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September 26, 2006

Small Business Marketing - How To Exploit And Milk Zero Cost Small Business Marketing

Everyone in business is talking about zero-cost marketing, but you don’t have to attend a high-flying seminar to know—and profit from—this important business strategy. Zero cost marketing is actually not entirely a new idea, but it has been repackaged into a more modern format, made to take advantage of tools common to the technology of our day.

Before embarking on an explanation, it would be good at the outset to explain the difference between marketing and advertising. Often, people confuse the two; while they are related, there is a significant difference.

Business Name. Marketing involves every action that you take to continually promote your brand in the minds of the consumers. Advertising includes only those activities that are specifically designed to promote your business. The difference is subtle, but suffice it to say, that even actions that do not fall under the banner of “advertising” can be part of your marketing campaign. For instance, one of the most powerful first steps to marketing a business is in its very inception, when you must choose your business name.

Why is this?

People remember names and their unique brands that they associate with specific businesses and their products or services.

We remember Toys ‘R’ Us as being all about toys; the name says it all, and the brand is impressed in our minds. If the owners of that company had chosen a more generic name for their business (Acme, Inc, to for example), it’s unlikely that consumers would long associate that name as being about toys (much less all about toys).

So make sure that your business name is specific, and that it identifies your niche—that is, you’re unique marketing position, that which sets you apart from your competitors.

Publicity. Publicity, the free kind, is the most common way for businesses wanting to promote their companies at little to no cost. This type of zero cost marketing has been often called “stealth marketing,” for the way that it flies under the radar of conventional, direct assault promotional campaigns—yet is remarkably effective. Publicity has both an offline and online component, but we’ll review the offline component first. Press Kit.

The press release kit is a staple of business promotion. Understanding the power of a press kit begins with first understanding how the press corps themselves do their work. Reporters do not comb the Internet or hang out at the local pubs looking for news stories. They find leads by council meetings, calling experts or public figures, combing through public records, and so on.

Sometimes reporters are approached by other people with potential leads to stories. In some cases, these sources are local business professionals in the community who are self-described experts in the arena which a news story might touch upon. These business professionals might agree to be cited as experts, and deliver pithy sound bites or even interviews as needed. In exchange, their business name is mentioned in the article.

Businesses put together press kits to deliver to news organizations, radio stations and print publications, both locally and nationally. Often the press kit contains professional photographs, brief sketches of the product/business, a biographical sketch of the business owner and a brief “success story” of the company.

These businesses will then distribute these press kits to media professionals, and will follow-up on delivery, to be sure that the material has been delivered. As appropriate, reporters may contact these business professionals to weigh in on stories that touch their areas of expertise. Begin now to put together a press kit for your business and prepare your contact list for distribution. You can get more information on writing press release and learn how to put a professional press kit together. As soon as you become known as the expert in your field, your advice—and your sound bites—will be sought out.

Press Release. In addition to a press kit, you will need to become versed in writing a press release. A press release, like any other news item, is all about story - a newsworthy story—but one that mentions your business in the process. A press release follows the usual who, what, where, and why of any other news story, and is a valuable way of getting your business mentioned in local and national newspapers.

An excellent web site with a tutorial about writing the press release is . Once you’ve learned how to write a press release for print publications, you will then want to ensure that you have a company web site, and then write a press release for the Internet. PRWeb is the premier online press release distribution services to newswires all over the world. Consult their website is at http://www.prweb.com, to learn how to get your press release accepted by them and circulated in cyberspace.

Community. You can also generate free publicity by agreeing to speak in local community events, or teach in a vocational school on a subject related to your business. Begin to give your time, and even a small sampler of your goods and services, to others in the community. You might also consider a “referral swap” with a business which does not compete with you directly, but complements your services. Agree to swap referrals of customers who need each of your services. In short order, word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers will become the biggest source of publicity for your business.

David
Small Business Resource

Posted by David at September 26, 2006 9:58 PM

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