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Grow Your Business!
Marketing Essentials to Attract
More Customers
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The SCORE Foundation
would like to thank
for showing their support of America’s small businesses
by sponsoring this series.
The content provided in the Grow Your Business! materials is intended as a
business resource only and does not guarantee a successful outcome when
applied to individual business use.
To find additional resources on growing your business,
visit www.score.org and www.openforum.com
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A Special Thanks to Our Local Sponsors
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Classroom Safety – Argosy U
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Emergency
Exits
Restrooms
Please do
not wander
around the
building!
You are HERE
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Classroom Safety–ComCenter
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Emergency
Exits
Restrooms
You are HERE
Please do
not wander
around the
building!
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About SCORE
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• Successful and experienced business owners
and executives acting as volunteers
• Free ongoing mentoring:
One-on-one
E-mail
Signup on our website – Mentoring Tab
Douglas S. Cavanaugh
• Seminars and workshops
• Resources for small business:
manasota.score.org
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Assessing Your Business
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The SCORE Business Needs Assessment, it is in your
packet. Download at: http://tinyurl.com/8j7fkgw
It will help you assess the current state of your
business in 5 key areas:
1. Management
2. Marketing
3. Sales
4. Finance
5. Operations
Review with your mentor to help you:
Decide what additional workshops to attend
Develop a customized business improvement plan
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Workshops - Business Focus Areas
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Customers – Impacted by All Functions in Your Business
Marketing Essentials to Attract More Customers
Marketing
Sales
Focus on Customers to Increase Your Sales
Customer Service
Improve Your Services and
Gain Productivity
Service Delivery
Purchasing / Manufacturing
Find Ways to Improve Cash Flow and Profits
Distribution
Finance
Business Owners / Management - responsible for Business Performance
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During this workshop we will discuss:
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Identifying your marketing goals
Evaluating your marketing options
Effective advertising methods
Using social media
Online marketing methods
Public relations strategies
Using event marketing
Using cause marketing
Retaining customers
Marta E. Maxwell
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Let’s Get Started
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Briefly tell us about you:
Katrina Markoff
• Your name
• Your business
(30 second “elevator” speech)
• Do you already have a SCORE mentor?
• What you hope to achieve during and
after this workshop
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Marketing
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Marketing
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What is Marketing? The 4P’s
Product / Service
Pricing
Promotion
Place (Distribution)
Karen Bevels
Marketing Examples / Functions
Market Research
Merchandising
Advertising
Product Planning
Sales Promotion
Public Relations
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Marketing
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Today, think about . . .
Where does your business stand today?
Where you need to take it?
Karen Bevels
How do you get there?
. . . as we go through the workshop
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Identify Your Marketing Goals
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Identify Your Marketing Goals
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Have Your Business Needs Changed?
Karen Bevels
• Target customers
– Existing customers
– New customers
• Product or service mix
• Pricing approach
• Promotion Success
• Budget
• Sales channels
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Market Research
Surendra N. Kumar, Ph.D
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Understand your target market
• Size
• Income level (for consumers)
• Sales - Business to Business (B2B) and
Business to Consumer (B2C)
• Purchasing habits
• Demographics
• Purchasing channels
• Geographic locations
• Industry / Geo-Political Trends
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Market Data Sources
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Industry analysis using the NAICS number to find info about
your business segment (North American Industry Classification
System)
• Website searches
• Customer surveys
SurveyMonkey.com, Zoomerang.com
• Social media
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube…..
• Focus groups
• Personal Contacts
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Market Data Sources
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Trade associations
Census data - to extrapolate information
American FactFinder (http://factfinder.census.gov)
EconomicIndicators.gov
Fedstats.gov
National Bureau of Economic Research (www.nber.org)
Harris Infosource (www.harrisinfo.com)
Hoover’s (www.hoovers.com)
ThomasNet (www.thomasnet.com)
Public Library
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Understanding Market Share
Market
Share
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Portion of
the Market
That Your
Business
Obtains
• Measured by dollars, units or percentage
• Monitor market share regularly
• Adjust marketing strategy accordingly
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Pricing Decision Approaches
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You can vary prices in accordance with the market’s
expectations to achieve your profit goals
Where do you stand now?
