When Does My Small Business Need Marketing?

Wondering when to start marketing your business? Here’s a guide to help you get started. To promote your business through marketing strategy, you need to first identify your ideal customer and target audience, set a marketing budget, create a marketing plan, and choose the right marketing channels. Whether you’re a business owner or a marketer, this guide will help you understand digital marketing, influencer marketing, social media marketing, PPC ads, and more. With the right marketing tools and efforts, you can reach your potential customers, improve your search engine results page (SERP) ranking, and grow your business. 

You may be wondering when the right time is to start investing in marketing. Perhaps your business has just started, or it’s been operating for a while but hasn’t seen the results you were hoping for. The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Every business is unique, and the timing of your marketing efforts will depend on a variety of factors. In this guide to marketing your business, we’ll explore some key considerations to help you determine when it’s time to start promoting your business through marketing strategy. 

7 Tips for Starting to Market Your Business 

1. Establish Your Ideal Customer

Before you start investing in digital marketing, it’s important to identify your target audience. Who is your ideal customer? What are their pain points, needs, and desires? Once you’ve identified your target audience, you can tailor your marketing efforts to appeal to them specifically. This will help you create a more effective marketing plan that resonates with your potential customers. 

 

2. Evaluate Your Marketing Budgets

Another important consideration is your marketing budgets. Businesses often have limited budgets for marketing, which means you’ll need to prioritise your marketing efforts carefully. Consider what marketing channels will be most effective for reaching your target audience and focus on those first. This may include social media marketing, pay per click (PPC) ads, email marketing, or other marketing tools. 

 

3. Assess Your Product or Service

Your product or service will also play a role in determining when to start marketing your small business. If you have a unique product or service that solves a common problem, you may be able to start marketing early on in your business journey. On the other hand, if you offer a product or service that is similar to what’s already available on the market, you may need to wait until you’ve built a strong reputation before investing in marketing efforts. 

 

4. Research Your Local Businesses

If you run a local business, it’s important to research your competition and understand the marketing channels they’re using. This will help you identify opportunities to differentiate your business and reach potential customers more effectively. You may also want to consider collaborating with other local businesses on marketing campaigns or influencer marketing. 

 

5. Monitor Your Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

One key indicator that it may be time to invest in marketing is your search engine results page (SERP) ranking. If your website isn’t appearing on the first page of search engine results for your target keywords, you may need to invest in search engine optimisation (SEO) to improve your ranking. This will help you reach more potential customers who are searching for products or services like yours. 

 

6. Build Your Email List

Building an email list is another important step in promoting your business marketing strategy. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers and build relationships with them over time. Consider offering a lead magnet, such as a free guide or eBook, in exchange for email addresses. This will help you grow your email list and stay in touch with potential customers. 

 

7. Start Small and Scale Up  

When it comes to marketing, it’s important to start small and scale up your efforts over time. Don’t try to do everything at once – focus on a few key marketing channels that are most likely to be effective for your business. As you start to see results, you can expand your marketing efforts and invest in new marketing channels. 

There is no right time to start marketing your business. It will depend on a variety of factors, including your target audience, marketing budgets, product or service, competition, and more. However, by considering these key factors and monitoring your results over time, you can create an effective marketing plan that helps you reach your potential customers and promote your business 

Now that you have a better understanding of when your business needs marketing, it’s time to put together a solid marketing plan. This plan should be tailored to your specific business needs, budget, and goals.  

 

Steps to take when creating your marketing plan

Create Buyer Personas

It’s important to understand who your target audience is so that you can create marketing campaigns that will appeal to them. Think about your product or service and who is most likely to purchase it. Consider demographics such as age, gender, income, location, and interests and define your ideal customers through creating buyer personas. 

Determine your marketing campaigns and budgets 

Marketing budgets can vary greatly depending on the size and goals of your business. It’s important to determine how much you can afford to spend on marketing efforts such as marketing campaigns so that you can allocate resources appropriately. Consider the ROI (return on investment) for each marketing channel and campaign to determine where you should focus your overall budget. 

Choose your marketing channels

There are many marketing channels available to small businesses, including social media marketing, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, influencer marketing, and more. Do some research and choose the channels that will be most effective for reaching your target audience and promoting your business. 

Set marketing goals

It’s important to set specific, measurable goals for your marketing efforts. For example, if you’re launching a new product or campaign, you might set a goal of generating a certain number of leads or conversions. Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable within your budget and timeline. 

Create timelines

Once you’ve determined your goals and marketing channels, create a timeline for your campaigns. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you’re meeting your deadlines. Consider factors such as seasonality and holidays when planning your marketing and campaigns. 

Measure your results

It’s important to track the success of your marketing efforts so that you can adjust as needed. Use tools like Google Analytics 4 to track website traffic and conversions, and track engagement metrics on social media platforms. Use this data to refine your marketing strategy and make improvements over time. 

By understanding your business from a marketing perspective and defining your ideal customer, you can create a tailored marketing plan. This will help you can effectively promote your products or services and achieve your business goals. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different marketing channels and tactics and be willing to adjust as needed. With the right marketing tools and strategies in place, your business can thrive in today’s competitive digital landscape.

One essential thing to understand is that marketing isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process that requires continuous efforts and adjustments to ensure the best results. You need to give your marketing time to take effect. As a general rule I would recommend giving your marketing at least 3 to 6 months to start taking effect.  

Check out our other articles such as ‘Powerful Changes You Can Make To Your Marketing‘ or  ‘Why Your Marketing Is Not Hitting The Mark‘ for more information.  Need professional help & advice for your marketing efforts? Get in touch with our team today. 

Lucille is a marketing expert, specialising in google analytics, inbound marketing, case studies, lead generating and content marketing strategy.