As a business owner, it won’t come as a newsflash that spreading the word about your company is fundamental to growth, but how carefully do you select your avenues here? The next instalment in our six-part series looks into the ways companies can broaden their horizons through making themselves seen and heard.
Physical or digital?
With digital media playing a role in our everyday life, many business owners are hesitant to invest in traditional printed advertising. Conversely, others worry that the internet is such a vast source that any online marketing efforts they might make will equate to a mere drop in the ocean.
The reality is that we live in a transitional era and both media play a role in our everyday life, so your marketing efforts should be a mixture of the two. Indeed, this is a method favoured by more than three quarters of SMEs.
Consider your target audience here though, as it may help your decisions on how much to invest in each. It might not surprise you to hear that 99% of people aged 18-24 recently, but among over-75s, this figure is as low as 40%.
Mean business
The business card remains a crucial tool, so be sure to have it with you not just at business and networking events, but also your personal life. After all, the savviest business professionals are aware that promotion and advertising is something you should be able to do whenever the opportunity arises, and shouldn’t simply be confined to office hours and budgets.
This can actually tie in nicely with our previous guide to forming partnerships. Think about your suppliers and the ways you can form a two-way bond with them. It may be that through simple business discussion, a chance comes up for you to promote a service, or you may even spot the potential for your company to diversify and fill an existing gap in the market.
All in all, promotion and marketing is a constantly expanding field, and some businesses fail to grow because they either continue to invest in the wrong channels, or they have failed to keep abreast of the changing nature of marketing and the direction of their clients, customers and competitors. Through management outsourcing, you can discuss your situation with experts who are sure to see new openings for you.