Marketing, getting the basics right

Decades ago, business cards, snail mail, billboards, and TV commercials were all an entrepreneur could use to grow their business. Those methods then and now are reserved for those with deep ambition and even deeper pockets.

I hear you all thinking, digital marketing, social media, Facebook, twitter, Instagram LinkedIn they’re all free that’s what I’ll do, that’ll work for me, that would be cheaper. Well, it’s not quite that straightforward BUT you do need an online presence. Digital marketing helps you reach a larger audience than you could through traditional methods, and target the prospects who are most likely to buy your product or service

With how accessible the internet is today; would you believe me if I told you the number of people who go online every day is still increasing? And although we say it a lot, the way people shop and buy really has changed along with it — meaning offline marketing isn’t as effective as it used to be.

But stop and think. Yes, it’s free and yes, its easy to set up a Facebook/Twitter/Instagram account BUT you need to take a step back and think. Who are your customers, who are you targeting, what do you want to tell them, where are you customers, have you a plan?

However, for the purposes of this article we’re going back to basics. We’ve been researching local businesses, checking their Facebook listing against their Yell, website and google listings. On so many occasions they don’t match showing different addresses, different telephone numbers and different emails.

Social media pages are often the worst. When you see a lovely picture of a cupcake, sandwich or coffee and think you really want one for your 10.00 o’clock tea and then no address exists. Is the business local or would you have to drive 30 miles for that coffee?

Bottom line make sure you have all your relevant contact details on your marketing material. Use your common sense. If you depend on a local market but work from home, it is probably sensible not to list your home address but perhaps add the town you are based in and how far you are willing to travel. But essentially you need a phone number and email address.

Don’t make it hard for prospective customers to find you.

Janice McDonald