Achieving Growth Through Small Business Marketing
Small Business Marketing:
Everything you need to know to help your business grow.
SME Growth creates growth for clients through better small business marketing practices. If you’d like to know how, why not book a free consultation today.
Small businesses are the backbone of many economies around the world. They provide employment opportunities, foster innovation and creativity, and contribute to the growth of local communities. However, small businesses face numerous challenges, such as limited resources, stiff competition, and a constantly changing business environment. One of the most critical challenges for small businesses is marketing.
Below, we outline the basics of small business marketing and how it can help businesses achieve growth. We’ll explore the 4 P’s of marketing, the importance of positioning, the customer engagement process, how to review your marketing efforts, advertising versus marketing, small business websites, SEO and CRO for small businesses, digital advertising, traditional advertising, and direct mail and email marketing. Let’s go.
What is Small Business Marketing?
Small business marketing (like marketing for all businesses) is the process of promoting a small business’s products or services to potential customers. It involves identifying the target audience, understanding their needs and wants, and creating strategies to meet those needs and wants. Marketing is essential for small businesses because it helps them to differentiate themselves from competitors, build brand awareness, increase sales, and ultimately achieve growth.
The 4 P’s (or is it 8 P’s) of Marketing
Defined in 1960, the 4 P’s of marketing, also known as the marketing mix, are a means of defining how to market a business and its products or services to an intended audience. The 4 P’s are: product, price, place, and promotion. They form the foundation of any good small business marketing strategy. Over time, four more P’s were added to the mix, which are physical evidence, people, processes, and performance. Let's explore each of them in detail.
Product
The product is the tangible or intangible item that a business offers to its customers. It can be a physical product, such as a car or a book, or an intangible service, such as a consulting service or a software application. Products must be created in alignment with the needs and wants of a business’s unique target audience.
Price
Pricing is the amount that customers are willing to pay for your product or service. Pricing strategies will vary depending on the product, the target audience, and the level of competition. Businesses may use a premium pricing strategy to reach a certain type of customer, while others may use a low-cost pricing strategy for a different audience – but note that in order to move price, it’s likely that the quality of your product will need to also adapt.
Place
Place (sometimes called distribution) refers to the location where a product or service is sold. It can be a physical location, such as a store, or an online platform, such as a website. The location should be convenient for the target audience and accessible to them. This also applies to distribution strategies, for example, a business might choose to sell their own product in their own stores, or sell via multiple 3rd party retailers. Some do both.
Promotion
Promotion involves communicating the value of the product or service to the target audience. It can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. The promotion should be consistent with the brand image and reach the target audience effectively.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence refers to the tangible and intangible elements that customers use to evaluate a product or service. It includes the packaging, the branding, the customer service, and the overall customer experience.
People
People refer to the employees who interact with customers. They play a critical role in delivering the product or service and creating a positive customer experience. In service businesses, people are often considered a critical part of the product itself.
Processes
Processes refer to the procedures and systems that a business uses to deliver its products or services. They ensure that the product or service is delivered efficiently, effectively and consistently.
Performance
Performance refers to the results that a business achieves through its marketing efforts. It includes metrics such as sales revenue, customer satisfaction, and market share.
Positioning your small business:
The 9th P?
When it comes to small business marketing, one of the most important aspects to consider is positioning. This refers to how you differentiate your business from others in the market and how you communicate that difference to your target audience. It’s critical to your business success as it defines why a customer would choose your business over one of your competitors.
Positioning is often considered the 9th P of marketing, and it’s essential for small businesses that want to stand out in a crowded market. Your business’s positioning should be reflected in all aspects of your marketing, from how your staff interact with customers, the language you use on your website to the design of your advertising campaigns.
The Customer Engagement Process
Effective marketing is all about engaging with your target audience and guiding them through the customer journey. The customer engagement process involves understanding every touch point that a customer may have with your business, from their point of initial research all the way through to being a raving fan that refers others to you.
Our customer engagement process structure is designed to help identify small business marketing improvements that are meaningful for the people who really matter – your customers. We believe it to be an ideal structure for reviewing the effectiveness of your marketing.
Watch our video to get an overview in under 90 seconds.
The Customer Engagement Process can help your business grow.
