Today, we continue our series on preparing your small business for growth. To recap, we began with Ready to Grow? and then covered the topics of location, equipment, inventory management and funding your growing business. Our focus this time is small business marketing.
Any good career counselor will tell you “If you want to get promoted, dress for the job you want to have.” The point being if you look more professional and successful people will start to think of you that way and when the opportunity for advancement arises they will consider you for the promotion. The same principle can be applied to marketing your small business. If you think small and act small it’s a lot harder to grow your business. Tailor your small business marketing campaign more like a larger company using the internet and local media, and you may be surprised by how quickly your business expands.
When you started your company you may have gotten by with word of mouth advertising, a few small local ads or flyers. If you want your company to grow you need to branch out and attract more customers. The good news is, there are several small business marketing strategies that can be implemented with very little upfront costs.
* Create a mobile website. Many users access content via mobile devices and having a website that is optimized for that format can provide enormous benefits.
* E-mail marketing is a very affordable way to reach out to prospective customers.
* Use social media. Create a facebook page and a twitter account for your business. Providing relevant content instead of just sales and promotional material will keep customers engaged.
* Invest in search engine optimization. Having a web page is great but you’re not getting the most bang for your buck if your page isn’t showing up among the first few options for your field of expertise.
Improving other marketing materials can have significant impact as well. Invest in slicker, more professional quality business cards, letterhead and other marketing materials. Having materials that look more professional creates a more positive impression of your company and that can really getting your company growing.
Check back with us soon as we continue our series on preparing your small business for growth. Next time we'll be discussing staffing challenges and ways to deal with them.
