"Spending all of your money on gaining new business is not the only way to increase your revenue. Encouraging your customers to 'purchase again' and 'spend more' is equally important."
Use the Chartered Institute of Marketing online tool to plan your marketing strategy. Click here.
Read Microsoft's guide on how to make the web work for you. Click here.
Learn how to drive traffic to your site with Google Adsense. Click here.
Read an article about how small businesses can use the web to their advantage. Click here.
Useful tips
What's in it for your customers? Marketing is about communicating with, and educating, your prospects and your customers. You must put yourself in their shoes, tell them the benefits and show them the added value of your products and services.
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Spending all of your money and time on gaining "new" business is not the only way to increase your revenue. As a matter of fact, encouraging your customers to "purchase again" and "spend more" is equally important. Successful marketing comes from a combination of creativity, science, psychology, common sense – keeping in mind some basic principles. It makes no difference where you are or what you do; the same underlying “marketing basics” apply. If you spend the time understanding the environment you're in and you put those “fundamental” rules into practice, your business will grow. |
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We understand how this works, and would love to have the opportunity to work with you on your marketing strategy. In the mean time here are some of those basic principles – which you may find useful.
The marketing basics
Describe your market and the characteristics and size of each market segment; review key market trends.
Research what customers value, such as product features, quality, service, image.
Decide who to target among both existing and potential customers; decide which products to push and those which need updating or replacing.
Assess the profitability and sales potential of different customers and market segments, and of different products or activities.
Set specific objectives: for example, retaining existing customers, increasing order sizes, selling new products or winning new customers.
Decide how you will price each product or service.
Compare the distribution channels for reaching customers (e.g. direct sales or through retailers).
Identify customers’ purchasing cycles to timetable marketing activities.
Profile your competitors and what they’re offering.
Identify other key factors influencing your business environment; carry out a SWOT analysis of your competitive position (SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
Review the effectiveness of your previous marketing initiatives, such as advertising campaigns or seasonal sales.
Decide how you will distribute and sell; plan how you can improve customer service and satisfaction.
Plan how you will promote your products or services, and how you will keep in touch with customers.
Confirm the implications of your marketing plan for the rest of your business: production and training requirements, for instance.
Design and print tips
Here are a few tips to help you make your design attractive and effective:
Know your audience. With this information, the designer can make your materials more relevant and powerful.
Maintain the same colour scheme, fonts and other design elements throughout all of your materials for a consistent, professional look.
Make sure your web site shares the same design elements as your printed materials.
Complete your design by using professional printing, finishing and binding services.
Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your printing:
Capture attention, improve communication and boost sales. Colour documents are nearly 80% more effective at selling your products than documents printed in black and white.
Work with print specialists to determine the best paper, ink, finishing and binding for your project.
Keep unit costs low by taking advantage of volume printing of materials you use frequently, or selecting short-run digital colour copies as a quick, economical alternative.