Marketing strategies for small business

It is common for small business owners to get in over their head with marketing strategies. They quickly find themselves spending more money than they earn and before they know it; their accounts are in the red. If you are a small business and you need some marketing strategies, here are a few to follow:

# 1 - Do not compete against the big corporations
Let's say you are a mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant. The first thing you need to remember is that you are not Panda Express or Mr. Chow's. You need to target local customers by making outstanding food. Word-of-mouth will start to catch on and you can begin to expand your business. Try to avoid advertising against the bigger companies because you simply cannot afford to do so. You want to design all of your ads to produce money now, not in 6 months from now. The marketing strategies you use need to be focused on the next 30-90 days to keep a steady cash flow. A simple way to start attracting new customers is to offer something with your ad. This is commonly used by new dentists, they will offer a free teeth whitening in conjunction with an exam and cleaning.

# 2 - Offer multiple prices
The reason why some companies are more successful is because they offer 3-4 products that are exactly the same, but at different price levels. This way, you are attracting the customers that care about price over quality and you are also getting the customers that care about quality over price.

# 3 - Market
Of course people will not know about your company if you do not get out there and start marketing. Everyone has seen the funny cartoon characters that dance on the sidewalk to attract customers. While this may not be the most original marketing method, it does its job by attracting attention to your company. Different marketing methods are a great way to get new customers. Take a look at all the different marketing strategies your competitors are using and try to use some original ones. Postcard mailings are sometimes more effective than newspaper ads. What about online marketing, it's a great way to drive traffic to your web site and boost your online numbers. The benefit of online marketing is that it is usually a lot cheaper than printed or television advertisements.

# 4 - Reduction and combinations
If you have been spending a great deal of money on advertising, look for ways to reduce this cost. Contact a company that you can partner with and agree to combine your ads. This is a great way to advertise for half the price. Another benefit of combining with another company is that it gets you a new customer base that you may not have had before. Smaller ads can also save you thousands of dollars; you may even find that you can run 12 ads for the price of one big ad.

# 5 - Target your customers
Even if you aren't able to figure out who your new customers will be, don't forget about your existing customers. Offering discounts to returning customers is a great way to let them know you appreciate their business and you want them to come back. Send them mailers with special discount codes they can use to order products online or in the store. You can also include a mailing list where you will send out announcements to them when you plan on having a big sale or releasing a new product.

There are several marketing strategies that small businesses can use; these are just 5 of the best small business marketing strategies to try out.