Many small businesses follow the philosophy of “if it aint broke, then don’t fix it”, choosing instead to put marketing on the backburner until that elusive day arrives when they may actually have some spare time to think about it. Unfortunately for most small business operators, that day rarely comes.

What then happens in reality is that when “it is broke”, “it” becomes a lot harder to fix. Not to mention that this is also a very reactive approach to marketing.

To prevent your small business getting to this point, a more proactive approach is needed.

Why is marketing important?

1. It helps boost sales
Marketing’s primary function in most small businesses is to generate more sales. Commonly, this could be through either selling more to current customers or increasing the number of customers. How marketing does this is by creating variables in one or more of the 4Ps (ie. product, price, place or promotion).

In the end, no marketing activity should be undertaken unless you are sure it will generate a decent return for your time, money and effort.

2. It helps you identify and focus on new opportunities
In cases where budgets are low, sales are stagnant or where you have too many ideas that you don’t know where to begin, then the marketing planning process helps you to focus your time and resources on where it will count. This could include developing new product or service offerings, targeting new potential customers or even entering new markets altogether to achieve your overall business objectives.

3. It helps you maintain or improve market share
Marketing is a fantastic weapon for nurturing your current customers so that they stay with you or lifting your head above water in a competitive environment. Success here will depend on people’s perception of your business, your ability to develop meaningful relationships with them and what value you can give them.

4. Marketing can steady out your revenue flows
This is particularly a big issue in many small businesses (for example: florists, gift shops, etc) who experience seasonal peaks and troughs in their sales. Unfortunately, when you’re busy, you probably won’t have time to look at building sales during quieter periods and when you are quiet, its already too late. One of the many functions of marketing is to create a more even revenue flow, but forward planning is of the essence.

What to do:

1. Understand your markets
This is all about research and information collection so that you get a clear picture of who your current customers are (ie. demographics, personal interests, buying behaviour, etc), what will influence their likelihood to buy and who else could be buying from you.

Great places to start are customer feedback surveys, talking to your sales staff, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the internet.

2. Develop marketing strategies that will help achieve your business objectives
There is no point in spending time, effort and resources on a marketing idea that sounds exciting if it doesn’t contribute to your end goals. By spending time to create the right strategies, you will avoid unnecessary risks, wastage of resources and get the biggest bang for your dollar!

3. Create a realistic marketing plan
To do this, you will need to generate ideas that fit with your strategies and business objectives. Marketing activities should increase in the lead up to quieter sales periods and must take into account your current available resources (not just budgets). You also need to understand that a marketing plan is a dynamic document, so it should be regularly reviewed especially as conditions change in your operating environment.

So, whether times are good or bad, marketing needs to be recognised as a fundamental operation for any small business, not just to fix problems “now” but to also ensure future success. This means forward planning is of the essence.

By Vanessa Tsui

This article is brought to you by Australian Business Marketing Services, giving you no nonsense, results driven marketing at a price that you can afford. Contact us today on 1800 505 529 or via email for assistance with your marketing needs.

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