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Reviewing your small business’s marketing
Regularly reviewing your small business marketing efforts is essential for identifying what’s working and what’s not, and making adjustments where necessary. It’s critical to constantly review what you’re doing and how you might improve to always stay ahead of your competition or to achieve your goals. Here are the key areas to focus on when reviewing your small business’s marketing, based on the Customer Engagement Process:
Positioning: Is your business’s positioning clear and consistent across all marketing channels? Do you have a clear point of difference over your competitors?
Target Audience: Have you clearly identified your target audience? Do you know what is important to them and where to connect with them?
Brand Awareness: Are potential customers aware of your business and what you offer (i.e. your point of difference? How easily could a prospective customer find your business?
Customer Research (AKA Business Reputation): If a customer was to do some research on your business, what would they find? How easy is it to find out more about you / your products?
Customer Enquiries: Are you communicating with your customers effectively and providing a positive experience? How well does your business handle initial enquiries?
Sales Process: Are you effectively guiding potential customers through the sales process? Do you have a clear sales process and are your results measured? Are you seeing a positive conversion rate? Do you know where people are dropping off?
Customer Satisfaction: Are your customers satisfied with their experience and likely to return or recommend your business? What are their biggest issues with your product or service and what are you doing to remedy them?
Referral Programs: Are you actively encouraging satisfied customers to refer others to your business?
Advertising vs Marketing
Small business marketing and small business advertising are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually two different things. Advertising refers to paid promotion of a product or service, while marketing encompasses all the activities involved in promoting and selling a product or service – including the development of the product itself.
While advertising can be an effective way to reach a large audience quickly, it’s important to remember that it’s just one aspect of a comprehensive marketing strategy. To be truly effective, your marketing efforts should include a variety of channels and tactics.
Small Business Websites
A website is often the first point of contact a potential customer has with your business, so it’s essential to make a good first impression. A well-designed, user-friendly website can help establish credibility and make it easy for potential customers to learn about your business and make a purchase.
When creating a website for your small business, it’s important to keep in mind the user experience. Make sure your site is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and is optimised for mobile devices. You should also focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that will engage your target audience and encourage them to take action. Being crystal clear about your point of difference up front on your website is also highly important.
SEO for small businesses
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising your website and content to improve your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google. This is important because the higher your website ranks in search results, the more likely it is that potential customers will find and visit your site.
Some key tactics for small business SEO include using relevant keywords in your website content, optimising your meta descriptions and title tags, and building high-quality backlinks to your site.
CRO for Small Businesses
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is the process of optimising your website to increase the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase, filling out a contact form, or subscribing to a newsletter. It's an essential aspect of digital marketing that helps small businesses improve their website's effectiveness and maximise their return on investment (ROI).
To improve your website's conversion rate, you need to understand your target audience, identify their pain points and needs, and tailor your website to meet their expectations. Here are some tips to help you optimise your website for conversions:
Conduct A/B tests to compare different versions of your website and identify which one performs better.
Use clear and concise headlines and messaging that convey your unique value proposition and benefits.
Optimise your website's layout, design, and navigation to make it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for.
Use high-quality images and videos that showcase your products or services and help visitors visualise how they can benefit from them.
Include social proof, such as customer reviews, testimonials, and trust badges, to build credibility and trust with your visitors.
Use clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) that encourage visitors to take action, such as "Buy Now," "Sign Up," or "Get Started."
Not sure about the best marketing approach for your small business to take?
Digital Advertising vs Traditional Advertising
Digital advertising and traditional advertising are two different approaches to marketing that small businesses can use to reach their target audience. Traditional advertising includes print, radio, and television ads, while digital advertising includes online ads, such as search engine marketing (SEM), social media advertising, and display advertising.
Digital advertising has become increasingly popular in recent years because of its cost-effectiveness, targeting capabilities, and measurable results. With digital advertising, small businesses can target their ideal audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviours, and track their campaign's performance in real-time.
Traditional advertising, on the other hand, can be more expensive and less targeted, but it still has its benefits. For example, print ads can be effective in reaching a local audience, while radio and television ads can help small businesses increase brand awareness and credibility.
When deciding between digital advertising and traditional advertising, it's important to consider your target audience, budget, and marketing goals. A combination of both approaches may be the most effective strategy for some small businesses, but as budgets are often limited, digital advertising can often be a more cost effective way to promote your business.
Digital Advertising for Small Businesses
Digital advertising includes a wide range of online advertising channels, including search engine marketing (SEM), social media advertising, display advertising, and email marketing. Here are some tips to help small businesses make the most of their digital advertising campaigns:
Define your target audience and select the right channels to reach them. For example, if your target audience is on Facebook, you may want to focus on social media advertising, while if they are searching for your products or services on Google, you may want to focus on SEM.
