Back to Marketing Basics: 5 Must-Haves for SMB Success

The success of every business is dependent on its ability to successfully promote, advertise, market, and sell its products and services to buyers and clients. So, knowing what advertising channels, media, ad type, format, and a host of other things are crucial to you having a successful marketing campaign that opens the floodgates and pours money in your front door.

However, to do this, you need first to decide on the marketing channel. This is important because there’s so much push for online marketing that businesses forget the potency of traditional marketing. When used correctly, traditional marketing can make some serious impact on your revenue and profits. However, to succeed in traditional marketing, you need to know and have the following essentials.

Marketing Plan

It is not just enough to create an advertising budget and then promote your products. You need to create a framework… a plan that will help make your marketing successful. Your marketing plans should include elements such as ad channels, marketing message, identifying the best media and so on. There is no successful marketing without a marketing plan. It also helps when you succeed, and you need to scale things up or increase your volume.

Advertising Media

You need to identify the best media for your business. Check the response rates for a great copy on newspaper ads, TV ads, radio ads, billboard ads, banners and signs among others. Then, choose those that will work for you. This is important because not all businesses will find success with every marketing channel.

However, the advertising media that all small businesses need to use in their traditional marketing campaigns are signs and banners. These are proven powerful, able to convert well, and can be responsible for as much 15% of all your sales ad revenue. Moreover, when you consider that they are very cheap when compared to other advertising media, you’ll find that they are a worthwhile investment. You can also get banners customized to your business needs through online platforms like Canva.

Marketing Communication

Your marketing communication is crucial to your traditional marketing success. So, make sure that every necessary marketing communication material you’ll be using is top notch and effective. Some effective marketing materials you could and should use for your marketing communication include small business website, social media, brochures, calendars, white papers, sales sheets, catalogs, booklets, and promotional materials. These can work effectively for increasing your brand’s reach and generating significant revenue for your company.

Marketing Strategies

There are tons of marketing strategies that you could use to transform your business. Apart from the standard promotions and advertising, you should start actively participating in trade shows, conferences, conventions, hosting and attending local events, flyers, handbills, posters, banners, signs, print ads, direct mail marketing, and telemarketing to mention a few. These are all powerful traditional marketing strategies guaranteed to generate significant revenue for your business and make you much money when using correctly.

Promotion and Sales

Most people are always looking for some extra bonus, discount, rebates, and coupons. This is all in a bid to help them get whatever they want for less. Take advantage of this by regularly doing promos and sales offers. Clearance sales every quarter, for instance, is likely to bring in a ton of traffic to your business.

As much as possible, incentivize your audience’s participation in your company. For instance, you could offer a 10% discount on all products bought by shoppers who purchase certain products up to the tune of $500 – or whatever price you are comfortable with. This can help your traditional marketing soar through the roof.

Now that you know what essentials your marketing campaigns need, go apply them and use them to your advantage. You’ll be surprised at how much impact they can have on your business.