Tag Archive

[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] Branding is one of the most important things a small business can engage in, regardless of your industry or your products or services. It’s the way in which your customers understand you, what you stand for, and how you separate yourself from your competitors. Your brand is derived from what your company is today, where you aspire to go, and how you want your customers to relate to you. In short, everything. Your brand is how, what, where, when and to whom you communicate. The way your shop looks and feels. Where and how you advertise. Even your distribution channels – the stores that carry your goods also say something about your brand. Your brand consists of: Who your company is: Take a look at the marketing niche your company fills, and how you tell your story and communicate your value proposition. … Read More

[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series] As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats — and you don’t have a lot of time to spare. As we’ve taken you through the basics of understanding your market, and developing campaigns, you may be having a hard time figuring out what marketing initiatives to delegate to your staff, and what things to own yourself. This is a question every business owner and every professional marketer encounters. In this post, we’ll talk about the risks — and provide some tips — about having a unified voice and message for your brand, service, or product. Regardless of who’s voicing it. When you’ve built your own business from the ground up (usually operating on your own or with a small team) delegation doesn’t always come naturally. It’s a change of pace from what you’ve become accustomed to. But, it’s … Read More

[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series]   Once you have the groundwork done in building your small business’ marketing — research and messaging, website, digital marketing, and maybe ads — you’re likely thinking two things. What’s next? And at this point, how can I afford to compete against larger businesses? For many small businesses over the past five years, content marketing has become to answer to both. You might have heard the term ‘content marketing’ thrown around on sites like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Mashable, and AllBusiness. You might have thought it was just a buzzword, or that it was a specialized skill that was out of your reach or budget. You’d be wrong. As a basic definition, per CopyBlogger, “Content Marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers.” If you’re hoping to market your business online, … Read More

[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series]   We all know what advertising is, and the myriad forms it comes in — from banner ads on websites, to billboards along the highway, to promoted posts on Facebook. Many of us think of advertising as a push-button way to drive revenues, until we actually look at what it means, costs, and gives us for a return on investment. So as a small business owner, you have to be asking: is it worth it? And if so: how do I do it? An ad campaign, directed to your core audience, can help you establish your brand identity, and start to build name recognition. It can encourage your existing customers to come back, and help to attract new ones. Advertising can also help you slowly increase your profits (more on that later). You might be wondering: what about creating a sharp increase … Read More