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Small-business marketing: 10 Ways to Succeed 

Small-business marketing: First 1-5 ways to be successful  

There are at least 10 ways for you to be successful in your small business marketing efforts if you proceed intelligently and with a sense of purpose. Here are the first 5, with 6-10 on a separate web page. 

(1) Your small business marketing plan should integrate both your long-range and short-range plans. If you spend your days thinking about how to sell products, spend your nights thinking about how to build your company.  Your reward will be the financial gain that will allow you to live well-and stay in business, so that you can continue living well and staying in business.

The long-range planning associated with your small business marketing efforts looks at the big picture, charting your course, setting your sights on distant horizons.  Short-term planning steers the ship and manages the crew.  Just as the rudder turns long before the ship does, the small business marketing function happens long before you hear the ring of the cash register.  Devote equal time to both types of planning.  The result will be small business marketing programs which pursue long-term company objectives as diligently as short-term sales goals. 

(2) Set your prices methodically according to your small business marketing strategy. Poor pricing means you could be losing money on every sale, hoping to make it up in volume.  To avoid such problems, devote significant energy to reviewing and revising your pricing strategies.  Don’t just figure costs and mark-ups; monitor competitor's prices and respond to changes in the marketplace.  You need a proactive method incorporated into your small business marketing strategy, delivering enough value to customers at low enough costs to make a profit.

(3) The best small business marketing programs appreciate trends in the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is a moving target.  Some marketing experts babble about raising the bar, ratcheting up expectations, continuous process improvement and so on.  Instead of worrying about all of those things, develop an instinct for trends and keep paying attention to opportunities to better please your customers.

(4) If you want to have an exceptional small business marketing program, figure out not only what your customers want, but also what your organization is most suited toward providing.  Whatever you sell, your customers will still be looking for a better value: a product that works better, costs less, delivers faster service, or provides greater benefits.  Know what you want enough to recognize when customer satisfaction will put you into a position you do not want to assume. 

(5) Make an ongoing commitment of knowing your competition-and use that knowledge to your advantage. Use research techniques, both direct and indirect to keep tabs on your competitors.  Everyone in your company should help you to recognize important information and get it to you when they become aware of it.  Likewise, this small business marketing information can be useful in many areas of your business and should be shared with various individuals within your business organization.

See Page #2    6-10 Ways to Succeed

Information from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marketing Basics

By Paul Susic MA Licensed Psychologist  Ph.D Candidate CEO/President Susic Psychological Consulting P.C. 

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