It’s every new business owner’s Catch-22: getting word out that you have set up shop, but not having any money to do it. You need customers to create the money to market the business, but to get customers you need to tell them you exist!
Before you do any sort of marketing, you need to work out your strategy by answering the following questions:
- What do you want to achieve through your marketing? For instance, is it to build your brand, attract customers, or tell potential customers you are there?
- Who is your target market? Such as business mums, teenage boys, men aged 25-40 years.
- What is the best marketing method for your business? For example, brochures, website, direct mail or networking.
- What are you going to say? Will your marketing include a special offer, opening specials, or your business tagline?
- What makes you special? Work our your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that makes you stand out from your competitors, such as “We are a networking group for business mums” or “We only sell Fairtrade products”.
Once you know what you want to say, to whom and how, you are ready to get started on the marketing itself.