Business Clinic
MARKETING
THE GUILD OF MASTER CRAFTSMEN provides the public with skilled, local tradesmen you can trust.
If you see the Guild emblem you can be sure that you will be working with a trusted tradesman who is highly skilled, reliable and accountable.
01273 478449 |
theguild@gmcgroup.com
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How to get ahead in advertising (your business)
For smaller businesses promotion is an ongoing challenge and can sometimes feel like a job all in itself. However, with a few clever ‘outside-the-box’ ideas, you could start reaching those new customers today.
Whatever you specialise in, online forums offer a space to connect with similar trades/ craftspeople. Not only can you glean (or ‘permanently borrow’, depending on the way you look at it) helpful tips and information this way, but it may also lead to work."
UNLESS you are a major corporation with an equally major advertising budget, you’ve got to think a little bit harder about getting the word out there about your business – whether you build houses, carve wooden sculptures or restore period furniture.
It’s all in the planning Seems obvious, right? But the pressure to bring more money in can lead to a panicked, scattergun approach to marketing your business. So it’s worth taking the time to think carefully about the upcoming 12 months and sketch out the main ways you will advertise.
This is especially key if you only have a small budget, and when doing some research into consumer trends is helpful. For example, if you’re in the kitchen-building game, targeting potential customers around January – typically a time when people consider bigger projects like this – is a good idea.
Mean business when attracting business It’s a business 101 to make sure your Google listing is up-to-date. As the adage goes, first impressions count and as this is likely to be the first thing someone sees when they search for your business, your profile needs to be fully completed (for example, are your opening hours and contact details on there?).
For those with a physical, rather than virtual office, this is especially important because it means your business appears on Google
Maps. And don’t overlook the hundreds of other online directories out there too. Have you claimed your company’s space on Yelp, for example?
It’s also a no-brainer to make sure your listing – and website, for that matter – are fully optimised. Try using a free SEO like Yoast. Conducting some basic keyword research is pretty invaluable in terms of boosting your ranking in search engines.
Be wily in the old ways The purpose of advertising/marketing is simple: get the right message to the right people. In the pre-internet age, this meant distributing leaflets and pinning business cards/posters to message boards, and as old school as that might sound, this avenue could be ripe for exploring. Why? The very fact that this way of advertising has fallen out of favour means that there are fewer competitors jostling for customers’ attention – and money – in that arena. For a relatively low production cost, the return could well be surprising (and lucrative).
Are you ‘shareable’? In today’s social-media landscape, whatever you can do to get people sharing your Instagram, Twitter or Facebook posts is a good thing. While the Ice Bucket Challenge (remember that?) has already been done, it gives you an idea of the kind of thing that has the potential to go viral.
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