With more and more seniors getting involved in entrepreneurship, you may be wondering how to market your small business effectively. That’s why PressGo Digital is here to offer some tips and resources to help you market like a pro.

Planning Your Strategy

The first step to advertising your business is devising a marketing plan. Keep things simple to help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. Developing your own strategy also saves you from spending money on a specialist. Key elements of a strong plan are the following:

• Business vision
• Identification of business’s unique traits
• Description of ideal customer
• Action plan

Your vision for your business vision and the elements that make your company stand out from the competition are points that you can use in your advertising materials. Understanding your target audience helps you to better determine the most effective strategies to include in your action plan.

Even simple plans require market research to ensure demographics and trends are properly accounted for. Look online to see the general age group of customers for similar services and products. Compare those to census data for your area.

Survey potential patrons to see what type of advertising they find most appealing as well as which social media sites they frequent most often. You do not want to spend time or money on a site your target audience never visits.

Affording Your Strategy

Advertising can be expensive, so it is important to look for ways to save money in other areas. For instance, incorporating the company may result in lower taxes. Filing the incorporation paperwork yourself or through a formation, service is less expensive than hiring a lawyer to do so.

Speak with your accountant or research online to make sure you are getting all the credits and deductions for which you are eligible. Call around to different utility providers to see if you can snag a better rate. Evaluate your inventory to make sure you are not spending money on items that no one is purchasing.

Do what you can to save money on the actual advertising campaign as well. See if any nearby businesses are interested in joining up for a cross-promotion. This expands the reach of your ads and allows you to split the price with another company.

Research cost-efficient tools. For example, you can use this business logo creator to create an eye-catching design to represent your business – and believe it or not, it’s free!

Executing Your Strategy

Whether you go with a digital, old-school or combination approach, there are many factors to keep in mind to ensure your success. A website should be accessible across most, preferably all, devices. It should be easy to read and quick to load. Choose a domain and builder that you will be able to afford on a long-term basis. If applicable, make sure your social media accounts link to the website. Management tools help entrepreneurs organize and engage with a variety of social media platforms.

Print advertising and word-of-mouth marketing often complement each other. For example, a physical business card comes in handy when a current customer is referring a friend. Refrigerator magnets act as conversation starters for visitors and generate an opportunity for a patron to recommend your company. Make sure to always provide top-notch products and service so that patrons want to tell their friends and family.

Due to the wide range of options, the thought of advertising your business may feel overwhelming at first. Fortunately, a little planning and research go a long way toward devising an effective strategy.

PressGo Digital is operated by a husband and wife team, Joe and Melonie Holder. While Joe is passionate about technology and creating business strategies, Melonie is passionate about art and visual communications. To learn more, call 864-436-8680.