Top Marketing Tips for New Business Owners….and a reminder for existing Owners!

It’s easy when you first start your business to think that customers are just going to flood in to buy your amazing products or services. However, all businesses need marketing – it really isn’t a dirty word but is essential for business growth!

Here are my top marketing tips for new business owners. I hope they are also a reminder for existing owners who may want to take a fresh look at what they are doing.

All marketing should be done with the idea that you want to build brand awareness while earning attention and making connections for the future.

All marketing should be done with the idea that you want to build brand awareness Click To Tweet

In this way, when you actually advertise or try to sell something to your audience, they already feel as if they know, like and trust you.

Create a Marketing Plan

Your first step toward marketing a new business is to create a marketing plan. A marketing plan will include the following:

* A short description of your company
* Your mission and goals
* Your core money-making focus
* Where you are today in the market
* Who your competitors are
* Who your target market is
* The marketing mix
* The strategy and tactics you plan to use to reach your audience
* A schedule to implement
* Your overall budget

It’s important to do this because, without a plan, you’re far less likely to reach the destination you hoped you would.

Without a marketing plan, you're unlikely to reach the destination you hope for Click To Tweet

Create a Marketing Strategy and Tactics for Each Channel

If you plan to have a marketing mix of a website, a blog and social media along with offline marketing such as TV advertisements, radio and newspaper, you need to write it all down and create a special strategy and tactics for each. Your marketing mix offers different ways to reach your audience as it should, but they can’t all live together in the same individual strategy, and your tactics will be different for each channel and subchannel.

For example, your Facebook marketing strategy. While it falls under social media marketing, it will not look the same as your Twitter strategy or your LinkedIn strategy, because they’re as different as a night and day.

Be Realistic about Your Budget

If you, like most small businesses, have a small marketing budget, it’s important to focus on what works. In this case, social media and online marketing are going to be more effective for your business because it costs a lot of money to get involved with TV advertising.

If you cannot do something right, don’t do it. It will end up a waste of time and money. The same goes for pay-per-click advertising. If your budget is small, it may not work for you. Small budgets should stick to marketing that is almost free other than the time you spend.

Small budgets should stick to marketing that is almost free other than the time you spend. Click To Tweet

Create an Awesome Website

Don’t skimp on your website. Today, you can make an excellent website without much knowledge using self-hosted WordPress. You can even hire someone for about £500 to build a good website using WordPress as long as it doesn’t have too many bells and whistles like forums, membership options, and shopping carts.

So be realistic about that, too. If you need those things, spend the money that needs to be spent to ensure the website works. Many businesses fail before they get started due to a bad website.

Don’t Forget Social Media

You also need to create social media accounts. Fill out the profiles completely and consistently – include a header image, a profile picture, and contact information. Remember, this is sort of like a resume for your customers. If you hide who you are, and aren’t “real,” they’re going to ignore you as if you aren’t even there. You want people to learn about your business so be yourself, be likeable, and be trustworthy and accurate in your representation of your business.

If you’d like to learn more about planning your social media marketing, take a look at my previous blog, How to Plan your Social Media Marketing.

On social media you want people to learn about your business. Be yourself. Click To Tweet

Start Networking

While it can be very tempting to not go out and sit behind a computer all day, one of my top marketing tips is not too hide. It really does help to go out and start networking. Don’t only network online.

Don't hide behind your computer - get networking and test your products and services Click To Tweet

Find out where the people you want to reach get together, there are so many good networking groups out there. Check out who goes to each meeting, and why. Focus on the groups comprised of those most likely to respond to your products and services.

Then go and make friends. Make sure you make time for the 1-2-1s with those you meet as that’s when you really find out both how they can help you and how you can help them. Because that’s how you start building the trust you need with a new client.

These are my top marketing tips for you to help build your business if you’re just starting out. Or use these as a refresher if you’ve good out of the habit of marketing or planning!