This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
Marketing your small business with a punch and cost effectively
Contents How to spend less on your marketing and still achieve the desired response…….….2 Market your business effectively with just your business cards…………………………..5 7 ways to sell your business without lifting a finger………………………………..6 Why you do not need an advertising agency for your marketing…………………………...8 Branding vs. Marketing – what really counts?..........................................9
Unauthorised duplication and distribution of this material is in any form strictly prohibited. Information in this booklet may not work for every kind of business but an attempt has been made to enlighten business man and woman. The reader of this booklet assumes responsibility for use of the material contained herein. The mentioned brand names in this booklet are used as illustrations and no harm intended in any form. No guarantees of any financial nature are expressed or implied and reading this booklet implies that you
Spend less on your marketing and still achieve the desired response
accept these terms.
Whenever one hears the word marketing, as a business owner, you immediately think spending more. As true as that may be, there are several ways that one can market their business without digging a bottomless pit in their pocket. Below is a list of ideas that one can employ and still achieve their marketing goals.
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-1-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
1. What business are you really in? The mistake most business owners make is assuming that clients will fall over backwards for their service or product because it’s great. Make no mistake, you probably do have a great service or product, but does it solve your prospect’s problem? Identify exactly what business you’re in before you post advertising that communicates your product or service. Take for example a business owner that sells cushions. One would immediately assume that they are in the cushions business, right? Wrong. They are actually in the style, deco and comfort business. Knowing exactly what business you in will assist you identify your market and send out correct communication that will get your target market interested in your business. In this case, the cushions are just the product, not the business. Business owners often set out and advertise to every person from every walk of life, ending up spending more money than they should, with no measurable return. So, if you can answer to yourself what business you’re in, then you ready to sell your business.
2. The difference between marketing and advertising Confusing marketing with advertising is a common error that we make in business. Marketing is on going while advertising is just a part of your marketing. To have an effective advertising campaign, you would need to map out your marketing strategy to the T, then all the exciting part of it, advertising, can start. Imagine if Cocacola posted an advert without a strategy, what would it say? Who would it be targeted to? My guess is that it would go something like “quench your thirst with our refreshing fizzy drink”. Instead, coke sells satisfaction, enjoy with your burger, lifestyle, I can go on all day. You see, your marketing strategy should answer all the questions before you start saying anything about your business. See below questions you should be able to answer before posting an advert: - What are you selling - Who is your target market - Where can you find them - What reaction do you expect from them (expecting a sale from an advert is too ambitious, structure a system that will allow you an opportunity to convert interested prospects to sales, once they start paying attention). So, before posting a plumbing service advertisement on an automotive publication, make sure you got your facts straight!
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-2-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
3. The power of writing vs. pretty pictures I would often hear business people saying, “this advert is not professional enough” or “it lacks creativity”. Look, if you have the budget then go ahead, commission a designer to design you a R 4500 advert with the bling bling. If you are like me, leave that to the big brand names, who post a pretty picture advertisement with a one liner. As a small business owner, you should be focusing on communicating with your prospects more than impressing them. You want to sell your business, not tell people about it. Writing an effective advert or copy for a flyer is key. This is your link to future clients or customers, so you want to make it good. Going back to our cushion business as an example. Writing an advert that says “Buy 2 cushions and get one free” will not really get the response you’re looking for. But, on the other hand, if the same advert read “Add a touch of style and luxury to your home”, will probably go a long way. Notice that the advert is no longer just targeted at cushion “addicts” but at home owners. This will definitely open up opportunities for our cushion business. So, pretty pictures may say a thousand words, but all of them may not be about your business!
