Download Small Business Practical Marketing Basics

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Small Business
Practical
Marketing Basics
Welcome! The YP team is here to help you to understand marketing
basics, dispel myths and fears, and clear up any confusion about
current business buzzwords so that you have a clear understanding
about how to market your small business. This overview is geared
to make the rest of the series easier to understand. When you
understand marketing basics, you can make educated decisions
about marketing your small business.
The processes used to create, communicate and deliver and exchange a product or
service that customers are willing to pay for.
Marketing a small business and its products or services includes the action of
creating the business, product or service, communicating about the product or service to the public,
and then delivering the product or service – the entire process, from beginning to end.
Marketing
Advertising
Advertising is part of marketing – the “communication” part. The goal of advertising
is to encourage, persuade or convince a certain audience to buy or use the
product or service. Advertising includes traditional and digital marketing.
Traditional marketing refers to print ads, flyers, brochures, signage and
Traditional Marketing coupons, direct sales, and TV and radio ads.
Digital marketing refers to using internet connected devices, such as
Digital Marketing computers, tablets, and smart phones to engage potential customers online,
and to get the message about your company out and easily accessible on
these devices. Digital marketing can include paying for internet ads, as well as free forms of digital
advertising such as a free listing in YP.com, and other directories. These ads are displayed in various
forms, including banners at the top of websites and “sponsored” links. These sponsored links show
up when you search on a connected device.
Internet marketing is just another way of saying digital marketing – using the
Internet Marketing internet to promote your small business.
The modern “word-of-mouth.” Social media are online sites where people share
Social Media information about literally everything, on a social basis. Some now sell ads as well.
Sites where people share information and comments include Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Pinterest and many others, including those sites that are focused on your local area, such
as local online forums.
A discussion site where people can talk about an industry or business, and give
Online Forum their personal report to others about how they felt about the service or business.
There are many of these sites, and some of the most popular are focused on a
local search. Many potential customers will read local forums before they make a decision about
where to buy.
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Social media marketing is getting your message out online through
Social Media Marketing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, as well as Google + and blogs
and other social media platforms. Marketing your product or service
through social media has many opportunities to help your business become more “visible” (easier
to find) online. Social media marketing includes creating content (written, video or images, or a
combination) that is put online on various platforms.
A platform is a place from which you can communicate about your product or
Platforms service. For example, Facebook is a platform – a place where people can find out
about you, your business and discuss your business. Social media platforms are
about “sharing” information. Marketing a company online includes multiple platforms. The word
“platform” means a place from which you can communicate. If a company such as YP offers to
advertise your business through multiple platforms, it means that the marketing plan will include both
traditional and digital marketing platforms.
Branding is choosing a name, design, a symbol, or other feature that identifies your
business as different from the rest. It is a collection of symbols and ideas that are
created to make your business stand out as unique, and to be recognized as positive
in the minds of a target market.
Branding
The number of people that are aware of your brand. This is the degree that
Brand Awareness you have presented your brand and made it recognizable and memorable.
For example, the majority of people worldwide are aware of the brand “CocaCola.” Brand awareness can be local, regional, national or international. In this webinar, we will be
focusing on local brand awareness.
A target market is group that has been identified that you want to interest in
Target Market your business. An example of a target market is “women between the ages of
40–60.” This target market is usually the “type” of consumer that could use your
services or products that has been named out as the “target” of your campaign. Each target market
responds differently, and a marketing plan is created to communicate and appeal specifically to that
group of people.
Searching for a product, company or service on a smart phone. For example, a
Mobile Search person has a vehicle breakdown in your city. He or she searches for “auto shops
in [city or town]” and various businesses will pull up on the screen of his/her
smart phone. How your mobile search is created on the marketing end can make it much easier for
customers to find you the search can pull up a map, as well as a link to your phone number that if
“clicked,” calls your business.
Integrated Marketing
An integrated marketing program is comprehensive program that
covers all of the bases, including a strategy for social media, traditional
marketing, and digital marketing, with all elements working together to
drive in business.
Where your website shows up when a person searches online using “search terms.” It can show up
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on page 1 or many, many pages later in a search, making it unlikely that anyone could
find your business by searching for your products or services. It is highly beneficial for
your website to have a high “ranking.”
Ranking
Search Terms
Keywords
Terms that individuals searching for a product or service are likely to type into
the search bar on Google or other search engine.
Words that are most often used by potential customers in their online searches for
businesses, products or services.
Linking is creating a “path” for a person online to find more information. This allows
the potential customer to click on a “link” and be taken to another web page, such as
Linking
“about us” “contact us” or a link to an article or other information not on your website,
but online and accessible.
Blog
Posting
A more casual discussion that you put online that talks about anything of interest to your
potential customer. People have the option of responding to your blogs, and you can
respond back, creating an online conversation.
The word used for putting written content online. “Post a blog” means taking the
written blog and putting it online so that it appears to readers.
Now that we have covered some basic terms you will hear when talking about marketing your small
business, let’s get started with some basics.
Traditional Evolving to Digital
Marketing of a small business now must include digital marketing
• A huge majority of potential customers will search online to find out about a business. Currently, 48% of
consumers do an online search before buying.
• Online searches are performed on any digital device, including a computer, smart phone or tablet.
• A potential customer will search for a business name, business type or comments about local businesses
found in online forums before they make a choice about where to shop.
• Digital marketing has become extremely important for getting new customers.
• If you don’t yet have a website or are listed online, it is a critical issue to get this resolved, or you will
completely lose the opportunity to reach 48% of your potential customers.
Traditional marketing still works
This doesn’t mean that you stop using traditional marketing, including coupons, brochures and other
printed material. In order to get the most out of your marketing dollar, it is important to have both
traditional and digital marketing in an integrated marketing program that is affordable.
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WHO IS YOUR BUSINESS DIFFERENT?
How small business marketing is different
• Small businesses need to interest more local customers.
• It is vital that your small business can be found easily in local searches.
• A small business can focus their marketing plan on increasing the numbers of incoming local calls and
walk-ins.
• You can get more out of your budget by using local search engines rather than spending your marketing
dollars on digital advertising that hits national markets.
WHY
SHOULD
ANYBODY
CARE?
• You
can get
more information
about local searches and what actually works better in a recent report YP
Ad Results Beat Google AdWords.
The new customer: today’s market
• What does the customer of today really look like?
• They are on-the-go.
• They are looking for local resources.
• TheyYOUR
do their
homework
before
they
decide.
WRITE
60-SECOND
BUSINESS
STORY
HERE:
• They search online, using a computer, smart phone or tablet.
What you need to know to cater to today’s customer
• They want answers, fast.
• They want easy access to information about where to buy goods or services.
• They listen to what other customers have to say, and trust this information in making a decision.
• They use digital devices to find out where to go for local goods or services.
Once you’ve completed Worksheet 1, ask your friends:
> Is this easy to understand?
> Does this make you want to learn more?
> What about my business tells this story?
> What about my business tells a different story?
Share
Marketing
communities
at: at:
Shareyour
yourresults
resultswith
withthe
theSmall
SmallBusiness
Business
Marketing
communities
facebook.com/ypsmallbiz
facebook.com/ypsmallbiz
twitter.com/ypsmallbiz
twitter.com/ypsmallbiz
Ready to learn more? Visit the ‘Small Business Marketing Resource Center’
here: adsolutions.yp.com/small-business-marketing-center
Ready
to learn more? Visit the ‘Small Business Marketing Resource Center’ here:
adsolutions.yp.com/small-business-marketing-center