Low on funds? Overwhelmed by things on the to-do list? “Why is marketing important for a small business” is a question so many of us ask at the beginning of our journeys.
And it’s important that we do.
Ask I mean.
And think about the answer.
Because coming up with the wrong answer can be the make or break of our small business, especially during its infancy.
So read on to discover what the RIGHT answer is for you and your business, in order that you can start growing and succeeding in your new adventure straight away!
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Marketing Needs For Small Companies
Well, given that digital marketing is what we do best here at Social Puffin, you’re going to be unsurprised to learn that all us pufflings think marketing for small businesses is SUPER important.
Indeed, we’re of the opinion it’s one of THE most important things when it comes to getting your business off the ground and taking flight.
Ok, so enough of the puffin metaphors for now, but you get the point!
Marketing for a small business is crucial when it comes to getting your name out there, raising your brand profile, promoting your unique selling points, expanding your client base, finding out what customers want and increasing your sales.
And that’s just for starters!
Learn more about the exact reasons why marketing is important for your small business below.
But first, here’s some advice when it comes to the barriers surrounding marketing you may face as a small business owner and, more importantly, how to overcome them.
Common Barriers to Marketing, Dismantled
Budget
There’s no point beating around the bush, we all know that, as small business owners, one of the biggest barriers preventing us from marketing more (or at all!) is budget.
When you’re just starting out on your business venture, cash flow is tight and you’ve got a lot of different resources pulling on your limited funds.
As such, it can be hard to prioritise and determine which of them requires your attention.
Because the old adage is true – where your attention goes, your money flows.
And if your attention isn’t on marketing (perhaps it’s not one of your strongest existing skills) it can be hard to justify, or even imagine, putting some cash behind this part of your business.
Which is exactly why Social Puffin has been built with small businesses in mind.
As entrepreneurs ourselves, we pufflings know all about how the demands on your attention and budget can limit your goal setting and achievements.
We want to change that… and we’re sure you do too!
That’s why we keep our prices low (so that even new start-ups can afford them) and our packages flexible (so that as your business ebbs and flows at the start, your marketing projects can too.)
Although, let’s be honest, when you start marketing with us, your business isn’t going to ebb nearly as much as it flows!
Time
The next biggest barrier when it comes to marketing a small business is time.
There’s not enough of it in the day already, right?
So when are you meant to fit in marketing time for your social media channels, your subscriber list and your SEO optimisation too?
It’s a good question and it’s not an easy one to answer, especially if you’ve got to learn all about social media channels, subscriber lists and SEO optimisation before you start actually implementing these elements into your marketing strategy.
And you’ve got to sleep?
Oh yeah, remember that too!
Well, the easy, simple and practical solution to the barrier of time when it comes to marketing your small business is to outsource this.
If you know it’s important, but you know you haven’t got the time, then it’s about managing the situation and ensuring the crucial areas of your business are covered… and you can still get some of those all-important Zzz’s!
Outsourcing parts, or all, of your marketing strategy to consultancy firms then allows you to concentrate on what you do best, while making sure your marketing is looked after by the people who do that best.
Simples!
Knowledge
And the third biggest barrier to marketing for small businesses is usual knowledge.
Yup, linking in with the time-poor issue above, we know that knowledge gaps when it comes to all of the different social media and all the different arms of digital marketing, is something that many small businesses struggle with.
Heck, sometimes even we struggle with it.
Because it’s a lot. A lot a lot.
And it’s constantly changing and evolving too!
Luckily, here at Social Puffin, we’ve got dedicated pufflings who work exclusively on keeping abreast of the latest development whether that be Google updates, algorithm changes or new emerging social media platforms.
With our wings firmly on the pulse therefore, you don’t need the knowledge to fly with your digital marketing goals.
You just need us!
Advantages of Small Business Marketing
And with those barriers firmly squashed and the path to your marketing success now clear, it’s time to get stuck into the real juicy stuff about why it’s so important for a small business.
So here it is, our full list of advantages you need to get on board with the concept of marketing as a great thing… just incase you weren’t already!
Get In Front of a Bigger Audience
Ok, so first up, the most obvious one… marketing is going to get your small business infront of a lot more eyes.
