Marketing essentials A guide to marketing your small business
MGMKT001 JAN2017
www.fpb.org
A guide to marketing your small business The success of your business is based on attracting more customers and being able to incentivise them to return again in the future. Without marketing, your business will not develop, grow and prosper.
The reality If you are a small or medium-sized business (SMEs) you may struggle to put a marketing spend on your yearly budget, even though the majority of businesses believe their business would certainly benefit from the boost of income it could generate. This so called ‘boost’ could be more significant than you think. Research carried out recently confirms that every £1 spent on advertising and marketing benefits a SME eight times as much as it would a larger firm. Read this article to find out more. See the report in full https://www.marketingweek. com/2015/04/01/how-smes-can-make-marketing-add-up/
“Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.” The Chartered Institute of Marketing
We now know that there are tangible positive gains to a small business when they market themselves effectively. But where should a small business begin?
Where to start A good place to start is in the development of a marketing plan and a strategy which satisfy your business needs. Take a simple, focused and planned approach and be clever with your time and effort. Capture everything in a marketing plan and be mindful of the activity and cost to ensure you do not break the bank in the process.
How to write a marketing plan Make sure you allocate the time to write a detailed plan, it will pay dividends in the end. By writing a plan means you will have the solid foundation on which to build the business from. Things you will need to consider when constructing your plan include: • Setting clear goals and targets • Putting your customers at the heart of everything you do
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• Know your target market • Understanding that there is more to marketing than just advertising • Avoiding activity that does not clearly result in a positive end result in some form i.e. increased sales, profit, awareness, enquiries etc The Forum’s mini guide ‘How to write a marketing plan’ covers in detail the process of constructing a detailed and effective plan including: • What is marketing? • The importance of market research • Your target market • Defining your offer • Developing your brand • The 7 P’s • Promotional techniques • Measure your results • Be part of a growing business community
Now you have written your plan, what next? By appling the time and resources to your newly developed marketing plan it will help your bsuiness to reap the benefits and flouish. Doing this yourself and making sure you stick to the plan can often be more rewarding with far more benefits reaped in the long-term. Here are some suggestions to help you achieve these benefits: • Communicate the plan to everyone in the business. • Act on it every day. • Build a professional brand that stands out from the crowd and has meaning to you, your company and your customers. • Make sure your customers value what you have on offer. There is no point spending money advertising your business if no one wants your product or values what you do. Avoid this situation by researching your market and listening to your customers. • Create an exciting and memorable elevator pitch. Ensure you have a memorable response to the question ‘What do you do?’ and that you can succinctly deliver your answer in the time it takes to travel in a lift from one floor to another. • Build a brilliant website. This is your shop window and needs to clearly communicate what you do as well as giving value to your visitors.
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• Invest in professional, appealing, branded marketing materials. Ensure there is consistency across all your marketing materials – everything from your website, email signatures, business cards, sales brochures, letters, signage and uniforms. • Capture your customer’s details in a CRM database. All you need a simple database to hold the details that you need to know about as a business. Your customers present and past – and you need to capture your prospects too. A CRM database enables you to keep in touch with your customers via e-newsletters, emails, phone and social media. CRM’s can also track conversations and actions plus much more.
Ideas to help your business succeed Be bold in your approach and try experimenting with new things. This will help you to stand out from the rest of the market which can be the difference between business success and business failure. Try a few of these handy tips to see if they make a difference to your business? The bonus is they do not cost the earth. • Attend networking events. Get out there and network. People you meet can help you in all manners of ways and if you pick up a customer on the way then that’s a big bonus. • Do some PR. Public Relations will help you get your name up in lights and because it’s not paid advertising the message will be translated as being more meaningful and credible. • Use social media. Have fun by setting up social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. There are so many tutorials online to help set you up that it needn’t be scary. Have a bit of fun whilst you’re doing it and don’t forget to add that important personal touch. • Sponsor a local event or charity. Everyone benefits from this activity – your staff, your customers, the people you sponsor and the wider community. It makes you feel good and puts the name of your company out there. So what have you got to lose? • Host your own seminars and events. This is a great way to get to know people, make your best customers feel special and build deeper, longer lasting relationships. • Do some public speaking. Take a deep breath and get up on stage. Public speaking is a great way to demonstrate your expertise, build credibility and generate new enquiries from the audience, their friends and colleagues. • Find people to help you with some of the day to day stuff. This could be a uni student looking for some work experience or, if you need help with selling, you could hire somebody who is willing to work on a commission basis. • Develop a local group with other local small business owners to share ideas and to refer each other’s business. • Sharpen your online skills. Use Google Adwords, write blogs, use social media and promote your business on free online directories. • Enclose a small brochure, flyer or postcard in all your outgoing mail. This way you save on postage and potential customers have something tangible they can refer back to in the future.
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In the long term Make sure you always refer back to your marketing plan, track your costs vs budget and communicate with your customers. By planning and putting a few of these ideas in to motion, your business will have the foundation to grow, flourish and succeed.
Other mini guides of interest If you enjoyed the ‘Guide to marketing your small business’, then you will also benefit from reading: • How to write a Marketing Plan • A guide to Market Research • A guide to Social Media • A guide to Twitter • A guide to Facebook • A guide to LinkedIn
Others include: • A guide to web design • A guide to SEO
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