Market – Premium – Discount
Do you have changes in your costs?
Do you have pricing power?
Do you have alternatives? – packaging, features, services, etc
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Is Your Brand Clear?
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Branding is not the same as marketing.
Branding is the image, logo and positioning
of the product or service.
Douglas S. Cavanaugh
Three steps to brand creation:
1. Identify unique selling proposition
(differentiation)
2. Understand target market
3. Communicate brand consistently
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Competitive Analysis
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Analyze the marketing methods or strategies used by
your competition.
What is working for you and what is not?
Would similar methods work for you?
Are there niche openings to exploit?
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Exercise 1 – Target Market Assessment / Goals
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Use the Worksheet in your folder. Fill in your EXISTING
target market and then potential NEW target markets
you might pursue for growth
Fill-in your thoughts about pros and cons of each area list
below:
Customer Demographics
Customer Location(s)
Customer Spending Habits / Behaviors
Distribution Channel
10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss
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Exercise 1 – Target Market Assessment / Goals
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10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss
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Your Marketing Options
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Is the Strategy Right for You?
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Not every marketing strategy is right for every business
When evaluating the options, ask:
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Will this help achieve my goals?
Will this reach my target customers?
Does this fit my budget?
Do I have adequate staff to implement?
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Your Marketing Mix Options
Marie Seipenko
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Promotion Topics:
Advertising
Online Marketing
Social Media
Public Relations
Event Marketing
Cause Marketing
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Advertising
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Advertising
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What are the desired outcomes of
advertising?
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Builds awareness
Product / Service information
Helps customers find you
Builds credibility
Drives sales
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Traditional Advertising Options
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• Print (newspapers, magazines,
community publications)
• Radio
Erma Kubin-Clanin & Dr. Rene Clanin
• TV
• Direct mail (postcards, letters)
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Online Advertising Options
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Every business should have a web presence
• Web pages
• Link exchanges
• E-mail newsletter advertising
• Pay-per-click (PPC)
• Banner ads
Web marketing options continue to evolve
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Online Marketing
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Benefits of a Business Website
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If you don’t have a web presence, you need one!
• Online company / product information
• Customer service
• Additional sales channel
• National / global reach
• E-commerce capability
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Developing an Effective Website
Determine Goals
Overall Business
Strategy
Overall
Marketing
Strategy
Development
Requirements
To include:
Ease of use, sales,
customer service,
branding, search
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Elements of Your Website
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• Domain name or URL (www.yourbusiness.com)
• Web hosting service
• Business goals for your website
• Website design
• Company email addresses (xxxx@yourbusiness.com)
Company and employees
Gmail,Yahoo, or AOL email addresses do not convey a
“business” message
Many providers offer package options that include everything:
GoDaddy.com
IMSMB.com NetworkSolutions.com
Web.com
Hosting24.com
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Principles of Web Design
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• User-focused
• Simple to navigate
• Direct users to take action
John Christakos, Maurice Blanks & Charlie Lazor
• Privacy Policy
• Consistent with your marketing message
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
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SEO = driving traffic to your site via organic
search results
• Create quality content
• Use targeted keywords
Dr. Lynn McMahan
• Measure results
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Web Analytics
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Web analytics can measure:
Number of visitors
Average visit length
Most popular site entry pages
Where users come from (sites or search engine
phrases)
• Conversion rates
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Use analytics to determine if your site is achieving your goals
Google and Bing offer free analytics
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E-mail Marketing
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Ways to get e-mail addresses:
• Opt in
• Sign up in-store
• Offer incentives
• Barter or buy lists
Rupa Bihani Shah
E-mail examples:
• Newsletter (monthly, weekly, daily)
• Sales or specials: Weekly or as needed
• Announcements
• Event invitations
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Legal Issues of E-mail
LEGAL ISSUES
RESOURCES
CAN-SPAM Act requires:
 Identify yourself
 Identify as an ad
 Physical address
 No deceptive subject
lines
 Opt-out options (double
opt-in not required, but
preferred)
 Unsubscribe requests
Using an e-mail service can
help:
 Benchmark E-Mail
 Campaigner
 Constant Contact
 iContact
 Microsoft Office Live
Small Business E-Mail
Marketing service
(smallbusiness.
