How To Start Marketing Your Business

To new business owners, starting a business is often its own reward.

They are thrilled to be able to be their own bosses, and to successfully
get a business up and running. Often they are happy just to keep the
dream alive.
But every business needs to grow. That doesn't mean you have to reach
out to a larger market - it means working toward increasing your share
of the one you are targeting. This will keep your business healthy
enough to survive obstacles such as tough economic times.

In order to keep moving forward, we need to market our businesses

constantly. We need to dedicate a certain percentage of our resources
to building our brand and reaching our target market. Here are some
simple things you can do to help your business grow.

Have a clear picture of your target market.

Find out what types of people use the products and services you
provide and respond to your business philosophies. If you're not
marketing to the right people, all will be lost.
Research, research, research.

Determine how to best reach your target market and what they expect
out of your offerings. Study your competition carefully, and make note
of what they're doing right and wrong.

Choose your marketing channels wisely.

If your target market rarely reads, there's no point in advertising in a

magazine. Use what you've learned about them to find the best possible
outlets for your message, and focus your marketing efforts there.

Give your advertising a chance.

Studies show that consumers require repeated exposure to a product

before they will even consider buying. So don't be surprised if one ad
run doesn't bring spectacular results. If you've done your homework
and found a viable way to reach your market, run the ad at least two
more times before you evaluate the results.
Take advantage of free publicity.

Sending out press releases and finding other ways to attract the media
will give you high-quality exposure, and it won't eat into your budget.

Keep track of the effectiveness of your marketing

efforts.

If what you're doing is working, you should be generating more

revenue. Use some of that revenue to do more marketing. If it isn't
working, make adjustments and try again.

Sometimes you'll have to take a step back with your marketing plans.
But that's not a sign you've failed. It's a sign that you're a smart
marketer. Sometimes the market changes, and it's up to us to monitor
those changes and adjust our marketing plans accordingly. No
successful company markets the same way forever. By evolving with
our target market, we can make our marketing work better.