Marketing Goals & Budgets

Compiling these into a database requires some form of IT system, she adds, but depending on your budget it can be anything from a basic spreadsheet to sophisticated CRM software. She warns businesses not to just dump your pile of acquired business cards and contacts onto a spreadsheet and leave it there. "You’d be amazed how many small businesses have got them in a pile in the corner and don’t do anything with them." It does require maintenance. "Have a part-time mum or part-time student engaged to come in and phone and clean that database regularly. Because a database is almost out of date the minute it’s created."

Direct Approach

If there’s one thing that unites the experts, it’s that with the proliferation of communications and public relations activities available now, with everything from event sponsorship to email newsletters to creating a simple and addictive computer game that can be circulated among tech-savvy teens, it’s easier than ever to tailor your marketing strategy to hit the right person. "The era that’s coming in is the era of what I call one-to-one marketing," says James. "You can make offers to particular customers which will have a much higher probability of being accepted, that are going to suit that customer’s needs." And according to James, small businesses are actually better placed to do this than large businesses. "The smaller your customer base, the easier it is to tailor your offering exactly to that customer." This can be through such things as special offers or discount coupons. And while the plethora of options might seem daunting, Bohan says not to be afraid of some tried and true methods. "Everything still works. There’s some more electronic ways you can reach people, but the traditional, direct mail approach is still very strong."

For Williams it again comes back to having met your potential customers in the first place. Particularly if you’re dealing in business-to-business transactions, where it’s important to get the right contact details so you can make sure your brand makes it past the reception desk and lands in front of the right person. Sometimes, she adds, it involves knowing several contacts within the one company and then you can adapt your collateral—fact sheets, brochures, website entry points—for each person. "Each of their paying points, or their interest in my services, will be for different reasons."

It’s also just as important to put systems in place to monitor your marketing, to make sure you are hitting the mark. If you’re sending out coupons or vouchers to different channels, make them identifiable, so you know who’s redeeming them, says James. This can show who’s responding, perhaps helping you to narrow your target market even further.

And the most basic way of finding out if your customers are responding to your marketing? "Simply ask them," says Williams. James agrees: "Keep talking to your customers. Find out where they found out about you and stuff like that."

While small businesses may not be able to afford thorough quantitative research, they can conduct surveys or get a third party to do this for them. "Any evaluation is better than none," says James. And you’ve got to keep constant watch. "A good marketer will always be keeping an eye on his customers. Following them every day."

And while no one is denying targeting your market is the way to go, at the same time James says business owners should also have a degree of flexibility and be open to new markets and new angles for their business. "You may be missing out on opportunities to expand your business simply because you’re too focussed on your particular customers right now," he warns. "Focussing too narrowly can be detrimental."