If you’re setting up in business, you’ll know how important marketing is to your prospects of success. The trouble is, marketing has become such big business in its own right that it can be confusing and overwhelming for business owners. Faced with so many different forms of advertising and promotion that you could employ, it can be tempting to plump for a few strategies you’ve heard are likely to work, without properly assessing what would be most effective for your business.
Online
You have probably read that websites and multiple social media accounts are essential to getting your business visible online. Big companies’ sites have increasingly long strings of social media links, but if you’ve looked at setting up an account, you will appreciate that it takes time and effort to run a social media campaign effectively. It’s far better to limit your presence to a couple of accounts and keep them up to date and interesting than to have an account for every platform and not have time to post on them regularly. Your website is the first thing people will go to when they hear about you if they are interested in what you do. A mediocre quality, badly maintained and uninformative site will put potential customers off, so if you don’t have the skills or the time, find someone who can create a suitable site with all the functionality you need. In order to be found if people are searching for the service or product you sell, you need to have your site optimized for search engine retrieval. There are elements of this you can do yourself, but for maximum impact, a professional SEO service is worth considering. Another idea would be a press release service such as prmarketer.com to announce your presence to the world.
Real world
Events and trade shows are a great shop window and networking opportunity, so if there is an event that would be a good fit for your business, find out how to book a stand. The events you attend need to be pertinent to your business and provide an opportunity for you to showcase your business. There will be an element of expense involved, so check on fees and booking conditions before you commit. The traditional forms of advertising like flyer distribution and local paper ads and features are still surprisingly effective, and if you have a business that is likely to receive most of its trade from the local area, these methods are sound options. Similarly, local shows and events are ideal marketing opportunities if your business has a local focus.
When considering your marketing strategy, think about who you want to reach and what you want them to know. However great your product or service is, you won’t get any clients unless they know about you and are motivated to buy what you are selling. Don’t get too bogged down with worrying about multiple forms of marketing, start with a simple strategy that you can manage effectively, then evaluate how well your strategy is working so you can find out where you need to make changes.