Before you can embark on any marketing ideas you must have the basic foundations; which are a marketing plan, a marketing calendar, a competitive advantage, and, as the last issue’s column discussed, marketing research. Also, don’t forget the most important element; keeping in contact with your current clients. Once you have these fundamentals down, you’re ready to put the new plan in motion.
There is guidance in this process for Arizona businesses. Kimber Lanning from www.LocalFirstAZ.com, a state-wide nonprofit to promote local businesses, states that, “The Arizona Commerce Authority set aside $2 million to support rural economic development across Arizona, and has funded Local First Arizona to teach a series of workshops geared toward new technologies to help rural businesses compete.
“This is new system is called ‘Economic Gardening’ and has emerged nationally as an alternative to traditional growth policies and focuses less on business recruitment and more on helping home-grown, second-stage businesses. Additionally”, says Lanning, “our goal is to arm small businesses with the strategies and tools to attract new customers.”
Terra Farrar, whose business, www.EarthWalkProductions.com, is based in Sedona, asks her clients, “What are you passionate about?” She says, “You are limited to how much time you have in a given day or week to serve your clients. With over 7 Billion inhabitants on the Earth, why not target those potential clients who share your passion, whatever that is? This provides a great way to open up a conversation and allows you to have FUN doing it. More importantly, your prospective client will enjoy the conversation – which should contain an exchange of information and stories. This will build trust, relationship, rapport and be fun for them too. And they know like-minded others and will refer you. This costs nothing and can be done while you are socializing.”
Farrar advises small business people that, “With 72 Million Baby Boomers, many are looking for information on a myriad of topics as they expand their interests. You can capture your knowledge, wisdom, and expertise and turn it into a Free Report, e-book, downloadable MP3 files or even a CD, providing ‘just enough’ information to peak the potential client’s interest without giving away the ‘secret sauce’ recipe. This is a great, cost effective way for people to get to know you better, think of you as an expert in your field, and build trust. Remember, no matter what your business, you are in the relationship-building business and these tools will support you in many ways.”
Don’t forget to plan your marketing materials, business cards, website and brochures, so they reflect what your business offers. Make sure they are both professional appearing and appealing. Have a honed elevator speech ready that expresses your enthusiasm for your product or service. When it comes to your website, take a step beyond the appearance to make sure that it is easy for your clients to navigate and find exactly what they are looking for. The money spent on making these items high quality will make the difference between attracting or boring prospects and give you the best return on your money.
With some creativity and careful, thorough planning, hard work and perseverance, you can successfully market your small business on a small budget. Also, remember that your SCORE counselor is a valuable resource for marking ideas.
Published 12/04/11
