Small Business Marketing For Dummies E-Book

Paul Lancaster

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 562

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Small Business Marketing For Dummies helps you promote your business. It is designed specifically for the busy small business owner, giving you simple but powerful ways to spread your message - all at little or no cost.  It shows you how to build your company’s profile, attract new customers and keep them coming back for more.

Inside you will learn how to:

• Create an achievable marketing plan
• Use social media and the web to attract and keep customers
• Communicate with your customers through winning emails, newsletters, blogs and more
• Make use of affordable advertising solutions in print and other media
• Get great PR for your business

Leseprobe

Small Business Marketing For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com

This edition first published 2014

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-118-73077-5 (hardback/paperback); ISBN 978-1-118-73075-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-73080-5 (ebk)

Printed in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Small Business Marketing For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/sbmarketinguk to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Small Business Marketing

Chapter 1: Framing the Marketing Process

Seeing the Big Picture

Following the marketing wheel of fortune

Understanding the relationship between marketing and sales

Jump-Starting Your Marketing Programme

Marketing a start-up business

Growing your business

Scaling your marketing to meet your goal

How Small Business Marketing Is Different

Budget differences

Staffing differences

Creative differences

Strategic differences

The small business marketing advantage

Making Marketing Your Key to Success

Chapter 2: All about Customers

Anatomy of a Customer

Collecting customer information

Geographics: Locating your market areas

Demographics: Collecting customer data

Psychographics: Customer buying behaviour

Determining Which Customers Buy What

Viewing your sales by market segment

Matching customers with distribution channels

Catering to screen-connected customers

Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes

Getting to Know Your Product

When service is your product

Your product is what Google says it is

Illogical, Irrational and Real Reasons Why People Buy What You Sell

Buying Decisions: Rarely about Price, Always about Value

Calculating the value formula

Riding the price/value teeter-totter

Evaluating your pricing

Raising prices

Presenting prices

The Care and Feeding of a Product Line

Enhancing the appeal of existing products

Raising a healthy product

Developing new products

Managing your product offerings

Chapter 4: Sizing Up Competitors and Staking Out Market Share

Playing the Competitive Field

Speaking the language of competition

Knowing what you’re up against

Understanding how to compete

Winning Your Share of the Market

Defining your direct competition

Moving up the competitive ladder

Calculating Your Market Share

Sizing up your target market

Doing the sums

Increasing Your Market Share

Chapter 5: Setting Your Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Budgets

Where Are You Going, Anyway?

The ‘vision’ thing

Your statement of purpose

Success stories

Defining Goals and Objectives Simply

Setting goals and objectives

Planning strategies

Putting goals, objectives and strategies into action

Following the fail-safe planning sequence

Budgeting to Reach Your Goals

Realistic talk about small business marketing budgets

How much should you be spending?

Part II: Laying the Foundation for Marketing Success

Chapter 6: Taking Stock of Your Business Image

Making First Impressions

Encountering your business through online searches

Arriving at your website

Managing email impressions

Arriving by telephone

Approaching your business in person

Auditing the Impressions Your Business Makes

Surveying your marketing materials and communications

Creating an impression inventory

Improving the impressions you’re making

Chapter 7: Forging Your Brand

What Brands Are and Do

Unlocking the power and value of a brand

Tipping the balance online

Building a Powerful Brand

Being consistent to power your brand

Taking six brand-management steps

Your Market Position: The Birthplace of Your Brand

Seeing how positioning happens

Determining your positioning strategy

Conveying Your Position and Brand through Taglines

Balancing Personal and Business Brands

Maintaining and Protecting Your Brand

Staying consistent with your brand message and creative strategy

Controlling your brand presentation

Chapter 8: Creating Marketing Communications That Work

Starting with Good Objectives

Defining what you want to accomplish

Putting creative directions in writing

Developing Effective Marketing Communications

Steering the creative process toward a ‘big idea’

