can reach customers and demographics that live online.

Small Business Website: Your website is your business’s second storefront (or, in some cases, its only storefront). Learn how to create yours and do it right through search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).

Email Marketing: See how low cost email newsletters and promotions can drive new business.

Social Media: Used correctly, social media can strengthen loyalty and word-of-mouth through a two-way dialogue between you and your customers.

Wireless: A business that’s mobile is one that can promote itself anytime, anywhere. No need to wait until you get to the office to send out an email announcement or update your website.

CRM (customer relationship management): Combine sales, marketing, and customer service data and programs into one integrated tracking system that targets new customers and helps you keep the ones you have. This includes tracking the effectiveness of your website and any other on- or offline marketing efforts

Offline Marketing: As a small business owner, you face a slew of marketing options such as business cards, coupons, the phone book and even sponsorship of a Little League team.

An IT consultant, such as our Community Representative, can help you navigate your way to an integrated marketing solution that works for you and your small business.

Download these tips and more with our Marketing Your Business Effectively Brochure.