Marketing Your Small Business: TGIF!

By Kim Deppe
It is Friday, and a good time to look back over the week and cherish your accomplishments, figure out where you could have improved, and then set your sights on the week to come. How many of us really do that, though? Do you do it once a month, or once a quarter? How about once a year?

It might seem an odd way to "do marketing" but reflection and thinking are an important part of your marketing efforts. We have fancier marketing jargon for the process - we call it research, analysis and planning - but the truth is that small business owners can just stop and do some thinking and accomplish the same thing. And it does not have to be a long, involved process. In fact, a few minutes each week can help you stay ahead of your marketing and stay on track with your plan.

Here are a few things to think about:

1. Did you get new customers this week (month, quarter)? If so, where did they come from and how did they find you? You may have some people to thank for making referrals. You may need to look at your advertising budget and put more money into things that are working, less money into things that are not working. If you did not get more customers, try to think about why that happened. Look at everything from your sign out front to the design of your website. If you have a store front, make sure your hours are a match to your customers. I cannot tell you how many small businesses I see that close up shop just as all their customers are getting home from work and could do a little shopping or run their errands.

2. How many people visited your website and how does that compare with last week/month/quarter? If you don't have Google Analytics or some other website tracking method, I encourage you to take care of that right away. Google Analytics is free and it will give you great information about traffic to your website. If your traffic is dropping off, consider some pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and make sure your content is fresh, interesting and relevant to your customers. Your website is often the first time a customer encounters your business - make sure it really represents your business well.

3. Did sales improve? If you have e-commerce on your website you can analyze sales quickly and see what products are selling and which are struggling. Use that information to guide you in future promotions and product choices. If you only sell from a physical location, look for trends in traffic flow to the store, days and time of day when things sell, etc.

4. Ask yourself what you did well and what you need to improve upon. This is especially tough for businesses like mine that are a one-person show because it means we have to analyze our own behavior. But an honest appraisal can help you spot little issues before they become big problems. It is also a great way to acknowledge what you did well - when you are your own boss, you need to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while, too!

5. What needs to happen next week/month/quarter? Think about the changes you want to make in your marketing efforts - blog more often, tweet more, start a new PPC campaign, etc. Write them down somewhere and put some deadlines on them. You don't have to have a fancy marketing plan but if you want some guidance on creating a basic plan, there is a free download on my website that will help you. Look for the big red button that says "Free Download."

Happy Friday!

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2013

Here comes the new year! And, of course, it is a great time to plan for the coming 12 months and figure out how to market your small business. If you happen to be one of those small businesses that does not have a lot of money for marketing, here are a few ideas for you to consider in 2013:

1. Set aside a small budget for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising each month if you can. This is especially critical if you have an online store, but it can be a great way to drive traffic to any website. You don't have to spend a lot of money, even $50, $75 or $100 a month will create results. You can buy search ads on Google, Bing/Yahoo and other sites, as well as place ads on Facebook. Twitter is planning to introduce this service soon, too.
2. Use social media regularly. Post every day if you can to keep your name "top of mind" among customers. Make sure you invite your customers to "like" you on Facebook and "follow" you on Twitter. Google+ is another growing social media site where people can share information about your business. Set up Foursquare and encourage people to check in at your location, if you have a retail business.
3. Use press releases to share news about your company. Local newspapers, radio stations and TV stations are hungry for local news. Just be sure it IS news - a new service you provide, a new location you have opened, etc. Write a brief news release and send it out to the editors of your local media. It is OK to follow up if you like, but don't make repeated calls or e-mail contacts.
4. Think about direct mail. This tactic is still effective even in this digital age. You can target individual neighborhoods using either the US Postal Service or a mail house. It can be an inexpensive way to get your name in front of potential customers, but make sure you have a compelling piece that will grab attention.
5. Take advantage of your local Chamber of Commerce events and other networking opportunities. After hours events, expos and luncheons can all be excellent opportunities to tell others about your business and generate referrals. 

Making sure you have a plan for your marketing is also very important. I have developed a guide that helps small businesses create a marketing plan that is available at no charge. Just E-mail your request for "Marketing Plan Guide" to Kim@DeppeCommunications.com

Do it Yourself?

We live in a DIY (do-it-yourself) age, a time when entire cable TV channels are dedicated to helping you fix stuff, bake stuff, make stuff, paint stuff and re-arrange stuff without the help of an experienced professional. Big box retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's are pretty much located in every town and staffed with people to help guide you with your projects.

So it is easier than ever for us to think that we can pretty much do anything ourselves. There is so much help and information available on the internet and on TV that we can learn many things. But that doesn't mean we still don't need professionals to help us sometimes. As one of my small business colleagues likes to say, electrical work is not a hobby.

And neither is Marketing. Those of us in the field not only have specialized education and training, but plenty of in-the-field experience learning what works and, more importantly, what doesn't. But it can be tough to sell a small business owner on the value of spending their money to hire a marketing professional. After all, people are crawling out of the woodwork to help them for free.

Yes, the local newspaper sales rep will get your ad designed for free. The cable TV folks will do a 30-second commercial for you at no charge when you buy the airtime. Radio ads can be scripted and recorded at no charge by the station when you buy the spots. It goes on and on. So what's not to like?

Well, the truth is that you almost always get what you pay for. In this example, you would end up with a hodge-podge of messages, designs and what we call "look and feel" to support your brand. Without a coordinated approach, there won't be any consistency to your marketing and then you might as well be throwing money out the window.

Harsh? Yup. But the truth is that letting sales people determine your marketing message and design is like handing over the keys to your car to a complete stranger. It might come back safely, but you just don't know. That's why hiring a marketing consultant, ad agency or PR firm is a great move for small business owners. Small business marketing is just like other kinds of marketing, just using a smaller budget. It doesn't mean the strategies or tactics are any different. Marketing that works for a large, multi-specialty medical practice also works for a one-woman practice. As my father used to say, "it's the same thing, only different."

When you think about how you are going to market your small business, I encourage you to think about your overall budget first. What are you willing to spend, and what can you afford? Then, talk to a consultant or agency and see if they can help you while staying within that budget. If it's the right firm, I know the answer will be yes.