Starting a new business is daunting as there is so much to do, including learning the art of marketing.
Finding your niche, getting the funding to begin and plucking up the courage to step out are often the first barriers to starting up.
But once you have launched, who is going to pay for your services or products? How are they going to know about you? It comes back to the secret sauce of any successful business: marketing.
How do you market your new venture?
Here are our marketing tips:
1. Budget
You will only get out of marketing what you put into it, so make sure you set aside a budget to get your name out there. It’s said that most successful companies invest 5 to 7 per cent of their turnover on marketing. Without a plan, the tendency is to be reactive, but if you have a budget and a strategy, you will get a more focused and targeted approach.
2. Branding
Branding isn’t just about a logo, it’s about expressing the identity of your business. And this takes time to carve out and develop. At the heart of branding is value (perceived or real). Value sits in the mind of the consumer; there is no brand value if your customer isn’t paying a premium or selecting your product on preference or word of mouth. If this doesn’t exist, the only thing you have to go on is price. So think branding!
3. Web marketing
It sounds straightforward, but most marketing is done online these days. So, you need a website detailing your product or services, your prices and what you offer. It needs to be simple, easy to use and should direct users to your social media channels. It’s also important to bear in mind Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This means that through key words and other strategic moves, you can get further up Google’s and other search engine rankings. This is key to standing out from the crowd.
4. Social media
Most of the world now uses social media, so you should certainly have a presence on these channels. You can either do this by posts (these are free) or by paid for adverts. With the latter, you can target your audience and reach specific groups of people – even focusing on certain age groups and locations. This is very useful if you have a niche product that you want to get exposure to a particular audience.
5. E-mails
One survey claims e-mail is 40 times more effective for customer acquisition than social media. While it was at one time deemed old fashioned, e-mail marketing is back with a bang. You should always keep e-mails to the point, personalised and clear. It’s very easy and tempting to unsubscribe to e-mail marketing and then you might have lost the customer forever. So be smart and don’t bombard people too often.
6. PR
Bill Gates once said if he had one dollar left he’d spend it on PR! You should never underestimate the influence of the media. By getting some press releases written and sent out (you might want to look at hiring an agency for this) you will be able to get your brand exposed in media outlets, and who knows, you might even get a slot on local radio or in the newspaper!
If marketing is new to you are you want to understand it better, RCP21 could help you. Contact us and ask about our PEAT Project.
