Hit the Mark with
Small Business Marketing
I
woke up one morning to the sound of my alarm
clock blaring, a combination of static and a GEICO
advertisement. I turned on the TV to catch the
weather before I got dressed and there was that cave
man commercial playing again. I jumped in the car
and tuned to my favorite channel only to hear that
smarty pants little lizard with his cute accent selling
insurance. I drove my normal route to the office and
saw a sign across the railroad bridge exalting that
15 minutes or less could save me 15% on my car
insurance. I finally arrived at my office and pulled
into my parking spot and as I stepped out I heard
the buzz of a small airplane overhead, so I look up
to see that it is pulling; yes you guessed it, a GEICO
banner. This is advertising muscle at its mightiest.
What can your small firm do to match this kind of
power? The answer is, maybe nothing.
Smaller local businesses have always been frustrated
with the marketing and advertising power of large
multi-national firms and it has been even more so
in today’s tougher economic climate. We certainly
can’t concede the marketing war and give up hope
that anyone will buy our product or service, but the
task seems so daunting when you just can’t get away
from a competitor’s advertisements and you even
find yourself whistling the catchy tune on their
commercial or chuckling at their online video that
just went viral.
However, the little guy does have options. Here are
a few things you can do to help you stand out
without breaking the bank.
Be laser focused. The big shops can afford to spam
the world. You can’t. Make sure you know your
target audience and focus on them very carefully.
Even if it has limited scope, a well-designed,
thoughtful ca mpaign can yield great results if it
really speaks to your potential client.
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Strictly Marketing Magazine March/April 2016
Be original but recognizable. If you directly compete with a big industry player as most small businesses do, take a distinctly different demeanor or
air in regards to your product or service. It could
be that you are exclusively for those potential customers whose service is overpriced or maybe you
offer educational seminars in an industry that does
not currently have these.
Temper your expectations. Your latest mailing
campaign went out and you are sitting by the
phone, just waiting for it to start ringing off the
hook. Really? Adopting an unrealistic view of the
results of a single ad or campaign will give you
acid reflux and not help your bottom line. Take the
long view and tailor your marketing campaigns to
work together for the best results.
Ask for help. The big guys have huge ad agencies
and fancy consultants. You might only have your
Uncle Buddy that did a mailing campaign once
back in the 80’s. Don’t talk to him. Ask your
colleagues for their opinions, or for a bigger campaign, find a local pro that can help you even if it
is a modest fee. It’s worth the investment.
Do Press Releases. Use a service like PRweb.com
that gets your releases to potentially hundreds or
thousands of online outlets. You will be pleasantly
surprised with the results and web awareness it
brings.
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