Set clear goals and KPIs for your campaigns, such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
Create engaging and relevant ad copy, images, and videos that capture your audience's attention and encourage them to take action.
Use clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) that direct your audience to your website or landing page.
Test and optimise your campaigns regularly to improve their performance and ROI.
Traditional Advertising for Small Businesses
While digital advertising has become more prevalent in recent years, traditional advertising methods can still be effective for small businesses. Traditional advertising methods include print ads, billboards, radio ads, and television ads. When considering traditional advertising methods, it's important to consider the audience you're trying to reach and what methods will be most effective for connecting with them. Once you’ve defined an advertising channel, consider niches within the channel that will best reach your specific audience.
When it comes to traditional advertising, it’s also advisable to talk to a media specialist who can help you understand your options and provide the research you need to make the smartest choices to reach your target audience.
Direct Mail and Email Marketing
Direct mail and email marketing can be effective ways to reach potential customers. Direct mail campaigns involve sending physical mail, such as postcards or letters, to a targeted list of potential customers. Email marketing campaigns involve sending promotional emails to a targeted list of subscribers. Both methods can be effective in reaching potential customers, but it's important to have a clear message and a targeted list to make the most of these marketing strategies.
If you’re a business with products or services that can be purchased multiple times by the same customer, you should definitely be collating a mailing list so you can communicate cost effectively to your existing customer base – outside of customer referrals, this is likely to be your most cost effective form of advertising.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Small business marketing involves promoting and selling products or services to potential customers. It's important for small businesses because it helps to build brand awareness and drive sales. Without effective marketing strategies, small businesses may struggle to reach potential customers and may not see the growth they need to succeed.
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Creating a marketing plan involves identifying your target audience, setting goals, determining a budget, and choosing the most effective marketing channels. It's important to have a clear understanding of your brand and what sets you apart from your competitors in order to create an effective marketing plan. That said, we’re not big fans of large drawn out plans. We’d advise reviewing your business via the customer engagement process outlined above and then creating an action list. Prioritise the things you need to do to improve your customers’ experience of your business then get on with fixing them as quickly as possible.
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There are many marketing strategies that small businesses can use, including social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, and paid advertising. The most effective marketing strategies will depend on the specific goals and needs of your small business. Reviewing your business via the customer engagement process outlined above can be a good start in discovering where to focus your time and energy.
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Content marketing can be an effective way for small businesses to build brand awareness and drive sales. By creating valuable and informative content, small businesses can establish themselves as industry experts and build trust with potential customers. But content marketing is no silver bullet. It takes time, effort and the results are far from guaranteed.
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The best social media platforms for small businesses will depend on the target audience and the type of content being shared. Some popular platforms for small businesses include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok. For some businesses, none of these will be particularly valuable. For others, most if not all of them will be.
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Here’s what you’re likely to hear: Both Facebook ads and Google AdWords can be effective for small businesses, but the best choice will depend on the specific goals and needs of your business. Facebook ads may be more effective for businesses looking to build brand awareness and target specific demographics, while Google AdWords may be more effective for businesses looking to drive website traffic and sales.
Here's what we’ve seen: 95% of the time Google Search Ads will crush Facebook based on ROI. That’s not to say Facebook, or other platforms don’t have a place, or that they’re not better for some businesses, it’s just that most of the time, you want to be in front of people who are looking for what your business provides – and that’s what Google Search Ads do.
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There are many tools and platforms that can be used to promote a small business online, including social media platforms, email marketing platforms, website builders, and search engine optimisation tools. The specific tools you'll need will depend on your goals and the marketing strategies you choose to implement. Our advice, keep these tools to a minimum and focus on ease of use – that way you’re more likely to actually use them.
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Creating an effective website involves choosing the right platform, designing a user-friendly layout, and creating high-quality content. The cost of creating a website will depend on the specific needs of your business, but there are many affordable options available, including DIY website platforms like Squarespace or Wix. If you’re not keen to going it alone, then it’s worth talking to companies like SME Growth to find out what your specific business needs.
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The cost of using Google AdWords will depend on the specific keywords and targeting options you choose. It's important to track your results and adjust your strategy as needed to ensure that you're getting a positive return on investment. Knowing if it’s worth it comes down to your ROI – so without measuring that, you’ll always be somewhat in the dark.
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