5 Marketing Tips

1. Define Your Marketing Goals

Know what you want to achieve and then map a pathway to get there. Your marketing objectives should support your business goal and aligning these means your efforts will be strategic and help you make a real difference to your business.

2. Know Who You Are Targeting

If you place five different bits of bait on a fishing hook and you catch a fish, how do you know what bait worked? It’s important to market yourself with purpose. By this I mean understand your target audience; create an identifiable business persona based on this target market; and, tailor your message to reach this audience. Doing these three things will always give you better results than trying to sell to everyone.

3. Understand Your Competition

If you don’t know who you’re competing against, how do know what makes you different? Pick three competitors who you feel pose the biggest threat to your business. Learn their strengths, weaknesses, point of difference, their target market and most importantly your opportunities to effectively compete against them.

4. Define your Unique Selling Position

Once you’ve established your opportunity, define your Unique Selling Position (USP). Convert this into a message that targets your audience and communicate throughout your website, collateral and advertising.

5. Have Foresight

Have a good understanding of the business environment you’re operating in. Stay informed on industry trends and predicted change. If you’re an innovator, you’ll be one of the businesses that not only anticipates change, but initiates it.

By following these marketing tips for your business, you’ll be well on your way to having a competitive edge in no time.

The post 5 Marketing tips to give your business the edge over competitors appeared first on Amergin.

You’ve got the idea, you’ve got the passion and you’ve got the drive, but what else do you need to consider to help push your small business to the next level?

There’s no simple answer to this question. However, over the next few months we’ll break down some of the non-negotiables when it comes to effectively running and marketing your business.

We’ll kick things off with an unmistakably important, yet often overlooked aspect of small business: Your Brand Strategy.

A common misconception that many small businesses have is that their logo is their brand, and often stay fixated on this before looking at the overall picture. Don’t get me wrong, your logo does matter as it identifies your brand visually, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to your overall brand strategy.

Take a Step Back

Before you get too carried away with how your brand will identify visually, take a step back and ask yourself the following:

How does my brand communicate? An established Tone of Voice unifies your brand consistently across all channels. It’s not just about what you say – it’s how you (and importantly, your team members) say it.

Am I being consistent? Cohesive messaging helps establish brand recognition. Keep your messaging consistent across all channels (whether on or offline) so that your brand doesn’t appear disconnected. Keep your visual representation aligned with your messaging.

What’s the rush? The small business life is busy and your days are filled with a multitude of tasks. It’s important not to rush through these initial stages of building your brand. After all, it’s effectively laying the foundations of your business to which will help drive growth in the long term. Remember, it’s a long-term game and Rome wasn’t built in a day.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to defining your brand, but by simply asking yourself these questions the process is already underway. Stick to it and you will see results.

What other aspects of your brand strategy have you focused on? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Small Business Launchpad: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself appeared first on Amergin.