Small Business Marketing

Marketing isn't rocket science, or at least it doesn't have to be as complicated. I've found often times a small business owner will look around his/her business and think,
"Gee, we need more people buying more products more often. Let's put an ad in the paper!"

But here's the thing. When marketing is done successfully it isn't reactionary. There isn't a silver bullet you can shoot that will suddenly make the entire world aware of your business.

Instead, marketing is a combination of efforts helping you achieve a specific goal. Goal being something quantifiable, something you can measure. More people buying more stuff more often isn't a single goal, it's three goals.
And it isn't realistic to think everyone is your market so you're going to have to qualify "more people".
And those people won't be interested in all your products, so you'll need to qualify "more products".
And, that's right, you guessed it, they won't be buying all the time so you'll need to qualify "more often".

You need to be honest with yourself and take the time to define your customer base, understand the benefits of your products, and identify your seasonality. Once you've done this you can begin to ask yourself what goals you have for your business. Such as,
"Moms spend more money in my store. They seem to like to buy items for their children but usually just in the fall and before Christmas. I'd like to get more Mom shoppers into the store."

Now we're getting somewhere. Where do moms in your town go for information? What information do they find appealing and engaging? Put your ads, sponsorships, blogs, flyers in places that moms frequent and make the message about them. Help them solve a problem or appeal to their needs. Make the message about them, not about what you want them to know about you.

It's a lot of work, but it's the good kind of work. The kind that makes your business stronger and fitter and more focused on success.