More Effective Marketing

You’ve developed a terrific product or service, and now you’ve got to let people know that you exist. Here are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd.

The most obvious solution is to advertise. But you will get a much higher return for your hard-earned cash if you target your publicity to specific markets that work for you. Yellow Pages is the natural home for many small businesses. It costs about £71 a year for a listing covering a town the size of Derby, for example. According to the Yellow Pages, a quarter page ad will attract more than 200 per cent more calls.

A priority listing on the company’s Yell.com website costs £299 a year plus VAT.

Having a web presence is becoming a must for many small businesses. It serves as an online calling card and can open your business up to new markets. Becoming web enabled is not as expensive as it used to be. There are many web designers and agencies who can build a web site for you. Get a recommendation from a friend or business colleague. A simple site with copy about your business, photographs and email can be built for around £1,500. Hosting the website incurs an annual charge of around £500. Check that your web builder is using software that enables your web pages to be picked up automatically by search engines. This is priceless free publicity.

If you want to sell from your website, http://www.worldpay.co.uk caters for small firms. It provides a simple step-by-step ordering and buying process on a secure server so that customers’ credit card details are protected. It hosts the payment pages on its servers in return for a monthly fee and commission on sales.

Any offline adverts that you produce need to be targeted directly at your chosen market. If you can’t identify a specific target market – your product is already in trouble! For example, if you make conservatories, go for a classy drawing to attract wealthier customers. If you are looking for volume, skip complicated design. Your product or service, opening hours and contact numbers are far more important.

You want to attract new business, but it is often much more cost effective to try to get more out of your existing customer base. Try this general rule of thumb: put most of your efforts into the 20 per cent of customers who provide you with 80 per cent of your business.

You may take your skills for granted, but others don’t. Find out if there are places you can give talks on your expertise, such as your local library, college, jobcentre or at evening classes. It’s all about getting your name known.

Cultivating ties with a local charity can generate priceless free publicity. Donate anything your business no longer needs in return for local publicity.

Calling for improved safety standards or better quality in your industry will raise your profile and improve your image. Try to involve your local MP or a celebrity.