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MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS

Marketing your business is all about getting it known to potential customers and clients, building an image and a reputation.

Marketing is not just about running flash ads in the local newspaper for a couple of weeks, but a regular and ongoing effort which can show in the way your premises, vehicles, staff, stationary and packaging look to customers and clients, and the image they display about you and your business.

A bad image means poor sales or worse still no sales.

Marketing is the front, the introduction to your business wares whether they be goods or services.

Selling, the closing of the deal and getting a sale or an order, or contract come AFTER marketing has done its job, although many see it as the same.

If marketing is poor then sales will be poor. First class marketing and image building is essential to both new, fledgling and ambitious companies.

You can overspend on marketing and get suckered into many deals and costs which are unnecessary, here are some typical low cost ways of launching a new business;

• decide on a BUSINESS NAME that is ideally unique and distinctive. Often owners use their own name (family or first name) e.g. Macy's, Maurice's or a product e.g. "ElectraMop" if they have a business based on a single product. Or they may combine a name with their business e.g. Tony's Electricals.

• a distinctive trade mark or logo may be useful to protect and re-enforce the business name.

• consider a simple web site and domain name applicable to your business and area www.smith-plumber-rochdale.co.uk tells a lot.

• Get a phone installed and an answering service so no calls are missed, record a sensible message, and ideally have a dedicated business line to avoid it getting or being tied up on personal calls by your family.

• get a mobile phone and ensure you have a answering service active to ensure you can always be reached or messages left. You cannot afford to miss an enquiry which may be significant, possibly a big order.

• use email especially if you are trading over a wide area or with companies. Use your domain name for emails and set them up for different departments sales@, orders@ and avoid using your own "real" personal email address. This gives a more professional image and reduces potential spam (see target ="new" http://www.mobilenumbers.org.uk/iop our sister site.

• press release - if your business is newsworthy a simple letter to the editor of the local newspapers could get you a free article. Repeat this at various stages of the business growth.

• simple low cost regular ads in a classified section of local high circulate local newspapers if you have a small locally based business.

• If you have a larger budget and sell national consider display type ads, but run a "test ad" first and drive a hard deal with the newspaper to get a good rate. Avoid series "deals" which can tie you in to a lot of expense before results are proven. Take advice over the ads content.

• if your product or service is related to a particular business sector then target them via trade magazines or direct mail. Magazines are preferred as they often get retained and can have high readership per copy. You can also use press releases to trade magazines too especially for new product launches.

• get some business cards printed and put them in local supermarkets or high traffic shops, hand them out where ever you can.

• talk about the business wherever and whenever you can, without being a bore. One millionaire who was struggling with his new business met a man in a bar who invested £50,000 in his business after they got chatting. Proof you never know what waits you around the corner!

• advertise on company vehicles the business name, contact details and what the business does.

• read up on marketing ideas and strategies via our Books and Guides section.

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Please feel free to Contact Us with questions or to give us information to add to our knowledge base.