BUS 211_Mrktng&Advtsng Springl 2006 Copyright. sjh

Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

WANTED:

CUSTOMERS

For a Lifetime!

This Certificate Confirms the Successful Completionof 12 Small Business Short Courses by

Sue M. Patzerat Solano Community College:

Starting & Managing a Small Business Business Budgeting Starting a Home-Based Business

Financing a Small Business Planning for Profit Small Business RecordkeepingBusiness Financial Management Selecting Employees Marketing & AdvertisingManaging Credit & Collections Employee Relations Risk Management—Insurance

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Charles D. Eason, Director, SBDC John T. Urrutia, Dean, Business DivisionSolano Community College Solano Community College

S W O TStrengths (of the business, or yourself)

Weaknesses (of the business, or yourself)

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Opportunities (in the marketplace)

Threats (in the marketplace)

The 3 R’s of Target Marketing

• Researching Your Market

• Reaching Your Market

• Retaining Your Market

Promoting Yourself Is Your Net Working?

• 20 second elevator blurb• Present Your Business Cards to

the people that you think could use your services

• Collect business cards from the people whose services you could use

• What will you do with those business cards?

• Hint: Start a Customer Database!

Implementation of Marketing Strategy: Useful Small Business Strategies

• Differentiation - Your business is made to appear different from the others (think in terms of a yellow page ad)

• Location – think of as geographically, “virtually”, and in the “minds” of your clients (like, Fredericks’ of Hollywood)

• Specialization - Being specialized helps in a “saturated” market, for example, a bookkeeper that “specializes” in contractors, or a automobile repair that specializes in BMWs, or certain imported autos.

• Positioning - More likely (often) used by larger corporations - i.e.: THE other Phone Company

• Substitution - Attract customers by offering one product or service & a low price and then sell an additional product at a higher price. A good example is the McDonald’s Dollar Menu, or a hair salon that has a $39 perm special.

Implementation of Marketing Strategy: MORE Useful Small Business Strategies

• Niches finding a segment of the market that is untapped and grab the customer’s attention.

• Star First, where you are a star, or partner with one (a local celebrity). Second, when you use the name of a star to draw attention (ex: George Forman Grill).

• Benefit People don’t buy features, they buy benefits! Remember to market the BENEFITS! Tell them the Benefits

Overnite Web Design

Clean as a Whistle Janitorial

Most small businesses use two or more strategies!

What is in a Name?

Eat at

E. Colis’

Place!

Good Food!

The name should:

Contain the Marketing Strategy

Describe the business

Show a Benefit for the customer

Be an attention-grabber

Be easy to remember

Selecting a Slogan (or tag line)

• Often, the name is not enough to grab the interest or to “tell the story”

• Add a slogan to emphasize the benefit or grab attention

The Bookkeeping Company

For Timely Financial Statements

Business PerspectivesBusiness Consulting from insight to action

Advertising

• Takes planning, time, persistence and money!

• Image / Identity are developed• Determine the most appropriate form

of Media– Involve the audience– Inform the customer about the benefits– Illustrate the benefits– Always track your advertising response

for effectiveness

Tracking Your Advertising DollarsYou need to know which advertisement pays

• Develop an Advertising Worksheet to plan a targeted advertising campaign.

• Systematically TRACK your referrals through an Advertising Response Record

• Ask your clients how they were referred to you, and/or by whom. Thank the referrals.

• Many small business owners join Leads groups to help stimulate referrals.

THE YELLOW Pages

One of the most common forms of advertising is the Yellow Pages

When people look in the Yellow Pages they are ready to buy… But, ask yourself when do you look in the book? Do you look for a massage therapist? How about a plumber?

We need to use a Marketing Strategy in the Advertisement.

Size is not always the biggest attention grabber..it is the message!

Service Directories & Classified Ads

Service Directories appear in most newspapers, before the classified.

Many papers will have “special sections” or special inserts for certain industries. Call them to find out.

