As a small business owner who probably struggles with the everyday operations of business and overhead, marketing can sometimes become a secondary concern. This is a mistake that many people make due to lack of experience, budget and marketing know-how. Many businesses fail, not because of profit margins, but because their product or service is not marketed correctly. Marketing can seem unnecessary, expensive and complicated to many but the reality is that it is indispensible, affordable and very easy- if you have the right tools. Simple marketing for small businesses is all around us.
Planning
The first thing any small business needs is a marketing plan. This is similar to a business plan but instead outlines marketing tools and techniques for an organization. A basic marketing plan should include:
Executive Summary or Overview: What is the marketing plan about? Your company’s overall strategy? Or a component / product /service? Include an overview of your objectives, goals and timelines.
S.W.O.T. Analysis: the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for a business.
Goals: What do you want to accomplish with your marketing efforts?
Message: what will be the message (s) you send to your target audience?
Marketing Strategies: What strategies best fit with what you are marketing?
Timeline: Create a time period in which you will be implementing your strategies
Budget: how much can you spend?
Evaluation: How will you evaluate your success? (ROI, analytics, newsletter subscribers, etc.)
Strategies
There are two categories of marketing methods; those we consider “Traditional” and online.
Traditional:
Print: Including dailies and weeklies – paid and free. These marketing tools are valuable sources for news and advertising for your target market. The price varies greatly with these types of advertising with the weeklies and free local papers generally being the cheapest.
Television and Radio: These are not usually popular marketing tools for small businesses due to the cost and the ability of the masses to fast forward through commercials and receive satellite radio now. For larger companies they are essential.
Outdoor: Billboards can be very cost effective with the number of impressions they make. However, small business advertising can get somewhat lost with this platform if not done with a smaller local company.
Online
A relatively new venue for marketing tools, it is now becoming essential for every business to have an online presence. It is cheaper, can be more targeted and offers stellar market research that can open many new doors for a company.
Website: A must for small businesses. This can represent a source of information for your audience, or it can represent a store location, providing online shoppers the option of shopping from home rather than visiting a physical location.
Social Media: This is a rapidly growing marketing tool that almost every company can take advantage of. It encompasses companies and platforms such as: Blogs, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter (among many others) and is a free tool. It also provides the opportunity for invaluable customer feedback and interaction.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising and Search Engine Optimization: Bucking against the norm of paying for an ad and hoping your target market will see it, PPC follows a bit of a different path. Company owners pay each time their ad is clicked on. This offers a much more targeted path to the company’s website, product pages or social media page. Search Engine Optimization offers keyword-enriched search data for websites, ads, social media and more; trying to ensure that the right people see your online profile.
To be truly effective, smaller companies need to combine both traditional and online marketing tools; however, starting out with the online portion is usually more budget-friendly for smaller organizations. Each method and platform should be chose]n based on the target markets’ preferences and tendencies (marketing a home for the elderly may not fare to well on Twitter, etc.)
No matter the method, budget, timeline or size of the company marketing will play a necessary and essential part of every company’s success. By following these simple marketing steps, any company can maximize not only their visibility, but also their profit.
Lilly Gordon is a freelance writer and web publisher. She is marketing professional and is currently researching Advertising in Edmonton, Alberta and local communities, where she currently resides.
Auto repair and maintenance is no joke – vehicles not only need to be operating at optimum performance levels, they also need to be repaired and maintained within a set timeline and budget; two considerations that many mechanic shops take no notice of. If you’re new to the area, or just looking for a change there are many factors to consider when finding the best mechanic.
A lot of us aren’t that great with auto repairs, which is why we go to the mechanic’s in the first place. But how can we trust that what they’re telling us is the truth? And how do we know that they are being honest about prices? The answer: we don’t. But when you find the best mechanic for your needs, you’ll have a much better shot at getting your car fixed in a superior fashion, without being taken for a ride.
Start your search by word of mouth. Ask your friends and family which repair shops they frequent. People generally don’t stay with a mechanic that treats them badly, so you’ll have a good chance of landing a nice, honest mechanic this way. When you have a short list, compare locations. Find the mechanic shops that are in a convenient location (either close to home or work).
Don’t wait until you’re in a dire situation; book a routine appointment with the auto repair shop of your choosing and then do a little price comparison with other places. When you’re there ask some easy questions:
- Do they use new, used or salvaged parts for large-scale fixes?
- What are their labour rates?
- Do they offer rentals or shuttle service?
- What services do they offer?
- What is their warranty on parts and labour?
A great way to snoop is also to “Google” the shop and see if there are any bad reviews or complaints against their work or billing. Contact the better business bureau as well to see if there have ever been complaints lodged against the shop.
If you’re faced with a large-scale auto breakdown and need a different level of work done, make sure to call around and compare prices and always ask which parts they will be using – vehicle specific or general.
As with any service, make sure there is the promise of a long-term relationship that you can build on over the years. The best auto repair shops are the ones that pride themselves in honesty, professionalism and customer service. You bring them the work and they’ll leave you with a functioning vehicle and the shirt you came in with.
Lilly Gordon is a freelance writer and web publisher. She is currently researching Auto Repair in Sherwood Park, Alberta and auto service.
Selling a home is always filled with trials and tribulations. Sometimes the stress is at the outset; divorce, death and separation can be a stressful time and often the decision to sell is mad for you. Sometimes people sell to due to expanding families, or cash flow. Whatever the reason, selling a home can be filled with anxiety … but it doesn’t have to be a perilous journey. There are 7 simple steps to take you from anxious to relieved, as quickly as possible.
