The following is a guest post by Erin Fristoe, a writer and new business-mom.
We might not always have the resources on hand to invest in our companies as much as we would like, but we can’t under estimate the importance of marketing and media outreach in today’s marketplace. Overlooking the basics in either grassroots marketing or mass media can really put you behind when you are making your efforts to get ahead.
A major key of marketing is that there are many things you can accomplish on your own – if you are willing to invest the time, you don’t always have to invest major dollars. Marketing can be viewed as a sliding scale – there will always be opportunity to pay more for a more significant outcome – but you can take advantage of opportunities on your own without professional help. Determining your needs, wants and resources will play a major role in how much you invest in your marketing strategy. For those looking to invest less up front, following these nine simple “marketing musts” will put you well on your way to a successful business launch.
- Launch Letter to Contacts When you are just starting out, you need to pull together a comprehensive contact list of everyone. Put together a letter proclaiming your business launch and send it out. Even if you are sending it to friends and family members that have no need for your product or service, it isn’t up to you to determine that they don’t know someone in need of the product or service. Don’t eliminate opportunities before you even begin. You might find that as you send more mailers and e-mails out, you develop a more narrowed niche and don’t need to include everyone that you started with – but don’t make that determination from the beginning.
- Establish a Social Media Presence You might not think that Facebook is the place for your business, but with the numbers growing everyday, sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace are becoming more and more significant in getting the word out. Establish pages for your business. Recruit fans. Twitter on a daily basis. Let the word spread.
- Seek out Expo Opportunities Find conferences and expos that attract target audiences that are similar to yours. Get a booth. Get your name in the program. Spending money on these kinds of outings puts you face to face with potential clients and they walk away with your name on the brain.
- Develop Relationships with Local Media Investigate your local newspapers. Find out what reporters tackle which beats. Who handles softer news stories? What are their requirements for submission?
- Network, Network, Network Never be afraid to talk up your business when meeting new people or “hanging out” with the old.
- Sponsorships If your business is starting as a local business, look for sponsorship opportunities to help establish your brand. Get your name out there. Look for barter opportunities. Allow people to try your product.
- Always Create a Website It doesn’t matter whether your business has a need for e-commerce, create a web site. The first thing people are going to do when they are searching for a product is scour the Internet. If you don’t have a presence, then you are already playing catch up. Even if the site is basic – giving a background of the company, hours of operation, etc – put it up. Think about it this way: if you’ve handed out a flyer or business card and it gets lost, the only way a potential customer is going to find you is when they inevitably Google your company name in hopes of finding the company. If you’ve got no URL, they’ll be moving on to your competitor that is listed.
- Your Business Card: Don’t Leave Home Without It This one is pretty self-explanatory. You don’t want to spend an hour (or even 10 minutes) networking with potential customers, only to feel the embarrassment of not having a business card with you at the end of the conversation. Even if you are just going to a soccer game or ballet practice, make sure you have your card with you. You should always be prepared to hand it out.
- Leave the Hard Stuff to the Pros Even though there are lots of ways to establish your brand on your own, let the professionals take care of the hard things. Writing press releases, planning launch parties, writing substantial web content, developing ads and creating marketing plans are all ways that marketing professionals can really help you with your business development. Don’t get in over your head by taking on more than you can handle.
Erin Fristoe is the founder of My Media Mom and is a marketing professional who specalizes in assisting entrepreneurs carve out a publicity niche as they launch their businesses.
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We are a new business in San Diego,Ca . This article has been extremely helpful.
There is an awful lot to be said for pumping the hands of your potential customers or getting your product into their mouths/hands…none of that can be accomplished without a “grassroots” strategy in place. Would advise that a new business test this for at least 6 months…the proof is in the pudding.