Which essentially equals a much bigger audience.
Which essentially equals much bigger sales… but we’ll get to this.
At this point, we’ve talking about a bigger audience or customer base.
Because, for small businesses, getting the word out beyond their immediate small circles, communities or locations can sometimes be hard.
However, with well-targeted marketing strategies, particularly digital ones, you can reach an audience, and pool of potential customers, that stretches far beyond what you have currently or even project you can reach.
As opposed to traditional marketing techniques, such as print and broadcast media, digital marketing is not bound by geography, size (and to many extents) budget.
Getting your business online will open you up to huge new audiences that have the potential to ripple into broadened customer bases too.
Not only will digital marketing get your small business in front of more peoples’ eyes, but it will also ensure you’re there – present and posed – when other eyes, ones that are specifically looking for the services you provide, are searching too.
Shout About Your Unique Selling Points
But it’s no good just getting in front of a bigger audience.
In addition, you need to turn that audience into a string of potential leads, a collection of client lists and a growing customer base.
And that’s where marketing your small business properly can really come into its own.
Done skillfully, digital marketing not only raises your brand profile, but also helps your brand stand out, giving you a unique platform from which you can tell potential customers or clients exactly what is it that’s special, and great about your business.
What it is you do so well and so differently.
What it is that makes you, you.
Your unique selling points (USP’s) will be crucial in helping accelerate your business, and communicating these via marketing will be absolutely fundamental in achieving your aims and goals.
Compete With Larger Companies
And with your ability to reach a larger audience and to shout about your unique offering to customers, you’re also in a position to complete with larger companies.
And this is a pretty enviable position to be in when you’re a small business.
Yes marketing, especially digital marketing, can really help level the playing field in the customer market between large and small firms, and that’s a pretty amazing thing.
With a great marketing strategy in place, you have the potential to reach the exactly the same target audience as larger companies, and with social media often prioritising companies with a story and a personal touch, it’s arguable that you might even have an advantage!
Budget Cost-Effectively
And when you consider this, it’s easy to see how digital marketing can actually be very cost-effective.
Using a portion of your budget to get your business name and its unique offers out there in a way that competes with big companies on a level playing field, helping you attract more customers and grow your sales and your budget … well, it sounds pretty cost-effective to us!
And what’s even better when it comes to digital marketing is that you don’t need a huge budget to start.
Compared to more traditional forms of marketing such as event sponsorship, as well as print and broadcast media, advertising on social media and through other digital forms offers great value, especially given its keen ability to hone in and target the exact audience you need for your business.
Get to Know Your Customer
But not only can you get your smaller business in front of new and relevant customers with strong digital marketing strategies, you can also use digital marketing to conduct market research, that is to learn more about your audience, their likes and dislikes, their buying habits and their thoughts of, or experience with, your business.
Especially true of social media which, at its heart is just that – social – businesses using this marketing technique will have a unique opportunity to communicate and engage with their customer base – both established clients and potential new ones.
This is incredibly helpful in both growing a business and in developing your relationships with your customers, as well as learning more about them – their patterns, behaviours, likes and dislikes.
Work 24/7 … Even On Your Day Off!
And you can be learning about that stuff 24/7, because digital marketing never sleeps!
Which is great news if you need to!
Working hard for you all day, every day, you don’t have to be online or connected for digital marketing to help you achieve your goals.
Heck, it can even help you achieve your business goals on your day off!
Easy Tracking
And lastly, one of the best reasons why digital marketing is so great for a small business is because it’s all trackable.
Yes, for all the points we’ve covered above, digital marketing allows you, as a business owner, to quantifiably map and track all your results – from the number of customers reached, to how well your message is resonating with them and how far your pound is getting you.
There’s no chance to hid in digital marketing, the results are clear to see!
And they’re generally clear on where you need to improve to, meaning not only does digital marketing help you achieve your business goals, but it can also help realign and better these goals too!
What a winner!
PIN IT TO PINTEREST!
We hope we’ve convinced you now why marketing is important for a small business, especially when it comes to them taking flight.
Contact Social Puffin today if you’re keen to get your small business soaring.
