Marketing ideas for small business

Marketing ideas for small business - The extremely low priced products offered by supermarkets such as Target and Walmart, including items from consumer electronics to clothing has made it difficult for small businesses to compete.  These massive chains have done this in an effort to dominate the market and the backlash is that small outlets are failing as a result.


When small businesses fail to compete with these giant companies, people are inclined to take their custom to these giants instead and this means that when the small businesses close, communities lose their local amenities and are forced to follow the trend of relying on the supermarkets too.

So, what is the answer to this worrying problem?  Will our only choice eventually be to shop like drones in these giant warehouses?
MARKETING IDEAS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ... BRICKS & MORTAR

If you are a running a bricks and mortar business, you have a real battle on your hands, especially if you offer anything that the enormous chains also offer. You have to find a way to become unique.  Become an expert in what you do and offer the best customer service that you possibly can.  Then you have to get out there and market these facts as your unique selling points!

There are three important things that these big supermarket stores can't offer: uniqueness, experience and proper customer service.

Personally I always try to shop at small local businesses, because they're the backbone of any community and they are often more informed and helpful than these large stores where you are lucky if you can get any help at all from the usually under-qualified staff!

It is surprising to me when I find out that many small business owners still don't wish to have a website or any presence on the Internet, despite struggling to gain back business from the supermarkets.

Some business owners are blind to the fact that Google loves small businesses and supports them by placing them on the top page of the search results, especially if the business includes the name of the city and what they offer on their web page.  Google actually prioritises local businesses depending on the location of the person searching for a product or service. This offers a massive advantage to small business owners.

Another big advantage is that small business owners can list their websites in local directories through the local Chamber of Commerce and similar organisations. This service is generally available for a small fee or often even completely free of charge!

Many small business owners have the miss-guided belief that it is very difficult and expensive to build and maintain a website, but this is not necessarily true.  Inexpensive website creation and maintenance has become a small scale industry of its own and prices for this type of service can be very reasonable.

All a small local business really needs is to feature on a Google map showing where they are situated and include a link to a webpage that explains briefly who they are and what they do.   Additional information should be included such as opening hours, contact details, some great photographs and perhaps a brief history of the business.

That's it!
An extra touch would be to add an opt-in box so that once a month the business owner could send a newsletter out to their subscribers explaining anything of interest that is happening in the business.  This is a great way to keep customers informed and build a relationship with the clientele!   It might also be a good idea to include some affiliate advertising links in the email broadcasts because then the website would actually make the business owner some money as well as covering the minor costs involved.



MARKETING IDEAS FOR SMALL sBUSINESS OWNERS ... ONLINE
So, what about some marketing ideas for small business owners with online businesses?
Well, Web base businesses have a much harder task on their hands!  They have much greater competition and must be prepared to learn and implement SEO strategies, as well as a lot of other marketing methods.  The secret in both cases is to build a list of customers (and opt-in subscribers).


A site's popularity in search engines is affected by numerous things: the age of the site, the consistency with which it is updated, the value of its content and the relevancy of its content.  The final key ingredient is the quantity and quality of backlinks it has pointing to it.
In both instances (on and off-line) a website should offer beneficial information, great customer service and unique branding. These are the secrets of attraction marketing!