Creating a Marketing Strategy

Small business marketing involves gathering information about your potential customers and letting them know how your products or services can fill their needs. Although there is no fool-proof marketing strategy that will guarantee increased sales, there are some initial steps you can take to maximize your success.

Get to know your target market

Who are your potential customers? That is perhaps the most important question to answer before you begin to formulate your marketing strategy.

Take a look at the customer data you maintain with your small business software. Think about demographics, such as age, location and salary levels. Also consider what makes your potential customers want to buy. You will use this information to angle your marketing strategy at the right people, with the correct approach that will drive up sales to be recorded by your small business software.

Identify your niche

As a competitive small business, you need to show your potential customers that you are better than other firms in at least one specific area. Maybe you sell the most cost-effective wedding photo packages or you provide businesses with the largest selection of printer cartridges available online.

The key is to identify your unique selling point and make that the focus of your marketing strategy. Avoid describing your attributes too broadly and concentrate on the particular thing you know you do well.

Ascertain your objectives

Obviously, you want your marketing strategy to lead to increased sales. But how do you hope to accomplish this?

Maybe you want to reach out to new customers, or perhaps your goal is to increase the dollar amount spent or order volume of existing customers. Other objectives may be boosting name recognition or a focus on growing a specific target market - for example, by aiming to reach more online customers.

Use your small business software to write some clear and measurable goals for your marketing strategy, along with a timeframe for achievement. An example may be increasing brand awareness by 25 percent within six months or increasing sales on a particular product line by 10 percent during the next quarter.

Choose a marketing method

There are many different methods of marketing, with varying costs and advantages. Consider all aspects of your target market, budget, unique selling point and stated objectives before choosing the techniques that are best suited to your needs.

Some common marketing techniques include:

Radio or television advertising. Advertising on a local television or radio station is a great way to reach a large audience if you have the budget for it. Television advertising tends to be one of the most expensive marketing methods, while radio can cost significantly less.

Online marketing. This is a rapidly evolving realm of marketing, which begins with your own website. Tactics used in this area include search engine optimization and paid search. Some savvy businesses are also utilizing user-generated content, podcasts, blogs and web 2.0 technology to power their message.

Newspaper, magazine and phone book advertising. This approach can target a local audience, similar to radio and TV advertising, but can be considerably less expensive.

Direct mail marketing. Direct mail is another fairly inexpensive way to get your message out to a particular group of customers. This approach works best when you have a very specific target audience - for example, selling cleaning services to new businesses that have opened within the past 12 months.

Email marketing. A regular email newsletter including periodic special offers, interesting content and a personal touch can be a highly effective way to stay in touch with loyal customers. One major benefit of email marketing is that you are marketing to a group of people who have chosen to receive communications from you and are therefore more likely to be receptive to your message.

Press releases. You can conduct studies, comment on trends, announce a new product or offer advice in order to generate material for a press release. If you don't want to write the PR yourself, hire a freelance copywriter to do so. Distribute your PR through online channels, as well as sending to appropriate print and television news providers.

Offering expert knowledge. To many different groups, you could be considered an expert in your field. Think about how you can use your own knowledge - whether it is in new trends in landscaping or methods of removing fleas from dogs - to potential customers within your industry.

Remain committed

Marketing is not something you start up when times are tough and you need more sales, nor is it a luxury that can only be enjoyed in times of plenty. Instead, marketing is an ongoing project that should be amended and adapted as your situation - and the external landscape - evolves.