4. Make new friends Would your friends charge you money to talk about you positively? I don’t think so. Now, imagine if you made friends with every satisfied client or customer. Then asking them for their friends’ opinion on your business. That will double or even triple your client base. This is called the power of being a good friend. In my experience, close friends and family will occasionally give you business, if at all. So, making new friends with your satisfied clients or customers will be a sure way to go. Especially if you benefit from that friendship. So, spend time nurturing your friendship with satisfied clients, they will have lots to say about you and your business! 5. Listen to the market One of the biggest marketing mistakes I’ve ever made was assuming that I know what the market wants. You can save a lot of money by asking the right questions. As a small business owner, it’s vital that every cent spent on your marketing goes to work for you. It will be a shame to start spending money telling people what they should get when it’s the complete opposite that they need. Take time out and speak to your potential clients. Find out what they really want
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-3-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
and then see if your business can meet their needs. If not, spend your money advertising to the right people. Listening is a powerful skill, acquire it! 6. Set trends in your industry In short, be INNOVATIVE! Let’s face it guys, we all are good in our respective fields, we all have great services and our businesses are competitive. But the big question is, why choose you over the guy down the road? The answer to this will be to differentiate yourself. Well, more like set a trend in your industry. Again, let’s take our cushion business as an example. Instead of just producing cushions from imported and local fabrics that every cushion factory is using, consider merging with a Ndebele patterns fabric maker to produce the fabrics you use on some of your signature cushions. Add to that, instead of selling your cushions off the shelve, sell them as artworks at a gallery. Make them seem special, more than just cushions but art for your house. Used correctly, innovation can go a long way. Keep in mind though, trends come and go, so, at the success of your first, work on your next! Set up a website In South Africa today, online marketing has been taken for granted and businesses do not realize the power behind a powerful online marketing campaign. A powerful marketing campaign can be achieved through a functional website. Ironically a website is usually considered the last item in the marketing plan purely because “we cannot afford to put one up”. If one thinks carefully, what better way to market a service or product on a tight budget and get creative while at it as the web has endless possibilities? Compared to print, web is by far the most affordable way to get your message across. With a functional website the only thing you will have to communicate to your potential customer is “visit my website” and you’re sure to have them get a clear picture about your business. For low cost website service, visit www.getwebsited.co.za. So, do what successful businesses do, Getwebsited!Market
your business
effectively with just your business cards
Pick up one of your business cards (if you have one). What’s on it? Let me guess, your business name, your name and surname, contact details and maybe your services. That’s great, but do you get call backs from just giving a person your card? Assume you do; are they inquiring more about your business or they looking for cost?
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-4-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
Never make the mistake of thinking that your business name says it all, it may but won’t sell itself. To have your business card sell your business, prompt a response from the person looking at it. You have 2 sides on a business card, why use only one? Putting a service or product list can also be suicidal; your competitor is doing it too. What you need more than anything is for the person seeing it to give you a call or at least express interest. Let’s use an example from our cushion business. One side of the business card will have the business name and contact details. On the back, we could have a line that says “How comfortable is your home? Call me to make some suggestions for you free of charge”. Or, “art pieces on your couches too, not just on your walls. Let me demonstrate, call me”. The one thing we forget when getting a business card designed is asking the person looking at it to call us. It’s ok, there’s no law against it. How many cards do you hand out to people? Well, giving 6 cards to one person and have them promise to give to at least 5 of their friends can have a wider reach. This practice has been tried and tested. Besides, business cards are cheaper than flyers these days and I’m sure you can afford 1000 cards per month, the returns are greater. So, instead of having a card with just a logo on 1 side and contact details on the other, maximize on the space, it’s yours to use!
