Startup Junction

Small Business Marketing Tips

Marketing to a business is what oxygen is to a human being. It not only gives a business an identity but it is a must for its ongoing survival and growth. But most of the new entrepreneurs end up emphasizing too much on brand building by overlooking the immediate need of revenue generation. While brand building is one of the most significant tasks in the long term success of a venture, immediate revenue generation in the short term is like blood flowing through veins. Therefore, startups initially should focus on revenue generation by using the direct marketing tactics than brand building.

What is Direct Marketing?

- Direct Marketing focuses on profitability of a venture than the brand building. The entrepreneur focuses more on capturing the market share by advertising the services they offer so that all their marketing dollars are converted into revenue.
- Direct Marketing is highly targeted to a specific segment of customers. For example, a lawn maintenance service in a wealthy neighborhood.
- Direct Marketing allows entrepreneurs to actively seek feedback from its customers and build their service offerings accordingly.

How to launch a Direct Marketing campaign?

There are several ways to launch a Direct Marketing campaign and maximize your ROI.

1. Yahoo Sponsored Search

Yahoo!Sponsored Search lists your business on top sites like Yahoo!, AltaVista and CNN. When you get listed on the sponsored search list, your business name appears as one of the top sites in the search results. Research shows that most of the users click on the top results and it actually turns into a transaction.

Sign Up for Yahoo! Search Marketing

2. Google Adwords

Highly targeted ads using Google Adwords is another way to launch your Direct Marketing campaign. By using highly targeted keywords such as "Lawn Care in Seattle", you can target users who are looking for Lawn Care services and products in Seattle area. You will pay Google only when someone clicks on your ad. Most of the users who will click on your ads are likely to become customers of your business provided you have a strong value proposition for them.

If you have trouble coming up with good competitive keywords, you can use Google's keyword finder or an outside service. This service can help you find keywords your competitor are using.

Two well known keyword services are:

Compete.com

KeyCompete.com

Door to Door Coupon / Brochure Distribution

Another way to launch a direct marketing campaign is by distributing coupons / brochure to your targeted customers. The two very popular services to make brochure are:

Professional Printing Resources:

1. VistaPrint.com can make brochures for you at a very economical rate. With more than 10,000,000 customers worldwide, VistaPrint is a leading online supplier of high-quality graphic design services and customized printed products to small businesses and consumers. We offer high-quality solution for graphic design and full-color printing in small quantities, without the premium
price.

Click here to see their Free Deals of the Week

2. iPrint.com is another good option. At iPrint, you can personalize your printed product just the way you want it. Thier online printing service offers 70 different products with a variety of design options. Business cards, stationery, postcards, Post-it Notes, announcements, invitations, rubber stamps, address labels, signs, banners, mugs, mouse pads, and apparel
are just a few of their items.

Special Offer: 25% off Business Cards at iPrint.com

Mailing List

Creating a mailing list can not only grow your business but also allows you to have a mechanism in place to get feedback from your customers. It does not cost a lot of money or resources to create a mailing list. If you have not been keeping a list of your past customers or if you are interested in adding new customers to the existing list, you can manage that using a simple excel spreadsheet or hire a list management company. Most of the list management services include:

Create New List

Get sales leads and mailing lists to grow your business.

Update My List