ED-Central


In This Issue


Last month, ED-Central featured "Creating the Small Business Marketing Plan: Part I - Pre-Marketing Plan Strategies," encouraging readers to take some time to describe their business in a quick, simple phrase that can be easily understood, even by people outside the industry. We also encouraged readers to define their target market and solicit the support of family and friends to accomplish both tasks. This month, we’ll build on the effort already made and present a practical plan and tips for marketing virtually any small business on a limited budget. The key is to keep it simple and manageable, and to be sure you invest your limited dollars where they can have the most impact on your bottom line.



- Demonstrate Your Product or Service
- Enlist the Support of Young Talent

Last month, ED-Central featured "Creating the Small Business Marketing Plan: Part I - Pre-Marketing Plan Strategies," encouraging readers to take some time to describe their business in a quick, simple phrase that can be easily understood, even by people outside the industry. We also encouraged readers to define their target market and solicit the support of family and friends to accomplish both tasks. This month, we’ll build on the effort already made and present a practical plan and tips for marketing virtually any small business on a limited budget. The key is to keep it simple and manageable, and to be sure you invest your limited dollars where they can have the most impact on your bottom line.

How and Where to Promote Your Business

Once you’ve determined who you are and who you want to serve (see Part I – Pre-Marketing Plan Strategies), it’s time to set out a plan for where you’re going to tell your story in order to reach the right people with the right messages. To keep things simple, we’ll limit our discussion to three key methods for getting the word out: print promotion, word of mouth and the Internet.

Print Promotion

Most people think of purchased newspaper advertisements when they think of advertising in a newspaper. These advertisements are often expensive and provide too little return on investment for a small business owner. A more effective method is to arrange to write a monthly column in the newspaper on a topic related to your business. If you own art gallery, for example, you could agree to write about various artists or about the type of art in your gallery.

At the end of the column, you can arrange to have your name printed and the name of your gallery. In some cases, the newspaper editor will not agree to print your name, only the article’s content. It is still in your best interest to write the article because it establishes a relationship with the editor. At some later point, this editor may want a quote from someone at an art gallery. You will be a logical choice.

Another way to promote your business is to have it listed any where that people may think to look for a list of your type of business. The phone book is the most obvious starting point. Beyond that, think about your community’s online or printed business directories and be sure you’re included.

Also, when planning your print budget, be sure to include funds for business cards, posters to promote events or speaking engagements you may participate in. It doesn’t take a lot of money and can do great things for getting the word out and keeping your name in front of your audience.

Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to promote your business. One way to get more people talking about your business is to be a guest speaker at local or regional events. Volunteer to give a speech that relates to your business, perhaps at a chamber meeting, philanthropic luncheons or special events.

Another way to use word-of-mouth advertising is to give a free demonstration or presentation. Targeting local schools is both a great public service and a good way to get free exposure. If you ask the school to send out a press release, you may even receive some media coverage. If your business appeals more to tourists, consider holding brief demonstrations on a weekend morning to draw in more customers. Be sure to let the local hotel reception desks know that you’re having the event so they can send people your way.

A final way of making word-of-mouth advertising work for you is to place business cards near the cash register. You may be surprised how many people will take a business card to give to someone they know. Some clever business owners even include a map on the back of the card so people know exactly where the store is located. This is especially useful for tourists who want to tell their friends about your store but are unfamiliar with the area.

The Internet

For some business owners a web site may seem like a luxury but in truth, if your customers cannot find you online, they may not find you at all. At a minimum, you should have a simple web page with a short description of services/products, hours of operation and contact information. If you have a tech savvy teen in our life, solicit their help to get you started online or search the web for one of the many companies that offer starter web development services.

If you’re already online, check to be sure you’re showing up in the first three pages of the most popular search engines – Google and Yahoo! are good places to start. Be sure when you search you use generic terms related to your business and not just your business name. Most of your prospect customers won’t have your name when they set out to find what they’re looking for. If you find that your business is not showing up, try using some of the tips in the article “Online Promotion in the Search Engine Age”

There are many ways to promote your business without spending much money. Once you have decided on the best methods for your business, document your plan and schedule your expenses according to your cash flow. You may find that you need a more robust web site, or a new logo so that your appearance reflects the quality product or service you are offering. By writing your plan, you’ll know how much money you need to set aside so you can get the help you need. You won’t be able to do it all at once, and you’ll want to remain flexible enough to take advantage of promotional opportunities that fit with your target customers but having the plan will keep you focused on your marketing objectives and will make it easier to measure the return on investment. Once you know which methods produce the best results for your business, you know where to concentrate your resources.

About the Authors: Joan Tatge (joantatge@adventgx.com) is Director of Communications with AdventGX Corp., an economic and tourism development consulting firm, and is the founder of Clarity Creative, a marketing, design and creative services firm specializing in providing professional and practical marketing communications solutions to small businesses and non-profits. Allison McKee is a marketing intern with the Texas Engineering Extension Service and currently pursuing her MBA with a focus on marketing brand management at LSU.





Demonstrate Your Product or Service

When it comes to getting the word out or helping potential customers understand and appreciate your product, few things are more effective than a demonstration or presentation. Volunteer to present or demonstrate your product, service or business expertise at the local chamber luncheon or with a regional professional group. Or, sign up to be a presenter in the local high school. When you make the presentation, provide the group or school with a press release and ask them to send it to the local media.

Enlist the Support of Young Talent

When you starting or operating a small business, you need all the help you can get. If you cannot afford to hire a professional marketing or web development firm, look to talented youth among your family and local community for affordable creative and technical services. The local high school technology or art teacher will know of students with the talent and work ethic to support your needs and you’ll be giving them the opportunity for real world work experience.