For many new entrepreneurs, the idea of
marketing a business is an intimidating process which requires exorbitant
budgets and a specialist marketer to launch a marketing campaign which rivals
that of their larger, more established counterparts. The truth is however that the only difference
between the marketing campaigns of a recognized business versus that of a new
business is the scale. The most
important consideration for each campaign though, regardless of scale, is to
achieve the desired results from the activities undertaken.
New business owners today are at a major
advantage as there are countless elements available for marketing a
business. With new media technologies
now firmly established as a bona fide means of disseminating information
coupled with tried and trusted traditional marketing components, today’s
entrepreneurs have more flexibility in designing better integrated marketing
campaigns that gives the sense of a big-brand approach without expending half
as much resources as their larger counterparts.
Better designed marketing campaigns
target audiences directly and mean more visibility and bigger impact for the
business. New businesses that approach
brand marketing with big ideas and out-of-the-box concepts are more likely to
get noticed, increase their brand awareness and build a loyal fan base.
The notion that a big budget is required
for big impact branding has been dispelled time and time again. The successful marketing campaign of the 2008
United States election ran by the now President of the United States of
America, Barack Obama, was won utilizing an Integrated Marketing Communications
approach targeting different groups on multiple platforms. Obama through his brick-by-brick approach to
marketing himself was able to rise from a Chicago Senator to the highest office
in the world.
The internet which provides advertising
for pennies on the dollar in most cases offers a more targeted approach for
campaigns by utilizing demographic and geographic information to maximize on
reach. Likewise, traditional marketing
campaigns may be skewed to create big branding impact; the onus is therefore on
the entrepreneur to determine the scale and to create marketing campaigns which
leverage the product’s benefits and provides the requisite visibility for the
targeted audience.
So let’s talk about scale: As a new
business, marketing must definitely be part of your business plan however the
extent of the marketing activities depends on the needs of your business. Things such as the size of the business, the
industry, where the target audience is and what media outlets they utilize to
acquire information are critical in deciding the media mix to use. Importantly, with multiple media outlets, it
is easy to become confused and overspend.
Market research is therefore crucial to making strategic marketing
decisions.
The media mix that works best for a
restaurant will probably differ from the approach that will work for an
agricultural business. Before implementing
any advertising, marketing, public relations or social media campaign, find out
what approach will most effectively serve the company’s objectives. Each company’s
needs are different, which is why the selected approach must be individualized
and tailored to suit your specific business.
There are several approaches to
marketing that sometimes work on their own and other times work in conjunction
with a Public Relations campaign. A short marketing list would include:
·
Traditional
advertising (including print ads and commercials)
·
Online
advertising (including ads, banners, pop ups, etc.)
·
Direct
marketing (including flyers, mailers, etc.).
·
Traditional
public relations (including print, TV and radio)
·
Social
media (including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus, etc).
·
Email
marketing
·
Seminars
·
Workshops
·
Speaking
Engagements
·
Cold
Calling
·
Content Marketing
·
Digital
Media Apps
·
Mobile
Advertising
The important considerations are to know
what works for your company, your affordability and the kind of impact desired.
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