#Success&U

26 May 2016

5 Low Cost Ways to promote your Small Business

by RAKBANK

So, you've taken the plunge and are a proud owner of your own business. You've got the required approvals and licenses, decided on your office location and have your products/service ready for sale. Congratulations! 

 

Now that you're ready to market and sell your product, it would be worthwhile to invest some time in preparing a marketing strategy for your products and offerings. This would mean identifying the USP's of your product, preparing content to educate the customers about your product, identifying the channels through which you wish to promote your business and finally, a set of end goals you wish to achieve from your marketing activities. 

 

Spreading a word about your business doesn't have to be an expensive affair. Efficient, low-cost marketing ideas can not only help you attract new customers but can also set you apart from the competitors. While every business is different (the marketing strategy of a café owner would be entirely different from that of a real estate broker), clearly laid out marketing objectives, steps and results will help in providing a sense of direction to your business. 


Given below are 5 low-cost ways by which you can market your small business:

 

1)    Focus on the customer experience: Customer experience is said to be the ultimate marketing tool. Personalised moments at every point of customer contact help in winning a customer's loyalty and also generate word of mouth. This word of mouth leads to sourcing new customers. Consider this - As per a research done by Neilsen "84% of consumers reported always or sometimes taking action based on personal recommendations". By focusing on your customer experience, you will be able to create an outstanding service/product, which will be talked about, recommended and will witness repeat customers. 

 

2)    Maintain consistent branding and marketing efforts: No matter how small or big your branding efforts are, try to maintain consistency in your communication. This would mean sticking to similar type of theme, message, font, colours, and tone of voice among other elements. As more and more customers/prospects get exposed to your brand communication, consistent branding will help in managing the brand perception and building top-of-the-mind recall. It also protects your investment by building brand equity. 

 

3)    Use Digital and Social media: A website and social media presence makes it easy for your customers to find you. Also, while traditional marketing can be a drain on your funds, social media marketing is pretty low-cost and gives you a direct line to current and prospective customers. The good thing about social media is that it allows you to directly interact with your prospective customers, answer their queries and incorporate their feedback. As more and more people start interacting with your page/website, you will be able to see an increase in footfall and eventually an increase in the sales.

 

4)    Establish your brand as a subject matter expert: Is there a specific topic where your brand can be seen as the domain expert? For example, if you're in the health and fitness industry, try to approach places where your target audience frequents (such as the local gym) or try to author a weekly "experts" column. Being recognized as the best and the most knowledgeable in the industry adds to the differentiating factor and helps build brand recall. Next time a customer has a query or requirement, your brand will be the first company they would think of. 


5)    Invite Influencers who can help you market your brand: 
As per a research done by eMarketer, "the average return on investment (ROI) is $6.85 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing". Industry analysts, journalists, bloggers, etc. are influencers who can help you reach out to a much larger audience. And because people trust the influencers, it becomes easier for them to trust your brand too. Start by finding out who influences your buyers, rate them on priority and then try to send them an email with your best elevator pitch. This will entail talking about your business, what you're looking for and how it can benefit the influencer. The benefit for the influencer can be in the form of increased influence, and association with your brand. Here's a tip: While you're contacting influencers, avoid sounding too pushy - in case an influencer does not respond to your request, move on to the next one. 


There are many other low cost ways through which you can promote your small business. The five points presented above can be used as a starting point and you can build your marketing effort from here. With a bit of creativity and planning, you are sure to work your magic and be right up there with the big players. All the best! 


RAKBANK has been supporting SMEs across the UAE with Business Accounts, Working capital and Business Finance products. In case you're looking for further guidance or financial assistance, you can get in touch with our Business Banking representatives by clicking here or by sending an SMS with the text "Business" to 7011.


RAKBANK Business Banking - Your Partner, today and tomorrow. 


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5 Low Cost Ways to promote your Small Business

26 May 2016

Tags :

So, you've taken the plunge and are a proud owner of your own business. You've got the required approvals and licenses, decided on your office location and have your products/service ready for sale. Congratulations! 

 

Now that you're ready to market and sell your product, it would be worthwhile to invest some time in preparing a marketing strategy for your products and offerings. This would mean identifying the USP's of your product, preparing content to educate the customers about your product, identifying the channels through which you wish to promote your business and finally, a set of end goals you wish to achieve from your marketing activities. 

 

Spreading a word about your business doesn't have to be an expensive affair. Efficient, low-cost marketing ideas can not only help you attract new customers but can also set you apart from the competitors. While every business is different (the marketing strategy of a café owner would be entirely different from that of a real estate broker), clearly laid out marketing objectives, steps and results will help in providing a sense of direction to your business. 


Given below are 5 low-cost ways by which you can market your small business:

 

1)    Focus on the customer experience: Customer experience is said to be the ultimate marketing tool. Personalised moments at every point of customer contact help in winning a customer's loyalty and also generate word of mouth. This word of mouth leads to sourcing new customers. Consider this - As per a research done by Neilsen "84% of consumers reported always or sometimes taking action based on personal recommendations". By focusing on your customer experience, you will be able to create an outstanding service/product, which will be talked about, recommended and will witness repeat customers. 

 

2)    Maintain consistent branding and marketing efforts: No matter how small or big your branding efforts are, try to maintain consistency in your communication. This would mean sticking to similar type of theme, message, font, colours, and tone of voice among other elements. As more and more customers/prospects get exposed to your brand communication, consistent branding will help in managing the brand perception and building top-of-the-mind recall. It also protects your investment by building brand equity. 

 

3)    Use Digital and Social media: A website and social media presence makes it easy for your customers to find you. Also, while traditional marketing can be a drain on your funds, social media marketing is pretty low-cost and gives you a direct line to current and prospective customers. The good thing about social media is that it allows you to directly interact with your prospective customers, answer their queries and incorporate their feedback. As more and more people start interacting with your page/website, you will be able to see an increase in footfall and eventually an increase in the sales.

 

4)    Establish your brand as a subject matter expert: Is there a specific topic where your brand can be seen as the domain expert? For example, if you're in the health and fitness industry, try to approach places where your target audience frequents (such as the local gym) or try to author a weekly "experts" column. Being recognized as the best and the most knowledgeable in the industry adds to the differentiating factor and helps build brand recall. Next time a customer has a query or requirement, your brand will be the first company they would think of. 


5)    Invite Influencers who can help you market your brand: 
As per a research done by eMarketer, "the average return on investment (ROI) is $6.85 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing". Industry analysts, journalists, bloggers, etc. are influencers who can help you reach out to a much larger audience. And because people trust the influencers, it becomes easier for them to trust your brand too. Start by finding out who influences your buyers, rate them on priority and then try to send them an email with your best elevator pitch. This will entail talking about your business, what you're looking for and how it can benefit the influencer. The benefit for the influencer can be in the form of increased influence, and association with your brand. Here's a tip: While you're contacting influencers, avoid sounding too pushy - in case an influencer does not respond to your request, move on to the next one. 


There are many other low cost ways through which you can promote your small business. The five points presented above can be used as a starting point and you can build your marketing effort from here. With a bit of creativity and planning, you are sure to work your magic and be right up there with the big players. All the best! 


RAKBANK has been supporting SMEs across the UAE with Business Accounts, Working capital and Business Finance products. In case you're looking for further guidance or financial assistance, you can get in touch with our Business Banking representatives by clicking here or by sending an SMS with the text "Business" to 7011.


RAKBANK Business Banking - Your Partner, today and tomorrow.