Brainstorming

Following simple advertising rules

Making Media Selections

Selecting from the media menu

Deciding which media vehicles to use and when

The Making of a Mass Media Schedule

Balancing reach and frequency

Timing your ads

Evaluating Your Efforts

Chapter 9: Hiring Help When You Need It

Reaching Out to Marketing Pros

When to bring in marketing experts

Who to call for help

What kind of expertise to hire

Choosing and Working with an Agency

Requesting agency proposals

Interviewing agencies

Preparing the client-agency agreement

Understanding agency fees

Working with your agency

Hiring Help for Website Creation

Looking for help

Getting clear about your needs

Interviewing website designers

Finalising your choice

Handing off the content

Part III: Marketing in a Screen-Connected World

Chapter 10: Establishing an Online Presence

Pulling People to Your Business Online

Setting Your Goals for Online Visibility

Claiming Your Online Identity

Registering for a domain name

Reserving your social media user name

Establishing Your Online Home Base

Website basics

Contact sites

Brochure sites

Support sites

Lead-generating sites

Mobile websites

E-commerce sites

Building Your Site

Cracking the site-building code

Incorporating attributes of a good site

Optimising your site for search engines

Evaluating the strength of your site

Promoting your site

Advertising Online

Banner ads

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads

Chapter 11: Getting Interactive with Social Media

Benefiting from Social Media Activity

Getting Started in Four Necessary Steps

1. Define your objectives

2. Choose the name that you want to use across all social media networks

3. Develop your social media Bio

4. Set up an online home base

Diving into Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Google+

Pinterest

Location-based and check-in sites

Rating and review sites

Announcing Your Social Media Debut

Keeping Your Social Media Efforts Active and Engaging

Sharing content

Becoming a content conduit

Getting conversational

Keeping an Eye on How You’re Doing

Monitoring your social media mentions

Measuring your social media effectiveness

Chapter 12: Packaging Your Message for Blogs and Other Online Channels

Joining the 200-Million Blog Contingent

Who blogs?

Why blog?

Launching a Blog

Getting started

Committing to a blog

Crafting your blog-post approach

Using blog posts as the backbone of your online content-distribution strategy

Adding video to blog posts

Cross-Promoting Off-line and Online Content

Turning news into content

Giving long life to presentations

Part IV: Getting the Word Out with Ads, Mailers, Promotions and Publicity

Chapter 13: Creating and Placing Print and Outdoor Ads

Writing and Designing Your Ads

Packing power into headlines

Writing convincing copy

Making design decisions

Translating ad production terminology

Making Sense of Print Media Rates

Placing Newspaper Ads

Scheduling your placements

Using small-budget, small-size ads

Requesting your ad placement

Finding value in the classified section

Placing Magazine Ads

Selecting magazines

Scheduling placements

Considering Yellow Pages, Directories and Their Digital Alternatives

Creating and placing print directory ads

Getting found in online directories

Using Billboards and Out-of-Home Ads

Chapter 14: Broadcasting Your Message on Radio, TV and Online

A Guide to Buying Airtime

Knowing some station and ad-buying terminology

Achieving broadcast reach, frequency and rating points

Bartering for airtime

Broadcast Ad Guidelines

Establishing your own broadcast identity

Writing your ad

Turning your script over to the producers

Producing Radio Ads

Producing TV Ads

Hiring professionals

Airing pre-produced manufacturer ads

Considering Infomercials

Logging In to Webinars

Chapter 15: Snail-Mailing and Emailing Your Customers Directly

Using One-to-One Marketing

Direct Sales: Do-It-Yourself Distribution

Marketing with Direct Mailers

Setting up for success with direct mail

Deciding between email and ‘going postal’

Making your offer

Personalising your mailer

Putting Surface Direct Mail to Work

Developing a great list

Creating your mailer

Sending your mailer

Following up

Keeping your list current

Knowing the difference between direct mail and junk mail

Email Marketing

Keeping your email legal and welcome

Rating your email marketing

Sending email that gets read and gets results

Chapter 16: Brochures, Promotions, Trade Shows and More

Publishing Brochures

Differentiating types of brochures

Copywriting

Designing and printing brochures

Getting brochures into the marketplace

Making the Most of Newsletters

Planning your newsletters

Packing newsletters with useful content

Producing and circulating e-newsletters

Finding Marketing Opportunities throughout Your Business

Turning your packages into ad vehicles

Building business with gift certificates

Getting good use out of business cards

Making the most of advertising specialties

Choosing and Using Trade Shows

Building Sales through Promotions

Chapter 17: Public Relations and Publicity

The Relationship between Public Relations and Publicity

Taking a wide-angle view of public relations

Focusing on publicity

Becoming a News Source

Creating a media kit and online media centre

Establishing and maintaining an all-important list of media contacts

Getting real with publicity expectations

Spreading Your News

Preparing news releases

Managing media interviews

Staging news conferences – or not

Crisis Communications: Dealing with Bad News

Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers

Chapter 18: Making Impressions through Networking and Presentations

Building a Far-Reaching Network

Making Introductions

Introducing yourself

Introducing your business

Polishing Your Presentation

Stepping up to the microphone

Presenting your proposal or product

Chapter 19: Making the Sale

Turning Prospects into Customers

Navigating the Sale Process

Selling redefined

Getting off to a good start

Negotiating mutually agreeable solutions

Watching for buying signals

Asking for the order

Making buying easy

Chapter 20: Enhancing Customer Service and Developing Loyalty

What Customers Want

The Fundamentals of Customer Service

Mastering the service cycle

Evaluating and improving service levels

Cultivating ‘best customers’

