Promoting your business

Here we are again, the end of the financial year and yes its the time again to start banging on our CFO's door. PLEASE I NEED MORE MONEY FOR MY MARKETING DEPARTMENT! PLEASE!!

Developing a marketing plan and a marketing budget seems easy. But not always the case when our budget gets cut before we even begin doing anything.

I have here some quick tips to develop a simple straight forward marketing budget. 

Every business needs to promote itself to acquire new customers, but traditional advertising is expensive.

It's a good idea to set aside a small, annual budget for traditional advertising. Decide which advertising medium--radio, TV, billboard and so on--will best help you reach your target customers. Also think about how you might team up on promotions and sponsorships with another firm, institution or even a client that has some synergy with yours. You will be surprised what you can achieve.

Next, get web-savvy. I love the internet and everything that comes from it. Knutsson Consulting provides web development services and I am a strong believer that website sells! An easy-to-use website is one of your best promotional tools, as well as a low-cost opportunity to reach your target customers. Think about how you can incorporate certain online tools, such as an opt-in e-mail promotion program, blogging, webinars, etc. 

A few other tips for promoting your business on a budget:

• Describe your company and the services in 10 seconds or less.
• Provide discount to your customers when they purchase in bulk or if they refer you new customers.
• Generate press coverage by pitching yourself to journalists as an industry expert available for comment.
• Ask customers to provide testimonials for your product or service.
• Sponsor a local event.
• Send thank-you notes to customers, suppliers and other people you come in contact with.
• And most importantly and what Marketers do best -- Relax--building awareness of your brand takes time.