8 Marketing Rules For Small Businesses

True, the constant drumbeat of uncertain economic news can be disconcerting. For many small businesspeople, the uncertainty can be so unnerving it leads to fear. But fear can be healthy if used as a motivator to act.

And act you should.

In small business marketing, here are the eight best practices:

1. Your first priority every day should be to market your business.

Avoid complacency. Even on the bad-hair days, don’t let up. Even when revenue is good and you’re really busy, don’t get complacent.

The point is this – decreasing your marketing investment to save money will hurt you both short and long term. Be relentless. Attack, attack and attack.

2. For cost-effectiveness, continually evaluate your marketing and related internal factors.

Evaluate your messages. You should have five influential value propositions with a three to five word branding slogan.

Don’t forget a logo. It should effectively tell your story and be simple.

Don’t forget a favicon a small-business must for instant credibility – small enough to be condensed in 16 x 16 pixels for your Internet identity.

If the ROI is insufficient, find out why and use an alternative. That goes for using the right mediums, too. Research what’s working and what isn’t.

Make changes where necessary, including in customer service. Why? Consumer attitudes are changing.

3. Strive to reach your target five times.

In messaging, frequency counts with quality. In most cases, the buying decision is reached after the prospect experiences five positive messages.

For the best return on your hard earned dollars, you must build your brand as inexpensively as possible. For that you need to implement marketing essentials on a shoestring budget.

For many small businesspeople, the uncertainty can be so unnerving it leads to fear. But fear can be healthy if used as a motivator to act.

4. Use a diversified, integrated approach.

Whenever possible, remember a single marketing medium should not eat up the entire budget. You should have a marketing mix of public relations and paid advertising.

This is necessitated by consumer overload – customers act on messages from a variety of sources. For Internet dominance, think integration. This includes making your social media shine.

5. Have a social conscience.

Don’t under-estimate the power of cause-related marketing because it can get you a double-digit percentage in higher sales.

And it helps to be environmentally conscious, which means you’ll be able to expand your customer base by branding your business as green.

6. Get the right marketing help.

Enlist the aid of an objective expert who is focused on getting you an ROI. Use the right mediums, which might not be what your gut-instinct tells you about products, pricing and promotion.

Small business owners often make the mistake of spending money in the wrong places, not as investments in where their best prospects are. Startups especially have to preserve cash with the right steps.

7. Keep focused on winning the gold medal.

Many small business owners, especially startups, are too-concerned about the competition. Remember, you’re in a marathon race. Don’t be obsessive about looking over your shoulder to beat your competitors.

8. Be defensive – protect your turf.

In all sports, strong defenses win championships. Remember how much time and energy it took for you to get your best customers. Be a good steward of your assets to generate profits.

When faced with a choice – whether to chase new business or to take care of lucrative, repeat customers – remember loyalty is usually rewarded and leads to good word-of-mouth advertising.

You can actually invigorate sales with customer retention and referral strategies. Review your strategies for word-of-mouth advertising and customer service.

Stay focused for success. Good luck!

Glow Designz helps many businesses with all of their marketing needs. If you are having difficulty implementing a marketing strategy in your business, then contact us today and let us help your business.

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