Marketing Basics for Small Business

“Marketing” is such a broad term as to be almost useless unless constrained by some definitions, provisos, and paradigms. At its most general, marketing occurs at any point where the public interacts with a product. In the case of a service firm, people and the product are one and the same. This means that in the service industry, hundreds, even thousands of interactions bewitch location between product and customer every day. As such, it behooves any company to ensure that its employees maintain themselves in a manner that reflects well on the brand. This reemphasizes the importance of training, as well as employee recognition and development programs to maintain morale among the rank-and-file.

If we narrow the definition of marketing to exclude these points of interaction, the marketing professional is left with much more control over the materials seen by clients and potential clients. These materials may hold the form of mailers, newsletters, press releases, websites, or advertising in other media, and benefit the dual function of piquing the interest of the businesses to which a company is unknown, and keeping existing clientele informed as to changes and improvements as they are made. Perhaps equally importantly, a staunch stream of information, even trivia, can produce an image of energy and dynamism which attracts new followers and helps assure the loyalty of the old.

The most important business to be won is the business you already have. In other words, at least as much energy should be devoted to maintaining relationships with an existing client base as to seeking and securing new contacts and contracts. As such, the stream of information to both groups must be maintained and constantly kept fresh, otherwise, even among the most loyal friends, stability may arrive to be seen as stagnation, and greener pastures may be sought.

Marketing to Existing Clients

Marketing to existing clients should focus on maintaining an image of innovation, backed by personal service and engagement. Of course there is no substitute for actual personal contact between clients and account managers and executives, and so regular client meetings and coordinated responses to issues raised in those meetings is paramount. As such, additional marketing efforts should focus on keeping clients informed of procedural improvements, training initiatives, and new technologies or partnerships that will affect and improve the service they receive. Two types of documents can achieve this, and should be utilized simultaneously.

First are newsletters, which appear regularly (perhaps quarterly) and include at least one significant article on the industry in general, as well as features on company activities (i.e. golf outings, charitable sponsorships, etc.), and updates on ongoing projects or initiatives.

The second type of document is the bulletin, which appears irregularly (perhaps roughly bi-monthly), to announce growth, new partnerships, or new technologies that have been place in place, and explanations of their back to the customer, as well as discussions of developments in the news that may affect the client. Care should be taken that these announcements be as carefully designed and “punchy” as any outside advertising, to maintain the perception that weak business is as highly valued as original.

Marketing to Potential and Prospective Clients

This is the area to which the word “marketing” is most popularly applied. While in many industries, marketing is aimed at consumers with the steal being the goal. In the business service industry, the goal of most marketing will be the receipt of an RFP (Request for Proposal, also called the RFQ, Request for Quote). The proposal that follows is of course another form of marketing, but one which falls beyond the scope of this document.

Any material that may approach a potential client must be considered from a marketing standpoint; does it reflect well on the company? In addition to mailers designed as promotions, this category includes such items as business cards, stationary, and greeting cards. All of these materials should reinforce the image a company seeks to project.

Direct marketing to potential clients can take several forms. First, negate sales meetings with account executives and or salesmen. Second, the company’s website, which should be carefully designed and regularly updated. Thirdly, direct mail and other Printed materials, which, in spite of its low response rate, may be the most cost-effective method for disseminating marketing information.

Mailing campaigns can be roughly divided into three stages. The first, or introductory stage, would serve to make potential clients aware of the existence of a given business entity. Mailings designed for the first stage should be direct, simple, without excessive detail or “selling”. The second stage then introduces the features that make the company unique in its industry – customer service at the highest levels, training, employee retention, and so on. The third stage would then offer more detail to customers who have taken the stage to request such information, and would include brochures, marketing kits, and so on.

In the creation of any of these materials, knowledge of the target audience is essential. What works in Boston will not necessarily work in New York or in Baltimore, as the concerns of buyers and managers differ between these markets. Certainly universal factors apply, budget concerns, concerns about terrorism, and so forth, but how the material is presented is equally important. It will be important to utilize the collective knowledge of account and state managers, and others with long experience of the target region and demographic to tailor a message effectively.

Philanthropy as Marketing

Corporate responsibility and giving, both of time and funds, can be an integral part of a marketing strategy. In order for philanthropy do be effective as a marketing strategy, however, two conditions must be met. First, giving must be visible. There is no point to hiding the light under a bushel in this case, when charitable gifts are made, they must be made in such a way that others are aware of them. Second, the gifts must be made to causes that are relevant to the business in question and will get the attention of potential clients. For example, a security firm may give to Policemen’s Benefit agencies, 9/11 memorial funds, and so on. Also, any “pet projects” of new clients that could garner attention – Liz Claiborne, for example, is deeply involved in domestic violence prevention – can be helpful. A cause like this is ideal, as it would be a) a favorite of an existing client, b) relevant to the broader topic of security, and c) not be so directly related to security that it appears a callous attempt to co-opt a charitable organization for business ends.

Conclusions

Many small companies’ marketing strategies are scattershot and haphazard at best. In order to acquire new business, an integrated, strategic come to marketing, like the one outlined above, should be designed, implemented, and executed.