Creating a customer service environment

Dealing with Concerns and Complaints

Understanding why customers don’t complain

Encouraging complaints

Reading customer clues to dissatisfaction

Turning complaints into loyalty springboards

Making Loyal Customers for Life

Valuing your customers

Benchmarking satisfaction levels and cultivating loyalty

Closing the quality gap

Building loyalty through service

Launching loyalty programmes

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Chapter 21: Ten Questions to Answer before Choosing a Business Name

What Kind of Name Do You Want?

Is the Name You Want Available?

Is It Easy to Spell?

Is It Easy to Say?

Is It Original in Your Market Area?

Is It Unconventional?

Does It Work in Markets Far and Wide?

Is It Memorable?

Can You Live and Grow with This Name?

Are You Ready to Commit to the Name?

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Attract People to Your Business Online

Commit to Becoming Findable Online

Set a Goal for Your Online Activity

Decide on Your Online Identity

Establish Your Online Introduction

Stake an Online Home Base

Build an Online Media Centre

Get Active Across Social Media

Develop a Content-Sharing Programme

Monitor Your Online Reputation

Get and Stay Active Online

Chapter 23: Ten Steps to a Great Marketing Plan

Step 1: State Your Business Purpose

Step 2: Analyse Your Market Situation

Step 3: Set Goals and Objectives

Step 4: Define Your Market

Step 5: Advance Your Position, Brand and Creative Strategy

Step 6: Set Your Marketing Strategies

Step 7: Outline Your Tactics

Step 8: Establish Your Budget

Step 9: Blueprint Your Action Plan

Step 10: Think Long Term

One Final Step: Use Your Plan

About the Author

Cheat Sheet

Connect with Dummies

Introduction

Marketing is the process through which you win and keep customers. But while the definition of marketing is cast in concrete, everything about how businesses market has changed.

A growing number of customers now meet businesses online long before they venture through their doors. Increasingly, they form opinions based not on marketer-produced messages but on what others – or what Google – tell them about a product or business. They read online reviews more carefully than they read business brochures. And they’re not hesitant to share their love or lack thereof for the companies and products they encounter, passing on their opinions not just to those within earshot but to any of the 2 billion-plus Internet users worldwide who come across their posts.

Welcome to marketing in today’s screen-connected, customer-empowered world.

And welcome to Small Business Marketing For Dummies, written to prepare your small business to succeed in the exciting, fast-changing marketing world around you. From updated techniques for using traditional advertising and communication approaches to all-new advice for shifting marketing emphasis toward digital communications, count on the upcoming 350-plus pages to prepare you for better marketing in the following ways:

New coverage of how to use the Internet and social media networks as your most-essential guerrilla-marketing tools.

Revamped instructions for generating publicity in today’s wired, linked and blogged world.

Step-by-step advice for shifting from one-way to two-way marketing communications that inspire customer interactions and loyalty in today’s connected and competitive marketplace.

Updated advice and examples throughout, including the newest tips for generating product innovations, marketing communications, consumer trials, sales and loyalty.

Expanded advice on business branding and personal branding, and how to balance the two for the health and value of your business.

Whether you’re marketing on the high street or online, whether your company is a growing enterprise or a one-person shop, whether your business is starting up, making a U-turn or growing beyond your wildest expectations, this book aims to serve as your marketing partner as you plan and implement a marketing programme to reach out to the customers who will help you write your success story.

About This Book

Small Business Marketing For Dummies is especially for businesses that operate without the benefit – or the expense – of a high-powered Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), an award-winning ad agency or even a member of staff dedicated full-time to the task of managing your marketing activities.

Every example in this book is directed at the businessperson who wears all the hats and markets in whatever time remains. If that person sounds a lot like you, keep reading!

