Small business owners need to know a lot about a lot of things. They need to know how to balance their books, how to run payroll and, most importantly, how to keep their doors open. One aspect of business management that is often a little more difficult to pinpoint is how to best market your brand.
Why is marketing so essential to small businesses? It is one of the most important aspects of actually growing the customer base and, in turn, growing sales. Every business owner needs to know at least the basics about marketing in order to be successful.
If you are a small business owner, start by adopting these four marketing principles:
- You need to know your customer.
Every good marketing program begins and ends with the customer. They are the lifeline that keeps your business going. Continuously asking yourself who your target customer is and how you can best reach them is one of the best marketing principles to embrace.
- You must get social.
If you aren’t on social media, you need to be. Social media is the new marketing mainstay and getting social is something every owner must consider. Creating a Facebook profile is a great place to start along with an Instagram profile and Twitter feed.
- You have got to know your strengths and weaknesses.
One of the best ways to market is to play to your strengths. But how do you accomplish that if you don’t know what those strengths are? Business owners need to be honest with themselves on what both their strengths and weaknesses are in order to achieve success.
- You want to think outside the standard marketing box.
Each business is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy that can be applied to everyone. Every company needs to approach their marketing efforts in a way that best matches their own goals, industry and the local community.
GMS is a marketing company offering advertising and printing services throughout the Chicago area. We provide our clients smart strategies for growing their brand and reaching their customers wherever they are. We have a proven track record of success helping our clients achieve better results using a comprehensive approach to their marketing needs.
Contact our team today to learn about our many services.
by Katie Zurawski
