One thing that all businesses have in common is a need for marketing. It doesn’t matter if a business was started yesterday or several years ago, the business owner needs to make sure they are being exposed to potential customers, and being remembered to old customers.
Start-up businesses, however, have special marketing needs. Many start-up business owners find marketing an essential task. Once a business has established itself, the owner will find they are receiving repeat business and may not need to spend as much time on marketing. But in the beginning, marketing will be a key ingredient to success.
Of course, start-up businesses are usually on a tight budget, which can make it harder to make a marketing splash. The following are a few marketing tools that every start-up business should have, and the best part is that they are also very budget friendly.
A website is your virtual storefront and it can welcome customers from around the world, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Every website should contain at least some basic information about the business, including an “about us” page and a “contact us” page.
A blog is another essential tool that some business owners often overlook. They may feel that if they have a website, they don’t need a blog. That is not true. A blog and a website have very different purposes. A website is there to greet customers, provide information about the business, and, depending on the business, it is quite possibly the way a person can buy things from the business.
A blog, on the other hand, is there to communicate with the public and develop relationships. Blogs let potential customers see a more personable side of a business. People want to do business with people they feel they know and like. A blog can help a business establish that kind of connection with a person who lives hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Business cards are important, even if a business owner plans on doing business solely online. There will still be people in your local market that need your services, as well as people who know others who are in need of them. If passing around a few business cards can help bring an extra couple hundred dollars in sales, why not do it?
Social networking is huge, and taking part in it can help a start-up business gain a lot of publicity fast. There are many networks to choose from, including Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. The point is to find one that suits your needs and start establishing some relationships.
Marketing can be a very fun activity for any business. Since start-up businesses need to spend so much time on this activity, it’s important to relax and get creative with it. Remember – it should be fun.