Marketing a New or Small Business on a Budget
By John Sheridan |
There are almost as many opinions and views on marketing as there are
companies to market. The big names and multinationals will have an extraordinary
amount of funding set aside in which to convey their marketing message to the
masses.
The process will involve an inordinate amount of people,
multiple marketing agencies, countless ‘creativity’ meetings and thousands of
work-hours. From television adverts to full pages in the newspapers or glossy
magazines, brand names and logos jump out at us and are instantly recognisable -
such is the power of advertising on an extremely large budget.
Easily
missed then in this marketing free-for-all are the smaller or new businesses,
after the usually costly process of setting up a business with its requisite
equipment, and an office or other type of premises, there is usually little or
no funds available for marketing or advertising.
From the first trading
day of a new business enterprise, the going is tough. It is small wonder
therefore that most new businesses do little or nothing about marketing because
of what they see as prohibitive costs.
There are instances of course where
new businesses have originated from someone’s hobby or part-time occupation; in
these cases, the market is usually already there and forming a company was the
next logical step, immediate marketing was obviously not required to generate
the first customer.
There are many advertising agencies that say there is
no need for small businesses to spend a fortune on marketing. This is totally
true, but what money a small business does have to advertise should be spent
wisely and not just thrown at an agency that might end up failing to deliver.
There are far cheaper and more effective ways to get a business on the
map.
A website is essential to any business these days and will certainly
be an asset. However, your site will be one amongst many millions of others and
will not be of immediate use due to the nature of search engines and the way the
Internet works in general; therefore you will need to look to other methods.
One of the most important things to bear in mind is not to run before
you can walk.
Start small, start local. Unless you already have contracts
from further afield, there is no point in casting nationwide for business when a
vast amount is already likely to be on your doorstep.
Depending on what
type of business you run, leaflets and flyers to other businesses or homes are a
good way to get yourself known.
Always carry a business card with you
they are invaluable, you never know when you are going to meet someone who wants
printed contact details – hey presto! - Instant advertising.
If you have
access to a computer, join an online business forum. They are an excellent
source of information help and advice from people in the same situation as you.
Even those in the same line of business as yourself will usually be happy to
offer their help – don’t be afraid to take it, you can always return the
favour.
Contact your local Chamber of Commerce for practical sound advice
on any aspect of business. They are there to help and are extremely
knowledgeable and friendly people.
Business breakfast clubs are normally
held once a week in most towns and cities and are another rich source of
information and a great place to make contacts, again, don’t forget to take your
business cards with you.
The methods I have mentioned are by no means the
only ways to market on a budget and have no doubt been written about before, and
although they take lots of effort and are very time-consuming, they do produce
results.
New and small business owners can often be the most innovative
and creative marketers there are. They don’t have the huge budgets of the
corporate giants; they don’t have large teams of creative designers, advertising
executives, brainstorming committees, PR agencies or even a tea person! However,
enterprising cash-strapped individuals are constantly striving to invent novel
and cheaper methods of marketing their businesses, often with varying degrees of
success. What must be reiterated though is that marketing and advertising need
not cost a fortune, but can still be very effective depending on how you
approach it.
About the Author
John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and
website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small
copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted at: john@textcorrect.co.uk
website: www.textcorrect.co.uk
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