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Marketing Your Business on a BudgetWith today's economy, many small business owners are feeling the effects and trying to find new ways to make every dollar count. The Small Business Administration notes that 75% of small businesses fail during the first year. This is a static that many of us do not want to hear, but it is reality. As small business owners we wear many hats, the buyer, merchandiser, accountant, sales rep and that leaves little time to market your business. Marketing is the "key" to keeping YOU in business. Reality is that you can't be the best kept secret in town. If no one knows you are there, sales will reflect it. We have to find ways to be creative and utilize the resources in our community. You will have every possible sales representative walk through your door to sell you ad space for some type of magazine or circular in your area. The key is being selective and knowing which one will hit your target market. I found that by using the following ideas, I hardly ever spent money on advertising and was able to cash in on them. Networking is "key" to letting the surrounding communities know that you are there. Join a local small business owners group that usually meets once or twice a month before business hours. Don't forget to bring tons of business cards. Most networking groups will let you do a 30 second commercial on your business. This lets the other business owners know what you do and where you are located. Discuss the possibility of cross promoting your business with their clients. You will in return do the same for them. Brochure or business cards stands are a great place to put other businesses information in your own store. Networking is "key" to letting the surrounding communities know that you are there. Join a local small business owners group that usually meets once or twice a month before business hours. Don't forget to bring tons of business cards! Research other businesses that would compliment yours. The internet is a valuable source of information that we as small business owners can access 24/7. Reach out to doulas, birthing centers, lactation consultants, child birth class leaders, 4D Ultrasound businesses, baby boutiques (if you are in the maternity business), or any type of business that you would share the same client base without being your direct competition. You will find that many other businesses are in the same boat as you when it comes to marketing. They would gladly share in cross promotions between businesses. Issue Press Releases to your local community newspapers. Some local papers are subsidiaries of larger news papers. You may have the same article run for FREE in other areas in your community as a filler article. If you have an upcoming event or new product that you would like to share, let them know about it. The more enticing you make your article, the more likely it will spark their interest. For example, if you have a maternity boutique and are now carrying belly casting kits. Write an article on "ways to preserve your pregnancy." I have found that the easier you make it for the writer or editor, the more likely you will get a call back on your idea. I personally did this on the topics of belly casting, maternity clothes and the upcoming trends, how my business got started and the list goes on. It really works! Promote your boutique by loaning local celebrities maternity clothing. Pregnant women want to keep their current sense of style and are not scared to ask where did you get that? Scan your local news broadcast and see if anyone is expecting. My boutique loaned an ABC Morning News Anchor her clothing for on-air broadcasts for 5 months of her pregnancy. She basically had them on for a few hours each morning and returned them at the end of the week. I was able to negotiate in return on-air credits at every ½ hour segment during the 4 hour morning broadcast. This saved approximately $10,000 over the 5 months in FREE advertisements. The news anchor was so excited that we could help her; we were even able to negotiate 5 news stories to run during her morning show. The 2-3 minute segments were even picked up as filler for the afternoon or evening news time slots. We received a tape with all the segments together to play on a continuous feed at the boutique. She signed a photo and thanked us and noted how much she loved our boutique. Once you have one station that has featured stories on your boutique, it is much easier to have the others follow suit. New OB patients are a great resource when starting to plant the seed that you are in business. If you are in the maternity or baby related business, a great resource is your local OB/GYN's and Pediatrician's in your community. Research your community and create a list of the top practices in both categories. Contact the office managers to see if you could put your information in their new patient OB or Newborn bags. Many are often looking for information to include. You might think about offering a "special" discount for just their patients. Take this same approach for all the larger practices in your area. Don't forget to treat the office staff to a little something as a "thank you" for doing this for your boutique. By spending the time doing this, you will ensure that your target market is reached. As an independent retailer, we are always looking for ways to stand out from the competitors. Marketing is the "key" to keeping you in business. It is not about the total dollars spent on marketing, but utilizing your resources to benefit your business. You will need to be consistent and continue to make your presence known in your community. The customer may not need you today but they will remember you when the time comes.
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