When you are stuck in a position where business dimensions do not allow you to splurge on a huge marketing campaign, you need to think big within small dimensions. One of the pillars of business is marketing, getting the word out and educating the market on your products and services so that consumers can start spending their dollars on you. In the end of the day, the by word is profit, and no matter the nature of your business, the consumer capitalist equation means you need to do some hefty marketing. A long time ago, it meant having huge a&p budgets, below and above the line marketing, designing collaterals, sales copy, the pitch.
Both above and below the line marketing requires spending that is not cheap, especially if the product is designed for the masses. But do not worry, here are some principles to ensure that you do not need to spend so much on your marketing campaign. They will allow you to save money and utilise every inch of advertising real estate to your advantage. The market you are in is something that you have to find out first. No product is designed to reach out to everybody, so you need to understand the demographics of your market before you start your campaign. A marketing campaign for a specific target market is not only more effective but also cheaper. Throwing money into something vague and general is almost always a hit and miss solution.
Think about the characteristics of your product or service. Who is most likely to use it? Identify the age range, the interest group, the market, their spending power and most importantly; where will their attention be diverted most. What medium do they use, what places do they go to, what do they watch on television, what do they like, what sparks their interest? Once you can answer these questions, then you can design a marketing campaign to fit them to the T. Building a campaign for 100, 000 people is alot cheaper than doing it for a few million. You can choose which magazine, where to place a specific billboard, how best to reach out to them. Then and only then will you be able to build a small scale business marketing campaign that can gain momentum and see some growth in time to come.
Also, to those who are starting a business fresh, you have to understand the importance of using every dollar you have into marketing. Do not waste your money on inconsequential things like rent. The digital real estate market exists for you to make use of it. Why would you want to spend large amount of money setting up a physical office when your business has not even built momentum? Virtual offices are the answer to cutting cost and pumping more money into marketing. Once you have a strong customer base, then you can think about going physical. Until then, for small business marketing, think of saving every penny you have.