Marketing, what is it?
Marketing is one of, if not the, most important parts of your business’s success. No matter how great your product or service is, if people don’t know about it, they can’t buy it.
Effective small business marketing is all about connecting with potential customers, building awareness, and ultimately driving sales. Whether through digital marketing on social media or through traditional methods like print ads and events, marketing is what helps build a positive reputation and foster customer loyalty, both of which are essential for long-term success.
So, what exactly is marketing?
Whether we are aware of it or not, marketing is happening all around us all the time. From billboards along a highway to brand posts on social media and optimized content on a website, it’s nearly impossible to go a day without seeing or experiencing some form of marketing.
In short, marketing is the activity of getting people aware of and interested in a product, service, or brand itself.
Marketing helps businesses:
Reach the right audience
Build brand recognition and trust
Demonstrate their value
Stand out from competitors
Drive sales and growth
A well-crafted marketing strategy strengthens a company’s brand and messaging over time. It requires consistent branding that sets clear expectations for consumers and builds a reputation. When a business consistently meets these expectations, it earns the trust of loyal customers and increases its brand value. Ultimately, this leads to higher sales.
The best brands showcase what makes their product or service unique, distinguishing it from what competitors offer and connecting it with what customers find valuable or desirable. Marketing is a foundational element of a business’s success because it has a direct impact on sales, retention, and revenue.
Getting Started with Small Business Marketing
Marketing your small business takes intention and planning. A successful strategy doesn’t just happen, but without one, you're leaving money on the table.
Chances are, you didn't set out to learn marketing before starting your business—you launched your business to offer a service or product to your customers. So, here’s where you start:
1. Define Your Goals
Start by identifying what you want to achieve. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate new leads, or boost sales? Clear objectives will guide your strategy. You’ll want to consider:
What makes you unique
Your target audience
How you’ll measure success
Once you decide what you want to achieve, you’ll want to set marketing goals. You need clear targets to work towards and measure progress. By establishing SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based), you can effectively track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
2. Know Your Audience
Understanding your market is key. You need to take the time to define your target audience — the group of consumers most likely to purchase the products or services your business provides. Knowing your customers helps you craft messages that resonate and engage.
Begin by taking the time to identify who your ideal customer is by asking key questions. What is their age, income level, and location? What challenges do they face, and how can your product or service address their needs? What online platforms do they use the most? The more specific you are in understanding your target market, the better. Once you have a clear picture of who you're marketing to, you can create customized marketing strategies and map out the customer journey.
If you don’t know and understand your audience, you cannot speak to their wants and needs. You cannot demonstrate how your product or service solves their problem.
3. Identify Your Value Proposition
The final step is to define your value proposition. You need to be able to clearly provide potential buyers with a strong reason to choose your product.
Ask yourself, what makes your product or service unique? Take the time to write out your answers and don’t be afraid to talk to current clients. Be sure that you are focusing on the benefits rather than just the features. What value do you bring to your customers? How do you make their life better? It’s not just about having something flashier than the competition—it’s about showing how your offer uniquely aligns with their values and fulfills their needs.
Your value proposition should highlight how you solve customer problems and what sets you apart from competitors. Then, make sure this is clearly communicated in your marketing.
Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
You’ve set your goals, defined your audience, and identified your value proposition. Now, it’s time to market and attract paying customers. Where do you begin?
Small business marketing plans often include a website, social media, and email campaigns, along with other traditional and experiential marketing strategies. But, marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Different types of campaigns are needed based on where your customers spend their time and how they prefer to be connected with.
Here are the different types of marketing you should consider:
1. Online Marketing
Online marketing, such as a business website, social media profiles, and email campaigns, can help a small business expand. The digital world offers powerful ways to reach a wider audience of customers than traditional forms of marketing.
For many businesses, online marketing plays a key role in their strategy. And it should! A digital presence is an affordable and highly effective way to connect with customers.
Core components of an effective online marketing strategy include:
a. Website
A well-designed website is essential for clearly communicating what your business offers and how it provides value to your customers. It is often the first place prospective customers truly interact with your brand and serves as a critical sales tool. Your business website should be at the core of your marketing strategy.
Additionally, having a well-designed website increases your chances of appearing in search engine results. Whether someone searches for your business name or the types of products and services you offer, you want to make sure your website ranks high in the results.
