Entrepreneurship is becoming the game changer in economies all over the world, Nigeria inclusive. Therefore, when people are willing to look away from the so-called white-collar jobs and build a life of financial security for themselves by being their boss, they deserve to be commended.
Small Scale Businesses or sometimes called SMEs are on the increase today. Because of the size of the business and the size of the capital available, such businesses run on a slim marketing budget. As such, if you are into a small-scale business, you will need to invest in affordable marketing mediums that will bring a favorable return on investment in making your business grow.
Lots of small-scale business owners push the little revenue they get from their business into marketing or advertisement techniques that are overly expensive and less profitable. Here though are some nice modes of marketing for a small and medium scale enterprise:
1. DO A MASSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PUSH
If you are looking for fertile land to find the customers you need and grow your business, then social media is an indisputable choice. Facebook allows ads placement today at a very low cost, and the beauty of this is that you can select your target audience of those you know will be interested in your product and/or services so that this advert appears to them more.
The first thing you should do though is to get your business a website. Website designs are very cheap nowadays and you can even set them up for free on your own. If you think you wouldn’t need a website, put up a blog. This is also very easy to do and you can get it done yourself in minutes for free. The essence of this is for those who interact with you on social media (e.g. Facebook) to have a landing place.
Apart from just advertising your business on Facebook, set up a Facebook page where you can interact with potential clients. Even if those who see your page and your adverts don’t purchase from you immediately, chances are they will like your page, thereby helping you build up a database for your potential clients.
2. USE FLYERS OR HANDBILLS
If you want to go conventional, then flyers are also good for marketing, especially if your business is new. The good thing about using flyers is that they are very cheap to produce. You can even do one in the comfort of your home on your computer. All you need to provide on it is what you offer, why people should buy from you and how to contact you. To get value for this, don’t just spread them like feathers, instead define your target audience and distribute in areas where you know you will be patronized. These flyers can be distributed on the streets, door to door, or posted on billboards or strategic places.
3. USE BULK SMS
This is the real deal. Bulk SMS as a means of marketing an SME is fast becoming the best tool worldwide. It is arguably the cheapest and most effective of the mediums of marketing a small-scale business mentioned here.
Once you get the phone numbers of your existing and potential clients, which you can get by requesting for it, making it a requirement for registration on your website or as a record from all those who call your contact details, the next thing is to start targeted marketing to such ones.
There are many things you can accomplish with bulk SMS for your SME. You can intimate them of new products or services, send goodwill messages to them on special occasions of theirs, create a fear of losing out in them by pushing deadline promos and discounts offers, appreciation messages, and even get honest feedback from them. In short, the ways bulk SMS can be used effectively for your small-scale business cannot be overemphasized.
People who see the obvious dividends of this means of marketing are delving into it. Don’t be left out. Sign up for a free account today with SmartSMSSolutions and get your small-scale business set up for great strides. It is exactly what your business needs. Free SMS bonus is given after registering.
Of course, there are other means of marketing that can be used for your small-scale business such as telemarketing, use of billboards, TV adverts, and so on, However, considering the size of the business and the tool that can bring high ROI in a short time, the aforementioned will be perfect to start with, especially bulk SMS. It’s cheap, instant, and reliable.
Take a moment to tell us what you think about the effectiveness of these mediums of marketing for a small and medium scale enterprise mentioned above.