By Trine Hansen
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07 Aug, 2019
As a small business owner, you are constantly playing jack of all trades and throwing yourself in the deep end as you work towards growing your brand, gaining skills and working towards growing your brand. It's no wonder that small businesses often find it tricky to invest time, let alone money, in marketing. At least enough to make a difference to their business. I know first-hand the variety of challenges entrepreneurs and SMEs face when it comes to marketing. Budget is limited, expert skills are not necessarily at your disposal, head-space is given to other areas of the business and it’s difficult to keep up with the fast-paced world when it comes to constant innovation in technology and marketing. No wonder it takes a business a good 3-5 years before they even consider marketing support. I’m often asked about how to tackle marketing and get started properly. Here are my main tips to kick start your journey of building your reputation: Know your purpose and your values I see so many entrepreneurs and small businesses being successful in terms of profit but without a clear purpose and values that can set the basis for a strong communications plan, internally and externally. Ask yourself what are you trying to do, why are you doing it and how are you and your offering different to everyone else? Have those answers and not only will your staff want to work for you but customers will also want to know more about you. Decide where to focus By this I don’t mean to one day wake up and say I’m going to do this, no, use your data to understand where your customers are spending their time. There are so many ways to promote your business however, you have to refine your approach through clever knowledge and stick with it. If you jump from thing to thing you won’t get the results you need. Stand out Why should I pick you to spend my money with? Know your Unique Selling Points (USPs), it’s more relevant now than ever. Branding consistency and differentiation apply to your website, social channels, paid ads and everything that carries your logo or business name. Your visual style, fonts, language and overall tone should be consistent on all of your platforms and channels, whether online or offline. Outsource where you need to I’ve always said to not pretend to know everything. It's OK to not know everything. In fact, I believe it is a strength to admit that you need support. When you are ready shop around, know your budget and speak to a number of people to get a feel for who might fit perfectly into your business whether that be a new staff member or freelance support to get you on the right path. People have spent decades perfecting skills, there’s a reason why you pay good money for those who know their stuff.