SME Marketing

3 steps to successfully market a small business

If you run a small business and lack experience in marketing, it can feel difficult to know where to get started – or even why to start in the first place. Effective marketing however is an investment rather than an expense, and can be crucial to growing any type of company.

Without marketing you’re relying on people to coming to you, and this will only get you so far. Many small businesses cite being unsure how to grow, but by putting your business out there, you’ll be better able to grow your brand awareness, engage new customers and ultimately drive more revenue.

Here are three key steps to help you start successfully marketing your small business.

Do Your Research

It’s worth delving into some market research before you start spending money on marketing. Market research can help you understand who your audience is, what their needs are, what marketing channels they’re more likely to respond to and more. It can also help you to think about what your competitors are doing and how you can stand out.

The way you market yourself will depend on whether you’re offering a product or service too, so consider things such as the messaging you will use and the actions you want people to take.

With your research done, you can combine it with your business goals to inform your marketing strategy and create a clear plan for the next year or even longer.

Build a Digital Presence 

No matter what you do, your business need to be online. It’s where most of the world is now, and thankfully digital platforms and channels have made marketing more accessible, more targeted and often more cost-effective too.

Start with showcasing your business on a small website or social media platform such as Facebook, then consider the marketing tactics available to you. Whether it’s social media advertising, search engine advertising or email, most are easy to get started with whatever your budget thanks to the variety of free training courses out there.

Analyse Your Marketing Spend  

Another benefit of digital channels is the wealth of data available. Rather than simply spending and hoping, you can use this data to analyse what effects your marketing efforts are having, optimise existing campaigns and inform them in the future.

While a lot of data is collected online automatically, it’s important to have the right tools set up to give you the most accurate picture possible. For example, installing ResponseTap software can allow you to link any calls you receive back to the marketing campaign or channel that led to it taking place. You can then allocate more budget to what is working and generate more revenue for less.

By following these three steps, you’re better placed to start using marketing to grow your business today.