officelive.com)
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Visit the FTC website (www.ftc.gov/spam) for information and
resources on legal issues
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Mobile Marketing
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Mobile marketing = using cell phones and
other mobile devices to market to customers
• More than 20 percent cell phones are
smartphones** and the percentage is
growing
Joe Jackson
• Good for local businesses
• Reach customers on the move
**Source: ComScore
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Mobile Marketing
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Methods
• SMS or MMS marketing
• Mobile banner advertising
• Mobile local search – geo location
• Mobile apps
• Mobile paid search
Is your website mobile-friendly?
Check at www.mobiReady.com
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Social Media Marketing
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Social Media and Your Business
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Social media facts:
Fastest-growing communication
technology among consumers and
business users
Doug Zell
Projected 3.6 billion users by 2014*
*Source: Radicati Group
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Marketing With Facebook
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Users:
• Biggest social network (over 500 million users)
• Wide age range
• Majority women
Good for:
• Consumer businesses
• Products that inspire “fans”
• Building community
• Targeted ads
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Marketing With LinkedIn
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Users:
• Professionals
• Focused more on individuals, less on companies
Good for:
• Business-to-business (B2B) contacts
• User groups for market intelligence
• Getting known as an expert
• Prospecting for customers or employees
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Marketing With Twitter
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Users:
• 8 percent of U.S. Internet users*
• Young, affluent, urban
• Influencers
Good for:
• B2B and B2C
• Timely news/deals
• Mobile users
• Brand building
• Promotions
Social Media Marketing
*Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project
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Online Ratings and Reviews
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Sites to Get Started
Bing Local
CitySearch
Insider Pages Local.com
RatePoint.com Yahoo! Local
Google Places
Merchant Circle
Yelp!
Claim your listing and optimize it with:
David Lomakin
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Photos
Description of business
Maps/directions
Coupons/special offers
Tracking/analytics
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Group Site Deals
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Group Site Deals
• Groupon
• LivingSocial
• SocialBuy
• Local sites in your community
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Social Media Time Commitment
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• Decide if social media, is appropriate, and which one(s)
• Time requirements ! ! !
• Management of updates – current and timely is better
• Frequent changes required
• Learning curve for effective use
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Public Relations
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Understanding Public Relations
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Public relations is a means of generating
attention from the media or another
third party that can be as effective as
advertising in building awareness of your
business
Jennifer Behar
Customers trust what they read in
publications or online far more than they
trust your ads
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Writing a Press Release
Standard Format
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Headline
Date
Summary
Body
About/Boilerplate
Contact
Target to Each
News/Media Outlet
• Relevant Topics
• Timely
• Interesting
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Resource
• Newswire’s PR
Toolkit
toolkit.prnewswire.com
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Press Release Distribution
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Target publications, reporters and bloggers:
• E-mail release
• Link to your website
• Follow up
Free press release distribution services:
• FreePressRelease.com
• PR.com
• PRLog.org
• Chambers of Commerce (for members)
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Other Marketing Options
Event Marketing
Cause Marketing
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Event Marketing
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Sponsoring an Event
• Keep your target customer(s) in mind
• Good promotional tool for businesses with local customers
• Find of events that match with your business’s
offerings and your goals.
• Options include sports teams, charity events, schools, races,
fairs
• Investigate event organizer
To consider:
• What will you give - how much will it cost?
• What will you get – make a $$ estimate of future sales
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Event Marketing
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Steps to Hosting an Event
Set
goals
Plan
event
Promotions at
events
Invite
partners/
sponsors
Publicize/
market
Collect
customer
data
Thank
attendees
Follow
up
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Cause Marketing
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Cause Marketing (or Relationship Marketing)
• Using positive publicity, enhancing your brand by
affiliating your business with a “cause.”