You have a business to run, customers to serve, product issues to address and a lineup of deadlines and decisions looming. You also have questions about how and how much you should be marketing, whether you need to be active online and how to best invest your time and money to draw customers to your cash register. If you fit the small business mould, you’re strapped for time and need quick answers, rapid-fire advice and street-smart solutions that you can put to work immediately. This book gives you all that and more.

Foolish Assumptions

We never introduce a For Dummies book without reminding readers that anyone smart enough to turn to one of these yellow-and-black books is no fool. Here are a few other assumptions we make about you:

You market a small business or organisation, probably with a tight budget and with a marketing staff made up of just you, or you and only a few others.

You’re baffled by the new marketing options you hear about every day and aren’t sure how to proceed and which approaches – from traditional advertising to online and social media communications – to use.

You’re aiming for greater business success and aren’t sure what marketing path to follow.

Icons Used in This Book

Marketing is full of logos, seals of approval and official stamps. In keeping with tradition, throughout the margins of this book you’ll find symbols that spotlight important points, shortcuts and warnings. Watch for these icons:

This icon highlights the golden rules for small business marketing. Write them down, memorise them and use them to guide your marketing decisions and actions.

Remember the line, ‘Don’t tell me, show me’? This icon pops up alongside examples that show you how an idea applies in real-life marketing practices.

Not every idea is a good idea. This icon alerts you to situations that deserve your cautious evaluation. Consider it a flashing yellow light.

The bullseye marks text that helps you stretch budgets, shortcut processes, make confusing steps easy and seize low-cost, low-effort marketing opportunities.

It’s not all Greek, but marketing certainly has its own jargon. When things get a little technical, this icon appears to help you through the translation.

This icon lets you know that there's a form, checklist, worksheet or resource you can find through www.dummies.com/extras/smallbusmarketing that will help you complete a step in the marketing process.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the material in the print or e-book you're reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the Web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/smallbusmarketinguk for some key tips and tricks for getting your business noticed.

You can also find loads of other useful resources at www.dummies.com/extras/smallbusinessmarketing, including a link to a sheaf of forms to help you in your marketing activities. This table gives you the full run-down on what's available.

Form Number

Form Title

Description

Chapter 2: All about Customers

Form 2-1

Customer Profile Template

A template for creating a description of customers of your business

Form 2-2

Market Segmentation Analysis

A worksheet for listing and studying revenues by geographic market area

Form 2-3

Channel Distribution Analysis

A worksheet for listing and studying revenues by distribution channel

Chapter 3: Seeing Your Product through Your Customers’ Eyes

Form 3-1

Product Line Analysis

A worksheet for listing and studying revenues by product line

Chapter 4: Sizing Up Competitors and Staking Out Market Share

Form 4-1

Competitive Intelligence Worksheet

A form for compiling competitive information, analyses and opportunities

Chapter 5: Setting Your Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Budgets

Form 5-1

Statement of Purpose Worksheet

A form that lists questions to address and a template to follow when you produce the statement of purpose for your business

Form 5-2

Goals and Objectives Worksheet

A form that lists questions to address and templates to follow when you set goals and objectives for your marketing efforts

Form 5-3

Strategy-Setting Worksheet

A form that lists questions to address when you set pricing, product, promotion and place or distribution strategies

Chapter 6: Taking Stock of Your Business Image

Form 6-1

Impression Inventory and Audit

A form for listing and rating the quality of every impression your business makes in its marketplace

Chapter 7: Forging Your Brand

Form 7-1

Do You Have the Makings for a Powerful Brand?

A worksheet for plotting a strategy to add horsepower to your brand, from Liz Goodgold

Form 7-2

Six Brand-Management Steps

A worksheet to guide the steps necessary for building a brand for yourself or your business

Form 7-3

Test Your Tagline I.Q.

Grade your tagline by taking the Tagline Test from Eric Swartz, The Tagline Guru

Chapter 8: Creating Marketing Communications That Work

Form 8-1

Creative Brief

Seven questions to answer before developing marketing communications

Chapter 9: Hiring Help When You Need It

Form 9-1

Agency Selection Checklist

Questions to answer as you evaluate each agency under consideration

Form 9-2

Website Designer Selection Checklist

Questions to answer as you evaluate each website designer under consideration

Form 9-3

Planning Your Website Worksheet

A checklist provided by Janine Warner, author of Websites DIY For Dummies

Chapter 10: Establishing an Online Presence

Form 10-1

Support Site Considerations

A questionnaire to complete before investing in a support site and moving some or all customer support functions online

Form 10-2

Planning Your Mobile Website

Information and a checklist of considerations to weigh when deciding on a mobile website

Form 10-3

Is E-Commerce Right for Your Business?

