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Revamping your marketing

In today’s competitive environment, great team members and a killer product just aren’t enough for a small business to prosper – great marketing is also a key ingredient in most small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) success stories.

Market your business properly, and clients will come – and stay. However, fail to properly package your enterprise, and even the most appealing product will soon lose its luster. While to some degree marketing is dictated by the nature of a business, Robert Middleton, of Action Plan Marketing, says there are certain tips to keep in mind that can give any operation a boost.

First, it is vital that any business – from the single employee operation up – develop and maintain a system of keeping in touch with both established and prospective clients. Middleton argues that following up on potential clients underpins most successful businesses, and “the solution is a keep-in-touch program.” And this needn’t be overly onerous. “A simple email newsletter is one cost-effective way you can keep your name in front of clients and contacts.”

Added to the importance of client communication is the value of referrals. Middleton says that current clients are one of the small business owner’s most valuable resources. “Referrals from satisfied clients are potentially powerful sources of new business. An associate recently informed me that by adding a simple referral generation system to his procedures, his qualified referrals went up dramatically.”

And do those businesses that have already achieved success still need marketing? Certainly, says Middleton, emphasizing that a failure to constantly innovate can be detrimental to even the most robust of operations. “You always need to test new promotional methods,” he stresses.

However, knowing the importance of marketing doesn’t count for much if a small business isn’t able to master the techniques that good marketing involves. So what steps can an organization take to make sure that marketing remains a priority? According to the website entrepreneur.com, brainstorming is one of the skills that is central to many SME marketing strategies.

This skill generally relies on being able to suspend criticism, receive others’ ideas openly and identify challenges as much as possible. It’s here that the link between marketing and other aspects of a small business emerges. By harnessing resources such as team members and existing clients, the foundation for great marketing can be laid. Despite all these ideas, however, the immediate difficulty for many small businesses may be one of money.

On a limited budget, and with low profit margins, how can you devote adequate energy and resources to ensure your marketing strategy is a success? A restricted budget isn’t necessarily an impediment to successful marketing, according to Kim Gordon, marketing coach and author of ‘Bringing Home The Business’ (Perigee Trade Paperback, 2000).

Indeed, Gordon says that effective marketing isn’t usually achieved by financial expenditure alone. Rather, you should focus more on originality and a memorable message. “Marketing doesn’t have to cost a lot to have a big impact,” says Gordon. “Thinking outside the box – from outlandish stunts to quirky grassroots marketing – can make your company stand out. The challenge lies in making your promotion memorable, consistent with your company’s image, closely linked to your product or service message and, above all, motivational.”

Gordon stresses that promotions like this, which involve a degree of creativity or originality, will often result in a memorable experience for the customer – and therefore increase the likelihood they will return. Gordon adds that it is vital that you have a long-term marketing plan as a base for individual promotions. “The bottom line is to have a theme you can support with other tactics, not just a single event,” she says. “Then get creative by combining fun with customer involvement, and you’ll grab attention and make your message stand out.”