7 ways to sell your business without lifting a finger
1. Website or Online marketing 24 hours, 7 days a week and 365 days a year, your business is accessible. If you’re not online, your competition is. Imagine if I was to be referred to you by a person I meet at a party on Saturday night. All he does is give me your name and number. I get home and start looking for your business online Sunday afternoon. To my surprise, you do not have a website. Well, I start shopping around for similar services or products. WOW! Business X has a nice range of the same products you offer and I know exactly what they’re about. See what happened here, you were not there to grab my attention at the time you could have. As a potential client or customer, I’m gone! PUFF! A website is only set up once and does all the work for you. All you need do is send people to it and you stand a better chance of converting more prospects to sales, without physically trying to convince. 2. Complement other businesses This is endless opportunity for your business, you just need to make the choice. Pairing with business that sells products or services that complements yours is
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-5-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
beneficial to both. A cushion business can pair up with a bed shop, couch shop or furniture shop. All he needs to do is display the cushions on the beds or couches and leave his tag with business details on it. Pairing up services can be a bit difficult, but once you have identified your market, finding a business that complements yours will be simple. If they can sell you, you can sell them. 3. Word of mouth Give them a reason to rave about you. Your customers are your marketing tools. Good service, no, in fact great service, will result in a string of customers from a single source. Always ensure great service to each and every one of your customers or clients. The more you’re spoken of, the more opportunity you get to make new relationships and broaden your client base. 4. Repetition Say it over and over and over again, until it rings in your customer’s head. A good marketing message repeated long enough, tends to be the way of life for a customer or client. Ever wonder why you like certain take away food? Well, that’s because they give you the same offer over and over, their message is clear. In your business, you have to make sure that you stick to your target market’s heads as a particular service; they need to identify you with a specific benefit, personal or business. When I say fried chicken, you will immediately think KFC. Low cost airline, now anyone can fly, Kulula.com. Simple examples of good marketing messages repeated until they made sense to be linked with the product or service. If you attempt to be everything to everyone, no one will remember you for anything, and you will keep marketing your products and services. Be clear and let the market, market you. 5. Sponsorship As a small business owner, I do not have big budgets for sponsorship. BUT, the little I can do and offer does not go unnoticed. Every kind of business has a skill or product that is required by organizations contributing to good courses. Take time to source them out and see where you can lend a hand. Assume our cushion business owner has a daughter in primary school and a son in high school. Schools have reception areas, reception areas have couches. He can offer both schools cushions for their reception couches, which is visited by hundreds of parents, who happen to be home owners. Talk about marketing without lifting a finger. A plumber might think, “well, I cant really put cushions on the school reception now can I?” Of course not, but considering to maintain
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-6-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
the local swimming pool or SPCA taps can go a long way. Look hard and carefully, you can find something to give, where you will get. 6. Reward repeat customers or clients I’m not talking about “buy one, get one free” here. Ideas for rewarding repeat customers range from delivering service above and beyond their expectations, giving them “more” for “less”. All the way to helping their kid with a science project building a circuit (you have to be an electrician, please!). A good example would be of our cushion business owner hosting a cheese and wine at the shop. This would mean that he will invite all the top customers for an evening of fun, give them little gifts (cushions) and party the night away. Add to that, each of them will have to bring a friend. So lets see, he gets to know the loyal customers better, show off his latest range, get new customers and have a little fun while at it (remember, he’s not selling, he’s entertaining). 7. Be entertaining OK, I don’t mean be a clown. As a professional, you would want to be taken seriously, you and your business. Let’s face it; no one wants to do business with a grumpy person. Above and beyond the good service that you offer, you’re human dealing with humans. Offering a service with a straight face could loose you a client or two. Loosen up, be easy. Show you’re interested and listed carefully to your client or customer. Smile and show some LIFE. How often have you walked into a shop and the assistant walks up to you asking “Can I help you”, with a face that looks like a scene from a Zombie movie? Do you want to stay? I did not think so. On the flip side, some people can be too much. The jokes you tell to your friends on poker nights should be reserved just for that. When dealing with clients or customers, let them lead you into a conversation, which you will then entertain. Do not take over, play the supporting role, they’re the ones who need to feel special, not you. You will walk out as a nice guy who offers great service, when telling people about you; they will often say “there’s this thing about him/ her that makes it easy to work with”. You do not need to always be marketing your business, doing the right things while you work on it can turn into marketing.
