So You Started a Business… Now What?
Since my business is all about helping entrepreneurs get their business off the ground (pun intended;), I often hear this “now that I have a sign up, what else do you recommend?” Marketing your business is the most important aspect of your business growth, in my opinion. Yes, you must have a quality product or at least a product that people value and good customer service if your local community is your target market, but if people don’t know about you, it’s going to be a long winter. So I always encourage business owners to do two things:
Create a marketing strategy (this can be really complicated or it can be quite easy)
Identify WHO your target market or ideal buyers are and how they get informed
Determine where they live or how you’ll reach out to them
Select a strategy or several strategies to reach them in the first year. Have a marketing budget!
Print - Direct Mailings like post cards, Newspaper/Magazine ads, vehicle graphics
Technology – Website, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Business Listings
Events – set up a booth, sponsor an organization, join a Chamber and business networking
Running a business is not easy, or everyone would do it! You will get overwhelmed with the number of things that must be done. Most business owners I talk to short cut or completely neglect the marketing side. They assume word of mouth support and having a website is sufficient. It is not. I encourage you to set aside some time to create a marketing plan for 2020 and then spend 1 hour a week following up and getting it done. Your business will grow because of it.
