Contact your customers

You need to contact potential customers to tell them about your business. Marketing describes any activity that attempts to make contact with potential customers.

Good marketing materials will grab a customers Attention, capture their Interest, illicit their Desire for your product/service and direct them to take Action and find out more – AIDA.

If your marketing is successful, your potential customers will learn what your business does and where to find you. Popular marketing methods are outlined below. Decide which methods are best for your business ; choose about three and list the required detail for each.

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WORD OF MOUTH

When customers hear about your business through others, that’s word of mouth marketing. If customers like your business they will often recommend it all on their own. However, it is worth considering how you could encourage them to tell people, for example, by offering an incentive like a discount or by giving exceptional customer service.

ADVERTISING

There are many ways to advertise your business, for example, in a local paper, on the internet or in a directory like the Yellow Pages. You should explain :

• Which methods you have chosen, why and how much it will cost ?
• The type of advert you will use, for example, size or colours ?
• How many adverts you will use and how long each will run for ?

BUSINESS LITERATURE – LEAFLETS AND BUSINESS CARDS

These should detail only the most important information about your business. You should keep the design and wording simple. If you have already produced some, you should attach them to your business plan ; otherwise you should describe the design or include a sketch. You should also explain :

• What materials you will produce, what information will be on them and who will design them ?
• How many you will produce, who will print them and how much it will cost ?
• How are you going to distribute materials to customers and where ?

DIRECT MARKETING

Direct marketing involves contacting potential customers to directly sell your product/service to them. It can be done on the phone, in a letter, email or face-to-face. You should explain :

• Which method of contact you will use, why and how much it will cost ?
• How you will find names and contact details of potential customers ?

SOCIAL MEDIA

Different social media can be a very effective way of marketing your business. It’s free, allows you to put a face on your business and invites a vast network to interact with your activities. As well as the widely used Facebook and Twitter, there are now social networking sites for small businesses which can help you to focus your efforts. If you’re planning on using social media to market your business, you should consider :

• What you want to achieve from social networking and how you will engage with your customers, for example, will you create a blog to give customers the inside view on your business or get customers to offer feedback on product design ?
• Which networking sites are preferred by your target market and for what purpose ?
• How your business activity on social networking sites is kept separate from your personal activity ?
• How your social networking ties in with your website or other promotional materials and events ?

TRADE SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

Some businesses can access large audiences at a trade show or exhibition. However, exhibiting is expensive and time consuming, so you need to be sure it will be worth the effort. If you plan to attend events, you should explain :