I truly believe that marketing is a process, not something you do once or even occasionally. Effective marketing efforts are those that are planned, ongoing and consistent. A straightforward concept, yet many small business owners are not fully committed to this idea. The lack of building a marketing strategy into your business plan can affect the overall success of your business. Some things to consider:
1. Having a marketing plan and implementing it is as important as any other part of your business.
• You could have the greatest product ever invented or provide a vital service to local citizens, but it doesn’t matter if no one knows about it.
• A marketing plan can and should be adjusted to suit changing conditions.
2. Relying on one ad in your local daily or weekly newspaper to promote a sale or special event may bring a few customers to your door. But what if:
• someone doesn’t get his/her paper that day?
• someone reads the paper with the ad two days after your sale is over?
• your best customer doesn’t subscribe to the newspaper?
a. Frequency may seem like just another way for newspapers to increase their ad revenues. However, running smaller ads more frequently is a better use of your marketing dollars. Yes, it does increase your costs. But the more often they see your ad, the greater the chances they will remember you when they are in the market for your products or services. This “top of mind awareness” is a proven way to reach newspaper readers.
b. The same principle can be applied for other means of communication such as newsletters, fliers, posters, direct mail, e-mails, etc. Using a variety of methods ensures that more people see and remember the information.
3. Participating in a one-time promotion or event is a great way to get your business name in front of potential customers. But:
• After the promotion ends, what will keep those customers coming back?
• What if the event is outdoors and it gets rained out? If you spent your entire marketing budget on this one event, how do are you going to draw customers to your big holiday sale?
a. Ongoing promotions can bring people in throughout the year. Restaurants do a great job of changing things up with daily specials. You can continue to build customer interest with a variety of activities such as:
• special sales
• new product launches
• theme days
• seasonal celebrations
• guest speakers
• product demonstrations
b. Even if one particular promotion or event is unsuccessful, having an overall strategy will keep customers interested in your business for the long term. You do not need to spend a lot of money, but you do need to budget for the activities that you want to plan.