Ways to Market Business: Here Are Three Inexpensive Strategies...
With all of the pressures put on modern businesses by the
economy the cost of just keeping your doors open can be daunting enough.
However, no matter how easy it is to sweep it under the rug, marketing matters.
The problem is that most businesses lack easy, affordable ways to market.
Business, for most people, is about a product or service. It’s about customers.
Self-promotion can seem at times to be both undignified and daunting. However,
using the following simple strategies can get you the marketing exposure you
need at a fraction of the cost of hiring a marketing firm.
1: Talk to Clients
It seems so simple, but you would be surprised how many
people fail to make the connection between marketing and actually engaging with
their current clients. The people who already do business with you are those
most well-positioned to comment upon it and help to improve it. Though the
ideal way to get an honest assessment of how your current clients feel is
through an outside source, blind surveys are commonly used and easily
accessible through free or low-cost websites. This information is marketing
gold and, if properly implemented, can help you craft new strategies moving forward.
2: Get Creative
The largest problem that most businesses encounter is a lack
of ideas when it comes to ways to market. Business is not an idle, unchanging
world, but rather a dynamic roller coaster ride with twists and turns around
every corner. Your commitment to the changing dynamics in your field obviously
needs to be reflected in your product or service, but it also needs to shine
through in the marketing materials used to present it.
So, think of creative ways to attract attention. Rather than
a typical post card invitation, entice potential clients with details that make
your mailing stand out. Food-related businesses could send custom napkins, for
example. Look at others within and outside your industry to find ideas that
will help your marketing material stand out and stay on top of the minds of
your clients.
3: Embrace the Power
of Email Marketing
One of the most consistent mistakes that companies are
making these days is over-reliance on social media to get their word out. While
social media is on the list of ways to market, business cannot base their marketing
on social media alone. Rather, email marketing, that ‘old’ dragon is still the
king when it comes to attracting new clients and upselling old ones. Email
marketing is cost-effective, easy, and proven.
There are literally dozens of
programs out there that can make managing an email marketing campaign as easy
as crafting a Facebook update and that will yield a much larger return.
Though the pressures of every aspect of business constantly
weigh on us, the importance of marketing cannot be ignored, nor can the
importance of learning ways to market. Business is not as simple as making a
great product or providing a great service.
This needs to be combined with
efforts to promote that product or service in cost-effective and relevant ways.
These three strategies are merely a starting point, but following them will put
you leagues ahead of the competition.
