Marketing can be tricky and unpredictable. What works one week might not work the next. A marketing strategy that is successful for one type of small business is a dismal failure for another small business.

Do Not Put All the Eggs in One Basket

It is easy to get caught up with what sounds like a winning marketing plan. The best way to lose money is to spend a good chunk of the marketing budget on a single campaign. Before aggressively pursuing the marketing plan, conduct a test of the plan. During the test period, it should become clear whether this marketing strategy is beneficial or, instead, sends the marketing team back to the drawing board.

Hiring an outside company does not always produce better marketing strategies. If people within the small business are at all creative, those who best know the product can usually develop effective marketing strategies.

Choosing Advertising Mediums

If money was not an issue, every type of medium could be used. But, since small businesses run on limited resources and can budget only a small amount for marketing, it is necessary to choose advertising mediums that get the most bang for the buck.

Having a website is a must in today’s internet society. A website is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing. Other advertising schemes can be developed around the information on the web. Renting a domain name is relatively inexpensive. There’s software that builds web pages. Websites can also be updated as frequently – or infrequently – as desired.

Beyond the website, the type of advertising used should be chosen based on the target audience. Newspaper ads are the cheapest way to go, but papers are littered with ads. It is hard for one to stand out. Radio and television ads are more effective than print ads, but are much more expensive.

How Frequently to Advertise

When to advertise depends a lot on the nature of the small business. A business that specializes in a product or service that has a peak time, such as a landscaping company, typically puts the bulk of advertising dollars into a single blitz of advertising that is time sensitive.

Quarterly campaigns are the most common. A quarterly ad campaign keeps the company out there in the public, but it also allows for changes in the advertising, depending on the time of year.

Possibly the worst marketing strategy is that known as continuous advertising. For non-stop advertising, it is usually daily or weekly small newspaper ads or radio spots that, after a while, get tuned out by potential customers.

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