Sushilaben, a woman in her late 30s has decided to come up with her homegrown business of selling instant rotis. The rotis twenty in number priced at Rs 30 per packet is convenient to consume as it just needs to be heated on a Tawa. Therefore, no hassle of kneading the dough and no efforts to keep the roti shape circular which otherwise resembled a map of some continent. It was a great idea. Sushilaben decided to channel her product through her kitty party groups and relatives. Little did she know that she would receive some reluctant responses.
The problem which Sushilaben faced with her product channelling is commonplace for new businesses. What lacked in Sushilaben’s approach was a robust marketing strategy to grow her business. Neither her target audience was defined nor her channel was right. Women of the kitty party group were not convinced by the instant Rotis since they believed in making fresh Rotis by kneading the dough themselves. Had the target audience been the working individuals, men and women running hectic schedules, her product would have been accepted well. Entrepreneurs who have just stepped into the entrepreneurial realm have the notion that marketing is an expensive affair that involves creative ad agencies, and thus shy away from it. Contrary to their beliefs, a robust marketing strategy for growing businesses will contain plans that will address the current challenges a target audience faces and pave paths by which a business can grow. Through marketing, we can reach our right target audience, that in Sushilaben’s case is the working class individuals. A marketing strategy is a combination of the big picture and detail analysis that incorporates a wide range of marketing channels tailored for that business’s industry, market and budget. A marketing strategy can be said to be a fruitful investment since it targets a business’s efforts and helps avoid wastage of time, money and resources.
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Marketing strategies for small businesses are integral to the growth of the business.
Benefits of Marketing Strategy for the businesses
Amplify the business and bring in new customers
Any venture’s challenge is to attract new faces to increase sales and sustain the business. Having a marketing strategy in place helps in amplifying the brand and helps to acquire new customers.
Increases Engagement
The content that we use for marketing strategy acts as a medium to remain engaged with the current customer base by supplying relevant information about your business and the products/services it features. The information should be presented in a way that should stir curiosity among customers. It can be done by crafting blog posts, memes, videos, etc. The more the engagement with customers, the more is the chance to increase your visibility in front of potential customers which can result in snowballing and expansion in your customer base. From customer’s reactions to the posts, we can find out new avenues for the business to expand.
Knowing The Competitors
You will not be the only shark hunting for the fishes. When we brainstorm to create a marketing strategy we come to know about the competitors and their strategies to pull customers. Entrepreneurs should be aware of what their competitors are doing differently in the product, quality, customer service, messaging, etc. and find the gaps for effectively using them in marketing campaigns.
Higher revenues with targeted marketing
Small businesses can opt for affordable digital marketing strategies that will help in precisely targeting their audience which will result in generating adequate leads.
What is in it for the startups?
Marketing strategies for small businesses are integral to the growth of the business. Thus, designing a robust marketing strategy should be in every entrepreneurs’ mind to generate leads, expand the customer base and induce loyalty among the customers.
