6 Ways for SMEs to Effectively Use Their Marketing Budget

Having trouble in marketing within your budget? Here are some tips you can follow.

Marketing can be expensive for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). In fact, it is one of the most difficult aspects of running a new business. Frequently, the problem becomes worse when businesses only opt for the cheaper marketing options. For example, some of them produce monthly newsletters just because other enterprises do the same. This should not be the case.

Fortunately, there are many ways marketing can be effective and worth your money. Here are six tips to make sure you get the most our of your small marketing budget:

1. Plan well.

Research your competitors and the market. Visualize the market as real people and look out for important information relevant to them. This includes the problems they face, time of internet use, and their interests.

These are only a few of the many points to look for in your market. Econsultancy is an effective way to analyze online consumer behavior so you can adjust your efforts accordingly. Also, you may want to try applications like CubeSocial to see where your prospects usually go in the internet.

2. Set objectives.

Set clear and specific objectives for every marketing task you do. Plan out ahead your measurements for success. Success in online marketing might translate to an increased number of inquiries and sales. Try using free tools such as Google Analytics for your site and Hootsuite for social media. They complement surprisingly well with any type of marketing objectives. Alternatively, you may try Vibbi for your Instagram needs and more.

3. Spend cautiously.

Take note of what you need before spending on popular marketing methods, such as websites and SEO tools. Spend according to what you have learned from your research and objectives. Once you have mapped out what you need, you can safely spend on materials that are a better fit.

Clarify your efforts. What is the purpose of spending for SEO tools or a website? Are you after generation of awareness, or simply a tool for sales?

4. Know local suppliers.

Local suppliers are most likely able to give better service. They will also know the right people to help you market. Always ask them relevant questions regarding their service and the quality of results. Hiring a reputable company and quality service is a must.

5. Become an expert.

Give valuable content to achieve a status of ‘expert’. One great way of doing this is blogging. Make sure your blog is branded accordingly, so you may easily insert it in your website. Effective platforms for blogging are WordPress and mojoPortal since they are low cost. For a more personal touch, try Tumblr.

6. Consider digital marketing campaigns.

Consider a combination of video, social media, and blogging as means of marketing. This type of online campaign will create lasting impressions for your clients.

Conclusion

Marketing can be one of the enjoyable parts of establishing a business. It is about telling people that your business is great. However, necessary planning and research are needed when it comes to effective marketing. These will ensure high ROI on your business.

Mobile Marketing Trends The Small Businesses Should Be Aware Of

When it comes to modern marketing it is quite easy to understand that mobile marketing is a really important thing to consider. According to all top notch small business marketing consulting services, you want to think about various ways to promote the business through mobile channels so that you can take advantage of the wishes that people have right now. Modern shopping is done through the use of the internet. With this in mind, always consider the following mobile marketing trends that will help you to increase sales and increase your branding efforts through the online world.

SMS Advertising

Most smartphone users these days will be engaged with the use of text advertising. We can say that SMS marketing is nowadays a really strong competitor for the already established email marketing. The efficiency is high because of the personal nature of the advertising done. You are going to be faced with much higher conversion and open rates. At the same time, affordability is much higher than what you may think at first glance.

Snapchat Marketing

Snapchat has millions of users all around the world. The simple photo sharing app is so popular that it is now seriously considered as a great promotion channel for those looking for wonderful online advertising opportunities. Snapchat is great since it offers users the possibility to advertise sponsor brands. Since behavioural targeting is now available, you can definitely consider this great marketing opportunity.

Mobile Marketing Automation

The market penetration of mobile marketing automation was pretty small in 2015. It then quickly grew in 2016 and will be pretty high in 2017. You do not have to now overwhelm customers with data that is not needed. Through mobile marketing automation we can collect customer data and then offer the correct content, the one that is going to actually convert. The business manages to save time while the customer gets just data that is relevant.

Social Media Mobile Marketing

There are over 2 billion social media users that exist all around the world. Most of the social media time dedicated by these individuals will happen through mobile devices. Because of the large group we talk about it is quite normal to want to look at this trend as being one that is going to have to dominate the market from many different points of view. You have to be sure you always use quality marketing tools though since optimizing for mobile devices is definitely difficult to do.

App Development

Since so many of the people that buy these days have a smartphone it should come as no surprise to notice that app use is on the increase. Because of this, a big part of the future marketing efforts for most companies will have to include some sort of app use. App development is on the increase and we have access to so much variety that it would be a shame not to use it. Mobile marketing is all about diversity and the various different things we can use in order to keep growing. App development is definitely a great thing to consider.