• Many customers are conscious of social responsibility
• Products associated with a good cause see up to a 74
percent boost in sales compared to non-causeassociated products*
• Women and millennials are especially cause-conscious
• Key causes: Green, education, disaster relief, disease
research
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Cause Marketing
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6 Steps to Cause Marketing
Choose a
relevant
cause
Investigate
cause
Decide level of
support
(volunteering,
contribution,
selling
products)
Understand
tax
concerns
Publicize
your cause
Be authentic
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Exercise 2 – Promotion Strategy Assessment / Goals
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Using the Worksheet in your folder,, fill in your
EXISTING Promotion Strategy and then potential new
target markets. What new promotion strategies may be
able to help grow your business?
Fill-in your thoughts about pros and cons of each area list
below:
How will this help achieve my goals?
How will this reach my target customer/s?
Does this fit my budget?
Do I have the necessary staff?
10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss
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Exercise 2 – Market Strategy Assessment / Goals
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10 minutes to work and 10 minutes to discuss
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Creating Marketing Materials
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Marketing Materials
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Do your marketing materials need a makeover?
Do they still reflect your brand?
They all need to be consistent!
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Logo
Signage
Business cards
Brochures
Website
Promotion merchandise
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Marketing Material Resources
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Low-Cost Resources:
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99Designs.com
CrowdSPRING.com
Elance.com
Freelancer.com
Guru.com
Inkzoo.com
Logoworks.com
Marketsplash.com
VistaPrint.com
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Creating “Raving Fans”
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Why Customer Retention Matters
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• As your business grows, retaining existing customers is
key to success
• It costs 5 times more to find a new customer than it
does to keep one*
• Loyal customers can refer other customers to your
business
*Source: Gallup
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Customer Loyalty Programs
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Keep customers coming back with loyalty
programs that can include:
Atul Patel
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Loyalty cards
Geolocation websites
Discounts and special offers
Events
Giveaways
What has worked for you? (5 minutes)
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Customer Service
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Customer service is key to repeat business.
Are the following aspects of your business
meeting customers’ expectations?
Katrina Markoff
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Physical location
Website
Phone
Your staff
Questions, problems, answers
Customer feedback
Post-sale follow up
Secret shopper information
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Evaluating Your Business
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Your Team
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Do you have adequate staff to carry out
your marketing plan?
Laurie Cumbo
Options:
• Savvy marketers
• Retraining current employees
• Hiring new employees
• Temporary workers
• Outsourcing/independent
contractors
• Freelancers
• Consultants
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Return on Investment
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Always assess your ROI (Return on Investment) for your
marketing budget
• Set measurable goals
• Measure results
Marketing effort that generated the sale
Survey customers
• Adjust marketing plan accordingly
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Helpful Resources
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Other Related Manasota SCORE Workshops
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Use Web Sites to Boost Sales
Web Marketing/Social Media for Business
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Marketing Resources
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American Advertising Federation (www.aaf.org)
American Express OPEN Forum (www.openforum.com)
American Marketing Association (www.ama.org)
Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org)
Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers (www.wdfm.com)
Marketing Hub (www.marketinghub.com)
Marketing Plan Pro (www.paloalto.com)
Marketing Profs (www.marketingprofs.com)
Marketing Research Association (www.mra-net.org)
Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com)
Mobile Marketing Association (http://mmaglobal.com)
Radio Advertising Bureau (www.rab.com)
SCORE (www.score.org)
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Next Steps
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Next Steps
• Complete the Target Market Worksheet
• Complete the Marketing Strategy Evaluation Worksheet
• Create a marketing plan for the next 12 months
that reflects your new marketing goals and explains how you
will achieve them
• Review the With Your Mentor handout for topics to discuss
with your mentor
Don’t have a SCORE Mentor? Connect with one today!
SCORE has over 13,000 successful and experienced executives
with small business know-how that want to help you
Visit manasota.score.org for more information
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Help Us, Help You
Please fill out the workshop
evaluation form
Your feedback is important to
help us improve our programs!
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