Questions to weigh when deciding whether to invest in an e-commerce site

Chapter 11: Getting Interactive with Social Media

Form 11-1

20 Tips for Becoming Successful on LinkedIn

A checklist of advice from Viveka von Rosen, CEO of Linked Into Business

Form 11-2

Checklist of Content-Generating Approaches

A list of content categories you can turn to when developing shareable content for social media interaction

Form 11-3

Social Media Tracker

A form you can use to track social media participation and effectiveness levels

Form 11-4

Social Media Programme Planning Checklist

A form listing the steps to take and issues to consider as you plan, implement and monitor your social media programme

Chapter 12: Packaging Your Message for Blogs and Other Online Channels

Form 12-1

Blog Editorial Calendar and Post Planner

A chart for planning a month of blog posts

Chapter 14: Broadcasting Your Message on Radio, TV, and Online

Form 14-1

Talent Release Form

A sample form for requesting talent permission agreements from those featured in your ads

Form 14-2

Radio Advertising Checklist

A checklist to help you evaluate your radio ads

Form 14-3

TV Advertising Checklist

A checklist to help you evaluate your TV ads

Form 14-4

Planning a Webinar Checklist

A checklist detailing the steps involved in planning, announcing and hosting webinars

Chapter 15: Snail-Mailing and E-Mailing Your Customers Directly

Form 15-1

Writing Direct Mail Letters

A checklist to use when composing the letter that accompanies traditional direct mailers

Form 15-2

Writing and Sending Effective Marketing Email

A checklist of actions to take and advice to follow when creating and sending email to your opt-in list

Form 15-3

Creating an Effective Landing Page

A list of attributes good landing pages have in common

Chapter 16: Brochures, Promotions, Trade Shows, and More

Form 16-1

Brochure Production and Distribution Guidelines

Advice to consider when writing, designing and circulating sales literature

Form 16-2

Newsletter Production Guidelines

Advice to consider when writing, designing and circulating printed and e-newsletters

Form 16-3

Promotion Planning Guidelines

A list of promotion planning steps and considerations

Chapter 17: Public Relations and Publicity

Form 17-1

Printed News Release Checklist

Advice to follow when writing and producing hard-copy news releases

Form 17-2

Media Interview Preparation Checklist

Help for planning for and participating in media interviews

Form 17-3

News Conference and Event Checklist

A list to follow when you’re considering or planning a news event

Chapter 18: Making Impressions through Networking and Presentations

Form 18-1

Writing Your Elevator Pitch

A formula to follow when preparing an introduction for your business

Form 18-2

Introducing Your Business by Phone

A checklist for making introductory phone calls

Form 18-3

Writing Letters or Emails to Introduce Your Business

A checklist for writing letters or email messages that introduce your business

Chapter 20: Enhancing Customer Service and Developing Loyalty

Form 20-1

Evaluating Your Customer Service

Questions to ask and answer as you assess the quality of customer service in your business

Form 20-2

Improving Your Customer Service

A form for benchmarking and improving customer service levels

Form 20-3

Customer Satisfaction Analysis

A checklist of approaches for winning increased business and turning customers into customers for life

Where to Go from Here

The role of marketing is to win and keep enough highly satisfied customers to keep your business not just in business but on an upward curve – and that’s what this book is all about.

Hit the table of contents or index and you can dart straight to the pages that hold the advice you need right now.

Or become the marketing genius for your business by reading this book from cover to cover. It walks you through the full marketing process and helps you tailor your marketing programme, create your marketing messages and produce marketing communications that work.

For the price of this book, you can get what big businesses pay big money for: a bespoke marketing ‘consultation.’ Every chapter includes the latest facts and advice, and most also include how-to information from a lineup of amazing and successful experts who were generous enough to share their best tips in the pages of this book. We all wish you marketing success!

Part I

Getting Started with Small Business Marketing

For Dummies can help you get started with a huge range of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com/extras/smallbusinessmarketing for free bonus content, including forms designed to help your marketing efforts.

In this part . . .

  Get the big marketing picture for the small business.

  Rev up your business and jump-start your marketing programme.

  Analyse and define your customers, your product and your competitors.

  Set your marketing goals, objectives, strategies and budgets.

  Shape your business’s future.

Chapter 1

Framing the Marketing Process

In This Chapter

Taking the necessary marketing steps that lead to sales