Your website is one of your most important sales tools. Make sure it:
Clearly explains your offerings, and the direct value they add to customers
Is optimized for search engines (SEO)
Features easy-to-find contact information
Includes e-commerce options if applicable
Communicates what makes your business different than competitors
b. Utilize Social Media
Choose the right platforms based on your audience and post consistently.
42% of Americans use social media to discover small businesses they support. Setting up business accounts on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and others helps potential customers find you and offers opportunities to engage with your current audience.
The content you post should:
Prioritize educational, entertaining, or inspirational posts over promotional or sales content
Use a combination of videos, reels, images, stories, carousels, and even text-based posts
Maintain a recognizable look and feel across all platforms that aligns with your brand
Feature testimonials, reviews, and customer-submitted content to build credibility
When building a social media strategy, take the time to select social media channels that align with your business, are manageable for you to maintain, and are popular among your target audience for the best results.
c. Email Marketing
Despite the growth of social media, email remains one of the most effective tools in your marketing plan and has one of the highest returns on investment. It offers direct, personalized communication with your audience while being cost-efficient and data-driven.
Here are some key reasons why email marketing works so well:
Emails land directly in a recipient’s inbox, making them more personal than social media posts. This increases engagement and conversion rates.
Consistent email communication helps nurture leads and build trust over time.
Well-crafted emails can drive traffic to websites, increase sales, and promote customer actions.
Unlike social media, where algorithms control reach, email lists are owned assets. There is no risk of losing access to an audience due to platform changes or account restrictions.
Marketers have full control over messaging, timing, and frequency.
To maximize impact, make sure your emails are sent consistently and provide valuable content that highlights your expertise. Your emails should engage your audience, offering insights, solutions, or updates that matter to them.
Finally, the subject line is one of the most overlooked elements of an email. It’s short and might seem insignificant—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, crafting a strong subject line should take careful thought and planning. Without it, your email may never be opened, and all the valuable content inside will go unseen. Crafting a compelling subject line that encourages your audience to open the email is one of the most important things you can do when writing an email.
By consistently delivering valuable content, personalizing your messaging, and crafting compelling subject lines, you can maximize the effectiveness of your email marketing.
d. Paid Advertising
Paid online advertising offers a range of strategies to increase visibility, drive traffic, and generate leads. By leveraging different ad formats and platforms, businesses can reach their target audience effectively while also controlling costs.
Some options for paid advertising include:
Social Media Advertising – Purchase ad space on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach a targeted audience.
Podcast Sponsorships – Advertise on podcasts to connect with an engaged and loyal listener base.
Influencer Partnerships – Collaborate with influencers to promote your products or services to their followers.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising – Pay a fee per click on your ad, up to a set budget, ensuring controlled spending while driving targeted traffic.
Paid advertising not only expands your reach but also enhances other marketing efforts by driving brand awareness, website traffic, and conversions. When combined with organic strategies, it becomes a powerful tool for building long-term growth while maintaining full control over budget and audience targeting.
2. Traditional Marketing
While digital marketing is essential, traditional methods still hold value, especially for local and small businesses. Traditional marketing methods like print ads and flyers, along with experiential workshops and events that let customers engage with your products or services, expertise, and brand can help expand your reach.
Methods include:
Print advertisements (magazines, newspapers, event programs)
Direct mail campaigns
Business cards and flyers
Events and shows
Promotional merchandise (pens, keychains, tote bags, etc.)
Networking with other business owners
By including proven, traditional methods in your overall marketing strategy, you can strengthen your brand’s presence and reach a broader audience.
3. Experiential Marketing
The goal of experiential marketing is not just to sell a product, but to raise brand awareness and build brand loyalty. It focuses on providing customers with an experience that creates a positive connection with your brand, encouraging them to share it with their friends, family, coworkers, and social media followers.
Experiential marketing creates memorable brand interactions. Ideas include:
Workshops and educational events
Facility tours
Competitions and clinics
Giveaways and product or service demos
Incorporating these interactive strategies into your marketing plan can leave a lasting impression and drive long-term brand loyalty.
Final Thoughts
Marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all. The best strategy for your business will depend on your goals, audience, and resources. By leveraging a mix of online, traditional, and experiential strategies, you can build a strong, lasting brand and attract loyal customers.
Need help developing a customized marketing plan? Let’s work together to create a strategy that helps your business grow and thrive!