Why you do not need an advertising agency for your marketing
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-7-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
Aside from the fact that you’re a small business, it is the most expensive way to entertain the market, through you business. Open a magazine and take a look at the big brand name adverts. Most are very entertaining, funny and nice. Now, in the midst of all that, do you ever remember what was being sold to you? Most cases, never, because your brain consumed the entertainment more than the message. I used to work for an advertising agency, and in most cases, when a brief comes in, the first thing we do is crack the creative concept. NOTE: Creative concept. Now, you come to an advertising agency looking to sell a product or service, but their 1st point on the campaign is creative. I don’t know about you but I would like someone to tell me when the selling part begins, during or after the campaign? When I’m R20 000 – R30 000 in? Each and every business person is born with a creative bone in their body. The fact that you thought of starting your own business is proof enough. Now, you may say “but I cannot do marketing”, right! I believe you. Go back to the day you first had this idea to start a business. What was your driving factor? What did you want to achieve? Was it to help someone? If yes then who? Where are they? Can they read? Can you talk to them on the phone? Is there really a problem that your business is solving? See, there you have it, your marketing strategy. All you need to do now is answer the above questions and you have a campaign going. While coming up with your message, do not forget to be clear about it. People will often buy into something they understand. Using “creative” headlines like “Stop Tap dancing” while trying to sell your plumbing business, could be a waste of money and ad space. Try something like “I will find a leaking tap in your home, wanna bet?” Notice the difference here? The first headline does not want me to read on, but the second headline, calls for action before I even read the advert. There is a school of thought in marketing that says your marketing should be creative and clever, even funny. I DISAGREE!!!
Branding vs Marketing – what really counts?
Both, actually. I don’t know what you expected as an answer here but there you have it. Face it, the whole world is brand conscious. If you think that your business will grow as just a nice guy who sells good products, you’re wrong. Irrespective of you being the driving force, your business needs to start collecting points as an entity, with a face and attitude of its own. These are called brand attributes. Your clients or customers will, at some stage, start separating the small business owner from the business. If the brand was not being built all along, what will they have to hold on to? Building the brand through your marketing as you grow your business will pay off at the finish line. This document is about marketing tips for growing a small business, which means that sooner or later you will have to hire people. People do not work for you but work for your business, which in turn is a company. Imagine if Microsoft was called Bill’s
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-8-
This is a free marketing booklet for small business in SA
Computer Software? What would happen now that he has resigned? You need to start thinking carefully about the end product (your business that is). You have to have a goal of where you’re taking it and what you would like it to look like when complete. Do not just get into business for paying bills and surviving the month, build something sustainable. Its hard work building a business, you have to make it worth something at the finish line. People do not buy people, but buy businesses, even easy if they are brands. So, if you were just thinking of your business as yourself, rearrange your thought processes as there’s a lot more work to be done here. The great thing about this is that you do not work on the brand in isolation, but integrate it into your marketing. A couple of pointers to help you start working on your brand: 1. Do I have a proper logo (face for your company) 2. Do I have a promise (slogan/ payoff line) 3. Is my logo on my marketing material 4. Can people recognize a benefit from my business 5. What are my branding elements (uniforms, car magnets, business cards, etc) Big or small company, branding is key. When doing your branding, image is everything. Big brand companies spend millions a year working on their branding, that is why we remember them. Would you not like your company to be remembered for something? Above and beyond knowing about your company, as a potential client, I need to buy into your dream, and dreams look good. Without a solid uninterrupted branding message, you are at the mercy of your employees and ex-clients to sell your dream. The question one should ask is; do they really understand what business I’m in?
Thank you for taking the time to read my Marketing Tips, hope they will be beneficial to both you and your business.
If you require any clarification about the document, feel free to contact me and maybe we can toss some ideas around and help you increase your sales. Bongani Sikhonde Cell: 083 425 6033 Fax: 086 660 7246 email: bongani@getwebsited.co.za Visit www.getwebsited.co.za, it will knock your socks off!
Prepared by Bongani Sikhonde 2008 (083 425 6033)
-9-