Marketing Your Small Business: Making the Most of Every Dollar

Congratulations! After years of dreaming of having your own business you have finally taken the plunge. For most, this is both an exciting and challenging time. Exciting, because it is about living your passion, whether that be financial planning, image consultancy, flowers, candles or PR. And nothing will ever beat the adrenalin rush of making your first sale when the sale is for you rather than an employer.

There is no denying however, that setting up a new business is also very challenging. There are so many things to decide and those decisions are crucial when the bottom line is your hip pocket! For many new businesses an area of great concern is marketing. It's one thing to put out your shingle but quite another to get clients. You think you should advertise but how? Print advertising, radio, TV? Would an ad in the local paper be best or what about the yellow pages? Should you have a website? What about sign writing on your premises or vehicle? At the very least you should have business cards and brochures, shouldn't you?

Rule No # 1: Get Clear About Your Business
The first decision to make about marketing is not to make any decisions for at least six months! It is far better to get clear about what your business is all about and what you want to achieve before committing large amounts of money to advertising. When you do take the plunge, you want to be sure that your efforts target those who would be interested in your services or product. After all, even major corporations invest in market research and client surveys before they spend huge amounts on advertising so consider this time a commitment to research your market.

Four years ago when Deborah Barit started Impressive Interviews, based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, she had a 'vague idea, a gut feeling' that her market would be women returning to the workforce and professionals of both sexes over the age of forty.

In fact, she has now identified two market segments: first job seekers under the age of twenty-five and people over the age of forty seeking promotion. They are often highly specialized individuals from a variety of professions, including medicine, law and Information Technology. These two very specific groups are reached using quite different marketing techniques and networks that Deborah could never have anticipated when she first started.

Referrals
Like many small businesses, Impressive Interviews gets most clients - Deborah puts the current figure at around 70% - through referrals. However, these referrals are often not direct, that is, a satisfied client telling another person who then comes to see her but more often, happen through networks of people, one person telling someone who knows of someone else who could use Deborah's expertise.

Kelvyn Steggles, who runs a business specializing in leadership development that provides consulting, coaching and workshop facilitation to individuals and organizations, confirms the importance of referrals and networking in building his fledgling business. " I don't really like self-promotion," says Kelvyn, " so I have had to find ways I'm comfortable with to generate clients." For him this includes belonging to organizations such as Toastmasters and developing networks of business and professional contacts.

Myth #1: Any Network is a Good Network
The importance for owners of small businesses to make contacts and build relationships is well documented. However, you could find yourself out every morning at a networking breakfast or every evening, 'doing the circuit' unless you clearly define who you want to reach, what you hope to achieve and research the groups out there that best suit your needs. 'Becoming known and broadening my reach' is the goal Kelvyn established for himself when joining his local Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Management and several formal and informal networking organizations. He says that rather than generating instant work, they are forums for meeting a variety of people.
"It keeps me in touch with the corporate world, the mainstay of my business."

Echoing the need to think 'local,' Deborah Barit belongs to the Eastern Suburbs Business Enterprise Centre (ESBEC) and EMAD (Employers Making a Difference), as well as several breakfast networking groups. She says since doing a course in small business through the ESBEC, she has had a lot of support, including mentoring and a mention on their website that has generated new clients.

She cautions that before paying expensive membership fees to networking groups you should make sure they suit you and your business. " I have left organizations that did not suit my business needs. A rule of thumb is to find groups that reflect your own interests, style and view of life. If nothing else, you'll enjoy going along to meetings."

Myth # 2: Any Advertising is Good Advertising
" Not so," says Deborah who admits to some expensive mistakes with promotion, including an ad in the Chinese Gold pages, hiring a PR company and asking her website designer to organize some print advertising. "Marketing is like going fishing," she elaborates, "if you want to catch fish, you've got to find the right spot."

For Deborah, the 'right spot' has been Yellow Pages Online, Call Connect (a phone information service connecting customers to three targeted businesses) and her own website. If print, radio or television marketing is to be successful, it has to be continued over a long timeframe to get consumer recognition. If you can only afford to place one ad in the local paper or buy a one-off radio spot, it will probably not be effective. If you do decide on a local paper campaign, make sure you ask for some free editorial with photos of you, your premises or product.

Myth #3: You Must Have a Website
You might be surprised by the number of successful businesses operating without a website. Recently I had freelance assignments with two medium sized advertising agencies. Neither company currently has an online presence.

Websites vary greatly in price - you could spend $10,000 or as much as $100,000. Before you commit to having an online business, do some research. Is your business likely to benefit from a website? If so, what are the elements it should have? Do you want to sell products online? Do you want to send out newsletters? How often will you need to update it? Talk to other business owners about their experiences. Interview several reputable designers, view their products and get written quotes, making sure you know what you are getting for your money. Again, make haste slowly!

Kelvyn Steggles agrees. He has decided to wait before investing in a website because he admits he does not have a feel for either scope or content. Deborah, however, took the plunge in July 2001 and generates steady inquiries from her site. She says one of the most successful aspects she has incorporated into her site, is a 'live' question and answer section that allows people to email her a question to which she sends a personal response. Although it is time consuming to answer every query, Deborah says this service has paid dividends, resulting in several new clients.

Rule No #2: Know Who You Are and Be Consistent
'Branding' refers to having an instantly identifiable 'look and feel' to all your marketing material, including brochures, business cards and website. Worthy of an article of its own, branding encompasses such things as logo, colours, slogans, even the font you use.

Both Deborah and Kelvyn have put some time, effort and money into establishing their 'brand,' although Kelvyn says his is still evolving. He started with the idea of assisting people to deal with the 'ups and downs' of life. At this stage he still had not decided whether he was a life, business or executive coach. In the end he felt happiest with the title 'leadership coach' and worked with a designer to create a contemporary and stylized image that depicts the role of leadership in times of change.

Likewise, Deborah is very happy with her logo, a cartoon birdlike character, carrying a rolled up resume under one wing and mobile phone in the other. She says, " My logo reflects how I do things. I am professional and committed to my client's success without being humorless or predictable. I focus on the individual. I also like the fact that my logo crosses all age, gender and race boundaries and no-one need feel excluded."

Both Deborah and Kelvyn have had positive feedback for their branding. However, they reiterate that it took time before they knew enough about their businesses to commit to a logo.

Whatever advertising or promotional material you eventually decide on, make sure it is strongly branded and consistent!

Be Patient
One of the most essential aspects to growing a business is patience. It can take time to become established and generate a client list. Staging your marketing commitments will not only help you be clearer about your business 'story,' it will assist with cash flow. Don't feel pressured to do everything at once and only make decisions to spend precious marketing dollars when you are convinced there will be an equivalent return. And never forget that the person who knows best about your business and its goals is YOU!