Business promotion is a necessary part of the success of any business, because through promotion a business can grow its customer base and open doors of new opportunities. There are many ways to promote a business, and each is different in terms of time, workmanship, and cost. Many business plans use a combination of methods, based on each need and situation. This guide provides some suggestions on how to promote your business.
Step
Step 1. Build an image or logo for your business brand
An increasingly well-known brand is your goal because it will give credibility to your business and provide inspiration for others to promote your business through their words. Enlarge your business brand by placing a logo on every medium of your correspondence, business cards, emails, brochures, banners, websites and merchandise.
Step 2. Network
Meeting with professionals in other related businesses is an effective form of business promotion, as it gives you the opportunity to learn about your competitors, solicit referrals, and form mutually beneficial partnerships in complementary industry areas while spreading awareness about your business through a group of like-minded people. Networking with other professionals can be done in the following ways:
- Attend networking group meetings. You can find networking groups and professional clubs on the internet, in newspapers and in trade publications.
- Introduce yourself to the people at the meeting. Describe your business, the products or services you offer that make you stand out from the rest, and the goals that can be achieved by partnering with you in this business.
- Ask relevant questions during group discussions. To promote your business, you can learn a lot from networking meetings. In addition, asking open-ended questions encourages others to participate in the conversation and gives you the opportunity to further introduce your business.
- Share your business card. Arrange separate meetings with people who show an interest in learning more about your business.
Step 3. Advertise your business
Consider these methods for advertising your business:
- Banner. One option is to put up banners, billboards, notice boards, or billboards by the side of the road.
- Advertising in print media. Place print ads in magazines, newspapers, coupon books, trade journals, and industry magazines. Choose print media that is suitable for your business. For example, if you own a recycling technology equipment warehouse business, you might consider placing an ad in computer and technology magazines.
- Advertising in electronic media. Commercial television and radio advertising are also effective ways to promote your business to the wider public, but they are a more expensive form of advertising.
- Advertising flyer. You can choose to distribute promotional materials at trade events, in store fronts, in parking lots or places where large numbers of people pass. Some types of businesses, such as nightclubs and entertainment venues, hire specialized personnel to attract new customers and distribute advertising flyers.
- Direct correspondence. You can purchase a mailing list targeting your customer's market segment and then send them letters, brochures, catalogs or postcards. This method is effective if you want to give away coupons, vouchers, business cards or other promotional items to potential customers.
- Public relations services (public relations). You can hire a public relations firm to promote your business to the public in the form of news articles and press releases.
- Internet. If you want to promote an online business then you need to create a business website, participate in online discussion forums on industry/commerce, run a blog, create accounts on social networks, use paid banner ads on a per click system, list business information on directories. online business, as well as paying for the services of search engine optimization techniques. Any business, regardless of size or scope, can benefit from internet marketing, and many of the marketing tools on the internet are free to use.
- AR ads. AR stands for Augmented Reality. This type of advertising enriches the user experience by “animate” print media, using a more sophisticated technology in the form of an additional layer called the digital layer.
Step 4. Build business partnerships with other organizations
In other words, ride on another business success. Taco Bell recently opened Doritos Locos Taco, as the introduction of two trademarks at once, namely Taco Bell and Doritos. Whenever you think of one trademark, there are other trademarks that come to mind as well, and vice versa. Business partnerships can be a very effective advertising tool.
Notes: It is not easy to build a business partnership with an established company if your own company is still a startup. In the business world, everyone understands the value (or lack thereof) of your business, so they may want something from your business in return or they may have avoided doing business with you in the first place because they felt that your business could not add any value to them.
Step 5. Rely on the power of social networks
Social networking has become a friend to the advertising field because of the expertise of the people involved in it, so most of the work is done in a very cost-effective manner, saving time and effort. You can pay someone to promote your business, or you can build a community of fans who can advertise your business through word of mouth, for little or no cost. So what are you waiting for?
Try to take advantage of the power of a viral (fast-spreading) media campaign. Dollar Shave Club is successful in its business because they make music videos (funny, fun, and get people involved). The music video went viral very quickly on social networks and now has more than one million subscribers and followers on Facebook and Google+
Step 6. Give a free quote
Give items with your company name and/or logo to everyone you meet at networking meetings, trade events, customer meetings and even private social gatherings. Items such as pens, decorative magnets and calendars are great ideas, because they have uses and can be seen for a long time.
Step 7. Build relationships with your customers
Customers are people, not just data or numbers, and they are important to take into account in order for you to build a relationship with them. For example, you can send a happy holiday card to simultaneously promote your business to people you know.
Step 8. Invite your customers to share their experiences using your business
There is no more powerful promotional tool than people's testimonies to their family members or friends about your products or the quality of your business. If your customers are very satisfied, you should ask them to recommend you or your product to their family members or friends. It's important to realize that your customers don't automatically do that and sometimes a little effort to approach and ask them to do so can have tremendous benefits. Let's do this, dare to ask them to promote your business.
