Shannon Suetos is an expert writer on So you have decided to make the leap into entrepreneurship and actually got yourself some start up money. Great. Now what? Having a great idea and talking somebody into believing in you is a challenge, but you have to think ahead to stay above water in the entrepreneur world. Marketing is essential for every business, how else are people going to know about your product or service?
Educating
When hiring employees need to educate them on
how to engage with your clients. They are representing your company on
the ground level. How many times have you stop going somewhere because
the customer care person or cashier was rude to you? People tend to
remember bad experiences longer than better ones.
Picking and educating the right people for your company is a great marketing tactic. Think of companies that are known for great customer service—it didn’t just happen overnight. Companies like L.L. Bean and Apple (both made Businessweek’s list of top customer service for 2010) have worked hard to get a great customer service reputation. Word of mouth is the best (and cheapest) marketing tactic. Educating your employees on how to interact with your clients will help your company get on track.
Networking
Networking can be really beneficial, but only
if you do it right. Going to events for the free cocktails isn’t going
to do much for you except get you a buzz. When networking you need to
remember no one wants to hear a lengthy sales pitch. They are there to
have fun and maybe score a business relationship.
Be yourself. It is that simple. The more personable you are the more likely people will remember you when they need you. More times than not people go to their friends and colleagues for advice and business deals.
New Media
This is a tiring subject for many. It seems
most marketing articles these days preach how Twitter and Facebook will
generate tons of money for your company. The reality is it can, but it
takes just as much effort and hard work to get your content to go viral
as it does for any other marketing tactic.
If you put some time and effort into a new media campaign it can be beneficial. You just can’t expect to sign up for Twitter and be done for the day. As stated earlier, it’s about building relationships. Zappos and other companies who use Twitter for customer service have excelled because they listen to their customers and build relationships that matter. New Media efforts are very cheap—but need to be maintained to have a positive ROI.
SEO
Search engine optimization is a must for anyone with a
website—and what company doesn’t have a website these days? Reading up
on the latest tactics and SEO best practices can set you up for SEO
success. It isn’t something that will happen overnight, so make sure
you are testing out your tactics and deciding what works and what
doesn’t.
Although these may seem like everyday simple tasks, done correctly it can be powerful. If everyone focused on these, then there wouldn’t be a reason we need reminded of these kinds of tactics.