Solano County is unique due to the many local papers

The advantage of a Service Directory is that you can change or drop the ad at anytime

Classifieds are also like Yellow Pages, where you are listed alphabetically.

You can test the effectiveness by advertising once (Sunday) before paying for a whole month, or year.

Door to Door Flyers

Still one of the most cost effective methods of getting the word out.

Take the time to design a “professional” flyer..it can be the standard 8½ x 11.

“Test Market” the flyer with one-hundred copies. See if you get interest and at least one customer.

Think of the appropriate:

• Location, Message, & Timing

Be familiar with zoning practices.

Remember, door-to-door works for some businesses and not for others!

Direct Mail Techniques → Direct Mail means you send out a brochure, flyer, catalog or

cover letter to a prospective client(s).→ The real success lies in your database of potential clients→ The more you know about them, the more you have an

opportunity of grabbing their interest and action is taken.→ There are “mailing lists” that can be purchased for as low as

$250 per 5,000 names. The more ‘targeted’ the higher the price.

→ Starting your own Database Marketing is critical(ex: start today with the members of the class)

→ Many small businesses will “grow” their own lists through chamber mixers, trade shows, etc.

→ Follow-up is a critical element. Keeping the contact information up-to-date is essential too.

Alternative Marketing:Other means to get the message out!

Displays at Trade Shows or Community Events (www.TSNN.com)

Community Involvement: ex: sponsor a Little League team, or an informative class

Sponsor an Athletic Event or a Fun RunTelemarketingUtilizing Networking or Leads Groups: LetipPromotional Gimicks: Fobs and magnets

Marketing on the Internet

E- Marketing is Hot!, but it is Not for every business!

Before you dive into e-commerce, e-marketing and becoming a pure “click” business do your research!

Ask the questions:

What message do I want to deliver?

How do I want to format the material?

Who do I want to reach?

Do my customers have access?

Is it cost effective?

What other marketing pieces direct the clients to this webpage (is your email or website on your brochure)?

Publicity FREE ADVERTISING!

Publicity has been defined as “free advertising” (unfortunately there is little control over it)

You need to be able to present a “Unique Angle” on your business to get a Press Release printed or a PSA (Public Service Announcement) aired

Get involved with the community and annual events

Become a “specialist” in your community

Time your Press Release and/or PSA at least 2 weeks before an event

Speak to classes or publicize your unique service at a Rotary Meeting, etc.

Promotion - the Power of this P

• Many business owners only buy-in to advertising when they consider promoting their businesses.

• Remember PROMOTION is any and every way to:

– Get the word out about your products or services– Generate referrals and interest for your business– Present your image

• Promotion includes advertising, marketing, networking and publicity.

The Pro’s & Con’s of PR

PROS• PR is cheap or FREE,

but it can be worth a lot!• You can save a copy of

the article and show it again and again!

• It builds credibility and promotes your image!

• It can be used to enhance your advertising!

• There is always a publicity angle!

Cons• Most small businesses make

the mistake of not adding it into their marketing mix.

• Most small businesses do not target their Publicity.

• It can be an one-time shot.• Often times it is not

“controlled.”• BIG Media isn’t always the

best channel.• Publicity is like selling..it may

take a lot of leg work!

What is Publicity?

Public Relations, aka PR…”public” = any group who might have an interest on the ability of your company to achieve its objective.

PR is a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image.

Publicity Includes: Press (Public) Relations, Product Publicity, Corporate Communication, Lobbying, Counseling

The Final R: Retaining Your MarketCustomer Satisfaction

The customer may not be the KING, or always right, but the customer is always the customer!

Customer Satisfaction is the Heart of Retention

RETENTION is the heart of staying in business and growing (and profiting)

Customer Relationship Management is a key element in our Growing for Sales & Profit Class.

For now, remember to focus on the customer (internal & external)!

“80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers”

Review

• Comments

• Questions

• Please turn in your suggestions

• Please turn in your group work