- Trust Your Realtor. Your real estate agent is there to help you sell as quickly and for the most money possible. Listen to what they have to say about pricing and comparable neighbourhood pricing – don’t let your ego do the talking on this one. Also, let him or her give the tours – don’t stick around for viewings or open houses. And be sure to take the agent’s advice when staging your furniture or making the best of your space – they are professionals after all and you don’t want hurt feelings to compromise the sale of your house. Above all –be honest about problems your house has had in the past; this will allow the agent to answer questions quickly, truthfully and with the best attitude possible.
- “Spring Clean”, even if it’s September! Before one prospective buyer walks through that door, clean like you’ve never cleaned before – inside AND out. All of the yard work you would typically do in the spring, do it now. Prune, mow, sweep and weed. If there’s snow on the ground, shovel. Hose down the windows and the walk – the outside of your home makes a huge impression as to whether people will come in and stay or duck their heads and keep on going.
After clearing the outdoors, sanitize your space. Dust all of the areas you haven’t gotten to in a while, vacuum and scrub. Many buyers leave viewings simply because bathrooms look dirty or kitchens look less than appetizing. This is the time to make your house sparkle. A full cleaning should be done before every viewing, if possible
- Depersonalize and Detach. Start your journey before the “SOLD” sign is up – emotionally detach from your current house and remove personalized items. Family photos can be packed, as can the “Bless this Mess” sign hanging in the hall. Remember that you have probably had sufficient time to customize your home – now is the time to de-customize so visitors can envision their own style taking over.
- Freshen Up. Every house could use a fresh coat of paint before newcomers venture in. Try to paint the walls a neutral colour and make things light and airy. If there are any little fixes that can be made (small holes in the wall, dripping faucets, stains in the carpet, etc.) try and do the best you can without spending too much dough. The new owners will probably change the things that need changing after the fact.
- Store Your Clutter Off Site. Most people accumulate clutter at some point. Whether it’s in a closet, drawer (or three), or toy boxes, make sure to pack it up and ship it out before people start moseying through. De-cluttering will make your house look bigger and more streamlined.
- Fur is Murder… For the Sale. Fido, Snowball and harry the Hamster may be members of your family – there’s no disputing that – but they are not good sales points for your realtor. Animals are stinky, they shed and, well, leave little “surprises” all over the yard and sometimes the house. While you may love their habits and quirks, it’s doubtful that anyone else will. Before any showings, remove any sign of your animal and de-scent the house. Litter boxes and pooper-scoopers can be can be hidden, the yard should be free of debris, and cages can be transported to a friend or relative’s house (or at least freshened and cleaned.) If your dog has to be in the home, make sure he or she is in his / her kennel as dogs can get nervous or overly excited when strangers come through.
- Self-Promote! Your realtor may be a whiz, but with the market the way it is lately, it’s always a good idea to put the buzz out about your abode. Social Media sites like Facebook, Youtube and local listing sites like eBay and Kijiji are great places to post pictures, videos and details about your house. Most modern realtors will offer this service, but you can always use your friends and family to help you out as well. If you are taking your own photos, be sure to take them on a bright, sunny afternoon (after your big cleanup) so people can see the home in its best light.
Take a deep breath and get out the Mr. Clean… It’s time to sell a house – fast!
Lilly Gordon is a freelance author and web publisher. She is currently researching how to sell a house in Edmonton, and the Canadian Real Estate Market.
If you live in an apartment, condo or your backyard simply doesn’t have enough space, container vegetable gardening may be the solution for you. Everyone can have their own vegetable garden, even those of us with balconies instead of yards. Even those who do have the space turn to container gardening for many reasons.
Advantages of Container Gardening
Container gardening allows for a lesser instance of plant disease and root rot if done properly, as well as virtually eliminating weed infestation. It also gives you heightened control over moisture and sun exposure. Because you can move your container anywhere you choose, you can correct sun exposure on extremely hot and dry days by simply relocating your garden.
How to Start Your Container Garden
First, you’ll need to decide what you’ll be growing in your small space. If you’ve decided on herbs or vegetables, choose something that you like to eat frequently and that will work with the amount of space you have available.
After you’ve chosen your veggies, you can decide on the type of container that will best suit your gardening needs. There are many different types of containers: planter boxes, large plastic pots, hanging baskets, growbags, barrels, etc. Here are some important factors to consider:
- If you are growing root vegetables like potatoes or carrots, you will need a very deep container.
- Wood containers may rot unless you use a more expensive wood like cedar. Do not use treated wood as the chemical will leech into your yummy veggies.
- Plastic containers can break down pretty quickly due to the constant barrage of water, UV rays and fertilizer.
- Clay pots tend to dry out very quickly as they are extremely porous and absorb water.
Whichever container you purchase from the green house should allow for drainage; if there are no holes, be sure to drill some that are about ½” across and then layer a bit of newspaper or landscaping cloth on the bottom before you start planting. This will keep soil in while allowing excess water to escape. Also, your container should have a nice wide opening – narrow openings are not conducicve to proper aeration or easy harvesting.
Care for Your Container Garden
Depending on which vegetables you have chosen, pick the location that’s best for proper sun exposure on a normal basis. As stated before, you can move your container if absolutely necessary but you won’t want to do that all the time. The soil you choose for planting must contain an even mixture of peat moss, soil, sand and compost. Before you fill your container, wash it with a biodegradable or natural cleaning agent, rinse, drain completely and then dry it. After the initial planting, be sure to water your new garden on a regular basis and fertilize each time you water. (Container gardens often need a bit more watering than an in-ground garden simply because of the efficient drainage system.) Be careful not to use chemical fertilizers, but rather natural means such as manure. It is usually readily available at your local greenhouse and will ensure excellent plant growth.
No matter how small the space you too can have your own delicious, convenient and weed-free vegetable garden.
Lilly Gordon is a freelance writer and web publisher. She is currently researching Edmonton Greenhouses.
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