Small Business Startup and Marketing

Small Business Startup and Marketing

So what’s been happening at 77 lately? TONS! Recently at 77 Design Co, we have been working hard to help several small local businesses devise full scale marketing plans that are both cost effective for them, and entice new customers to their products. We will be promoting and marketing these businesses in the near future, so stay tuned! You WILL want to know about them!

These marketing plans cover the whole gamut of supporting and necessary needs for a business to get off the ground running. Some of the services in these plans include:

*web design (several hours per month of support)

*blogging (1-4 per month for the ever changing website)

*photography and video (several hours per month)

*graphic design (several hours of design support for new brochures/cards/logo/mailers)

*social media management (an agreed upon number of monthly posts with trainings included)

*SEO help (support and training for best practices)

The monthly marketing plans we’ve offered have been greeted thus far with open arms. They also cover a wide range of important marketing aspects that are usually purchased separately, which typically means more expense 💵 too. These programs cover it all and help our customers reach their customers as soon as they open their doors. We love to help small business thrive!

Give us a ring if you know a new business starting up.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

Marketing is an Asset NOT an Expense

Stop it. Just stop! Marketing is not an expense. I know you’ve heard it before, but pay attention. Marketing is not an expense. I’ll say it again. MARKETING IS NOT AN EXPENSE.

Do you want to grow? Do you want your business to flourish? Why aren’t you telling people about the services you offer or the goods you sell? I know. I know… “I don’t have the money to invest.. “ “Sales are slow.” “We can’t do it right now.” EXCUSES! Stop it!

I met with some bankers the other day and we were talking small business over lunch. Their bank specializes in loans for small business that do less than $250k per year in sales. One of the things we talked about is how small business owners tend to look more at the now than the later.

Joe Small Business Owner wants a jet ski. Joe sells some services and buys the jet ski. Nothing wrong with that, but what if Joe reinvested that profit into marketing and waited a year, or six months to buy the jet ski? Where would his business be in that time with a strategic plan? A marketing effort? How much would he grow?

I know, again… “We’ve tried marketing. It didn’t work.” “Word of mouth is the only way.” I’m calling bullshit here. You met with some sales person who sold you some radio ads, or some online package for $2500 that never changed. It didn’t engage. The sales person never checked back in. They took your money and ran some ads, or did some “marketing.” Maybe you got one or two sales from it, maybe more… But it didn’t live up to your expectations.

Here’s where it went wrong. That sales person didn’t listen. They didn’t even ask questions, or the right ones! They didn’t look at, and I mean really look at your business. They didn’t analyze your pain points, they didn’t examine your best customer. They didn’t take the time to understand where you are and where you want to go. They came in filled out some paper work, had you sign on the dotted line, left with a check and said “Boom, now you’re marketing. Good Luck.”

At best this is a C- strategy. Why not try for an A?

Marketing is one of the most important things a business can do. Not only does it help to bring awareness, it builds sales, reputation, engages customers, and grows the business, but it also helps to stem so much including company culture.

Here are key reasons why it is essential to market your business in today’s modern marketplace:

It Grows – Marketing helps a business get on solid footing, and thus provides a basis for growth. While you should always maintain and develop your current customer base following the 80/20 rule, a continual drip campaign keeps you in front of your existing clientele and keeps you top of mind with them.

Marketing also allows you to reach new and potential customers that are in search of solutions to their issues.

It Sells –  Marketing helps to sell more products, solutions or services. The bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is an essential channel to reach that end goal. Without marketing businesses wouldn’t exist because marketing is ultimately what drives sales. You have a good product but if people don’t know about you then how will you generate sales? Put simply: You can’t. Businesses need to content (social media posts, brochures, signage, imagery, etc) to bring customers in and lead them to a purchase. Marketing helps sales and sales help your business.

It Engages –  Customer engagement is key to any successful business, big or small.  Marketing provides a way to keep a conversation going. It provides a constant drip to keep you in the minds of your existing and potential customers. Consumers want to be engaged and will seek out reviews, social media posts and Google reviews. This is where marketing comes in, and whatever the medium, you can send your customers relevant content that is in-line with your brand to keep them engaged. Your audience wants to form a relationship with your brand, and marketing can do that.

It informs: On a base level, marketing is useful for customer education. When you are going about your day you’re not actively seeking out a 4,000 word blog or searching for a sales pitch on facebook. You happen upon something that piques your interest and you head down the rabbit hole. Next thing you know you’re considering a purchase.

And while you Mr./Mrs./Miss Business Owner know the ins-and-outs of your product, do your consumers? In order to buy into a product, your audience needs to have an understanding of what it does and how it works, and more importantly WHY they need it!

Marketing is the most effective way to communicate your value proposition to your customers in a fun and interesting way. If consumer education is on your priority list then marketing should be too. We call this Edutainment, and is one of our key philosophies to a successful campaign.

It’s equalized: Modern marketing is a less expensive game than ever before. Social media platforms, direct mail, geo-fencing, target marketing and email campaigns have made touching consumers a much more finance-friendly possibility. Utilizing these vehicles can help even the playing field when it comes to competing against big name competitors. Modern consumers value experience over pricing, so this kind of one-on-one interaction could push customers in your direction over bigger brands.

It sustains: Marketing is meant to build and sustain a company’s presence – not remedy a lack of engagement. In this sense, marketing is something that businesses need to create and manage every day to maintain a healthy relationship with their consumers. Marketing is important because it allows businesses to maintain long-lasting and ever-present relationships with their audience. It is not a one-time fix, it is an ongoing strategy that helps businesses flourish.

 

Problems With Your Marketing?

Hi everyone,

Lately we have been running into some issues with clients and potential clients.

  1. Bad Logo Design:  A few business owners we have met with recently have sent over their logos to us for various reasons. The problem…bad or improperly  designed logos. Logos created without vector art or made into Photoshop files can lead to issues down the road with all sorts of printing. We’ve identified several problems, fixed them, and have made quite a few happy camper business owners.
  2. Disappearing Web Designers: Yep, you read that right. A couple companies in the last 2-3 weeks have described their web designers as MIA. They have said that repairs to the site have not been made when needed, or that the sites were improperly designed in the first place. We are currently working on fixing these issues.
  3.  Marketing Monies Improperly Spent:  Where and what is your business marketing budget going to? Is this producing significant results? If not, why are you continuing to spend in outlets that aren’t producing the results you want? In the last week alone, 2 customers have described to us that their print marketing budgets (significant amounts too, $XX,XXX) aren’t getting their phone to ring anymore. Both said that putting this money into these particular outlets was “always what we did in the past.” Not good. As with everything in the known universe…things change. Either you stay the course and keep pumping money into the wrong outlets, or get with the times and steam ahead. Currently, we are producing 2 proposals with what we feel are much more effective print marketing ideas that will resonate with the types of customers these businesses are seeking, and the best part…we will save them thousands of dollars!
  4. Of Course, Stock Photography:  My personal favorite, stock photography on your marketing materials! Ugggggg, for crying out loud, why?! Why do you want people, products, places, or even conceptual ideas in images that have nothing to do with your business to represent YOUR brand???!!! Make your own awesome photographs, or get someone that can. In the last week we’ve shot 3 separate photo shoots for 3 companies to use for their materials and websites…guess what…the sites are going to look KICK ASS when finalized!          

These are just a few things we are dealing with on a day to day basis at 77 Design Co. If your business suffers from any of the above mentioned issues, or you know a business that could use a helping hand, give us a call today and we’ll gladly give you a free consult!

-Bobby Drakulic

Rob Hoffman-412-889-3495

Bobby Drakulic-724-433-9142