Marketing Essentials: 5 Things Every Small Business Needs

Small businesses are on the rise, and many economists wholeheartedly agree that opportunities are rife. The time is right. You can start a business, even if is just a small one.

Barriers to entry are dropping quickly and so are the startup costs. Poor economics, the rising costs of living and soaring gas prices aren’t discouraging people from launching a startup either. Quite the contrary.

Minority groups have fewer obstacles, and more people can make their dream a reality, online or offline. Consumers are looking for a more personal connection for their purchasing needs, and they're leaning towards B2B and one-man shops.

All people need is an idea, a product or service, the will and a way to reach consumers – it's that easy. A business is born.

Even more so, small business owners now have the power to blend offline and online marketing to reach customers, promote products or services and increase sales to create a successful venture.

But are people tapping into that potential? Are small businesses making the most of the low-cost marketing opportunities available? Are they being effective in their efforts, using every tool and resource possible to boost potential success?

The answer is, unfortunately, no.

The 5 Basic Markteing Essentials

So often, small business owners neglect the most basic marketing essentials that go a long way to help attract potential customers. These essentials create one package that no business should lack.

Does your business have each of these five marketing essentials?

• A core message
• A good brand image and logo
• A website or blog
• Business cards
• Exposure

That’s it. That’s all it takes to have all the marketing you need to promote your business effectively, whether you're a freelancer, self-employed or a small- to mid-sized business.

The field or industry of your specialty doesn't matter. You could offer a product or service – it doesn't matter. If you have the proper marketing essentials and the right exposure, then your business has a solid fighting chance to do well.

The five basic marketing essentials work for your business to help you create opportunity. They're easy to procure, the cost is low and creating these marketing essentials can often be a lot of fun. It's exciting to build a business, after all.

So what’s holding people back from promoting their own business effectively? Here are a few reasons – maybe you’ll even recognize your own comments amongst these excuses:

• “My business doesn’t need cards – I have a website!”
• “I don’t need stationary or business cards; I work online.”
• “I own a physical store, and my clients don't care if I have a website online.”
• “My kind of business doesn’t use stationary or a website at all.”
• “I don’t even know how to use a computer. And where would I pass out cards?”

These false assumptions and self-created obstacles hurt small businesses every day. Neglect costs sales. Poor marketing can even cause a to business fail.

We don’t want that to happen.

Our business is helping your business do better. That’s why we’re going to work on clearing up some basic marketing misconceptions while giving you the marketing essentials knowledge you need to promote your business effectively.

Over the next few posts, we’ll tell you about each crucial marketing essential in detail. We'll tell you why you need each one, what to look for to create impact, and how to use your marketing essentials as a whole promotion package…

… All on a small business budget.