Jean-Michel Lucie runs The Balloonery. Picture: Stuart Milligan Source: National Features
BIG companies devote whole departments to it.
If you are a small business operator, chances are that, on top of all the other jobs you are juggling, you are wearing the chief marketer's hat.
But what is marketing?
It works on the idea that you might have the world's best product or service but if no one knows about it, it is pointless.
Marketing is also described as everything you do that keeps happy customers coming back to buy your goods and services.
It requires a plan that will lay out how to find customers, how to satisfy them, how to get them back and how to keep adding value and loyalty.
Unlike the big marketing departments with their arsenal of heavy-hitters and big bucks to target advertising, sponsorship, social media and events, you will have to keep it simple.
Flying Solo founder Robert Gerrish says there is plenty of free and simple advice.
"Go to a bookshop. For $25, you can get the best knowledge you can buy," he says.
"It's a very retro thing but all the best marketers have written books."
Flying Solo, which is an online support network for micro businesses, says small business operators should block aside 20 minutes every morning to focus on marketing.
"Marketing is creating a feeling or a situation where someone likes the look of what you do," Gerrish says.
But he warns marketing is about building a slow and steady relationship. "You don't go into a room full of people and start yelling at them."
Gerrish says too often small businesses panic and go on a marketing binge. He says people don't need to spend a lot of money, but many will need help expressing their message.
People should look at having a number of meaningful conversations with prospects every day. They could be with potential clients and people from their recent past they have lost contact with.
Gerrish says social media, in its various forms, is a wonderful tool if used properly.
Successful businessman and Small Business Mentoring Service mentor Bruce Hall tells his clients to set aside time each day, or a morning a week, specifically for marketing.
"Where people allocate time to promote their business, they see results," he says.
Hall says it might be as easy as a new business operator taking the time to meet other businesses and leaving a card.
He says one of the best things small business operators can do is speak to customers regularly. "Find out about their needs, their concerns and what is not being delivered."
In addition to identifying desired customers, business owners need to take the time to learn about their world, needs and challenges.
While there is a shift to the competitive world of online marketing, Hall says businesses providing comparisons, tips and information on their websites do much better.
"It can't just be an online brochure. People might look at 10 to 12 websites, so your website needs to inform and educate the customer," he says.
Hall says businesses with a bricks and mortar presence need to step back and look at their premises to see how the customer sees it.
> Marketing 101: Get your pricing right.
* A poor retail site, with low rent and low traffic, will require more marketing.
* Don't choose an obscure, hard to pronounce name. Word-of-mouth won't work if people can't say it.
* Getting your logo right is important as it is expensive to rebrand.
* Websites are getting cheaper and more DIY. Make Google happy by including as many key words (terms that people will use in their searches) in your text. Keep content fresh and think of doing a blog.
* Join an industry association and morph yourself into an expert on a given topic.
