Business Start-ups - Winning Ways to Promote your Business

Just starting out
Offer free advice – do some free work until the paid work starts to come in.
Keep your day job – don’t give up until you have at least 6 months living expenses in the bank.
Keep your costs low – don’t buy what you don’t need. Think like a business owner not a consumer.

Positioning
Position your business right. Too many businesses offer the same service. To succeed you need to offer a visibly different service:  You can be more upmarket, more accessible, be more of an expert, work mainly in certain niches or offer a different pricing structure.

Do a survey

• Send a survey to potential clients. Ask them about their interests, needs or problems. Understand their needs. This will help you formulate your product or service and help you pitch it right.

Promotional Material

• Business cards – always have them available to hand out.
• Printed leaflets – leave them in key places where your target audience visit. I only suggest spending money on printed materials if your target customers are more likely to respond to printed material as opposed to online marketing. 
• Postcards – add a colourful image on one side and message on the reverse. People don’t tend to bin postcards.

Networking

• Contact friends, colleagues and acquaintances  - tell them what you do. Ask for referrals and provide incentives. (Offer a gift or voucher to anyone who provides referrals).
• Join networking groups in your area and speak if you are given the opportunity.
• Find out where your target market goes and go there too.
• Ask your suppliers for advice. Ask them how you might improve. Ask them what your competitors do.

On-line Marketing

• Develop a website
• Sign up to social media platforms such as Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Linked In but don't overstretch yourself. Find out which social media platforms your customers are on.
• Promote your website and services through online “relevant” directories
• Produce a FREE monthly e-newsletter and encourage people to sign up to it via your website and social media channels.

 
Events

• Give a free talk on an interesting topic relevant to the service you provide. Ensure that everyone who attends go away with details of your service.
• Offer your services as a speaker to local organisations

Advertising

• Advertise locally – parish or community magazines are cheaper than local newspapers and glossy magazine (but only if that is where your target audience is).
• Place your postcards in shop windows.
• Yellow pages online – place your free ad.
• Sign up to online directories – often free.

PR

• Get a launch story in your local paper and get a newsworthy angle.
• After the launch continue to issue good news stories in the form of blogs on your website which you can share on your social media accounts.
• Offer to write a regular feature for a magazine or website where your target customers frequent.
• Offer a competition to readers
• Offer your services as an expert to your local radio station

Exhibitions

• Take a trade stand and tell visitors about your product or service
• Visit an exhibition and leave business cards with people you may be able to do business with but don't annoy the exhibitors by overstaying your welcome - they are there to do business, not listen to you promoting your business!

Special Offers

• Offer a half price of free initial consultation for first time clients or offer a free gift.
• Make it easy for people to buy. Offer a free trial period.
• Add time limited offers. Say, offer only available until (date)
• Offer a FREE report – which will show you are an expert in your field
• Make it easy for people to buy.

I hope that is enough to get you started and if you need help with any of the above then please get in touch.

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