Small business marketing: Resources for small business owners
What is marketing?
Marketing is absolutely essential to running a successful small business. But if you've never really done it before, you might not know what to do or where to focus your efforts. This page lays out the basics of small business marketing and how to develop a plan that works for your brand, no matter what budget you're working with.
Like most of the UK's small businesses, you'll be facing unique challenges.
You're not only having to compete with larger companies, but there's new technology to get to grips with and customers' preferences are changing all the time.
But with the right marketing strategies, your small business can stand out, connect with customers and start selling more. The key is to make the most of what you've got and pick tactics that suit what you're hoping to achieve.
Get started with these essential guides
The ultimate guide to small business marketing in the UK
From understanding the basics of marketing to discovering low-cost techniques, this guide covers everything you need to know to promote your business and start seeing results.
How to create a marketing budget for your small business
How do you develop a marketing budget that fits with your goals while giving you the best return on investment? This step-by-step guide explains all.
Choose which area of marketing you need help with
The benefits of small business marketing
Increased visibility
Effective marketing helps new customers notice your business, improves brand awareness and makes sure your products or services are on people's radar.
Stronger brand loyalty
Consistent and engaging marketing builds trust with your customers, encouraging repeat business and long-term relationships with your brand.
Higher sales and revenue
With the right marketing strategies in place, you can attract more customers and convert them into paying clients, ultimately driving up sales and boosting your revenue.
But small business marketing does have some challenges...
Small business marketing is the way in which you promote your products or services, build relationships with customers and, ultimately, drive sales. You can't grow a small business without it.
However, one common problem is money. As a small business, you're likely operating on a limited budget. That means you need to spend it cleverly. Chances are you don't have a dedicated marketing team to help, so you're doing this work on your own.
The key is to identify what works for your particular business and target audience.
You don't need a large budget to get great results. Digital channels like social media and email, or more traditional methods like local events and partnerships, are all low-cost ways to promote your business without breaking the bank.
How to develop your small business marketing strategy
Having a detailed marketing strategy helps steer your business in the right direction. You can't focus your efforts until you understand the key elements that go into a successful strategy.
1. Identify your target audience
Knowing who your customers are lets you tailor your marketing to the right people. Begin by looking at factors such as how old they are, where they live, what they earn, what interests they have and how they prefer to shop.
Once you're clear on who you're trying to attract, you can create marketing messages that are meaningful and pick the right channels to reach your ideal customers.
2. Position your brand
Brand positioning means determining what makes your business unique and making sure your target audience knows why they should choose you over your competitors.
You put together a compelling value proposition that outlines your strengths and how your products or services benefit people. Your messaging should reflect your brand values and speak directly to your customers' wants and needs.
3. Set SMART goals
Having specific objectives is crucial for monitoring whether your marketing is having an effect. A useful way to develop focused, realistic goals is the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).
For example, you could set a SMART goal like "Increase sales by 10% over the next three months through targeted social media ads" instead of a general one like "Increase sales." Setting SMART goals will help you stay on course and track your progress as you go.
4. Work out your budget
It's tempting to invest money in every marketing opportunity that presents itself, but you must focus your spending where it'll make the biggest difference.
Set a realistic budget based on your business's goals and the marketing campaigns you want to run. From there, you can focus on activities that will give you a high return, such as email marketing, social media and SEO. These are often less expensive and have a track record of success.
Digital marketing: How to do it
Digital marketing is crucial if your small business wants to grow and attract new customers. With the proper strategy, you can expand your audience, build connections and sell more of your products or services. Here are some key digital marketing strategies to think about.
Optimising your website for sales
Your website frequently serves as the initial point of contact between your business and prospective customers. So it's really important that your website is well designed and explains your products or services clearly.
The site should be simple to navigate, with clear calls to action (CTAs) that guide visitors towards buying something or contacting you. It must also be mobile-friendly, as a lot of customers now browse and shop on their phones.
Also include elements such as customer reviews and trust signals to give your business more credibility and urge visitors to take action.
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Search engine optimisation (SEO)
Optimising your website to increase its visibility in search engine results is known as SEO. When people are looking for the types of goods or services you sell, you want your website to rank as highly as possible in search results on sites like Google and Bing.
Search engines will "crawl" your website and index the pages it finds. Good SEO means using relevant keywords, producing high-quality content and making sure your website is sound from a technical point of view.
Local SEO is especially important for small businesses. This means optimising your website and online presence so you show up in local search results, like "plumber in [your town]" or "coffee shop near me".
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Social media marketing
Social media is a great way for your business to connect with customers and promote your products or services. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn allow you to engage directly with your audience, share content and run targeted ads.
Bear in mind, though, that using social media means being consistent with your posting and focusing on building relationships. You're not just promoting your business!
Share content that your audience will find valuable, such as helpful tips, behind-the-scenes looks at your business or customer success stories.
You can also use social media to listen to customer feedback and join relevant conversations in your industry.
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Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to nurture relationships with your customers.
Building and maintaining an email list lets you send personalised messages, promote special offers and keep customers informed about your latest products or services.
Start by offering something of value in exchange for customers' email addresses, such as a discount or a free guide. Once you have a list, make sure your emails are engaging and relevant to your audience.
Avoid overwhelming them with too many emails, and focus on providing value with each message you send.
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Paid advertising
Paid advertising, or "pay-per-click (PPC)", can be a quick way to attract more traffic to your website.
Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook (Meta) Ads allow you to target specific demographics and interests, so your ads are shown to the right people.
While paid ads can be effective, you need to track your results and make sure you're getting a return on your investment. Start small and test different versions and targeting options to find what works best for your business.
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More traditional marketing methods for small businesses
While digital marketing gets a lot of attention, traditional marketing methods still hold real value, especially for small businesses that want to connect with their local communities. Here's a closer look at some old-school marketing methods that might work for your business.
Local marketing strategies
Connecting with your community is one of the most powerful ways to grow a small business. Local marketing is about creating relationships with the people in your area, whether through word-of-mouth, sponsoring local events or teaming up with nearby businesses.
For example, if you're running a café, hosting a small community event or offering a special discount for locals can encourage people to not only visit your business but to tell others about it as well.
Building those local connections gives your business a face, which is something large businesses often can't offer.
You can also think about local advertising, like putting up posters in community centres or placing an ad in local newspapers. It's a great way to target people who might not be engaging online but still make up a large portion of your potential customers.
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Flyers, brochures and print advertising
It's easy to overlook print advertising, but it can work surprisingly well. Think about it: if you're running a small business in a specific location, handing out flyers or brochures around town can help you reach people who might not be aware of your brand yet.
You can hand out flyers in local shops or cafés or at community events where your target audience might spend time. Keep them simple, with a clear message and a strong call to action, like a discount or an invitation to visit your website.
Even if you've got a strong online presence, don't forget about printed ads in local magazines or newspapers. People still pick up local papers, and it's another way to reinforce your brand in the community.
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Referral programmes
If you have loyal customers already, consider tapping into that loyalty with a referral programme. This is a really good way to bring in new customers without much expense.
A strong referral programme encourages your existing customers to recommend your products or services to their friends, family or colleagues. You could offer a discount, a freebie or even a small gift in exchange for a successful referral.
It's a simple way to say thank you to customers for helping you grow, while also giving them an incentive to keep spreading the word about your business.
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Measuring and analysing your marketing efforts
Marketing doesn't end with executing a plan – you must take a step back and understand how well it's working. By measuring your efforts, you can see what's resonating with your audience and what needs tweaking.
Tracking key metrics
To get a clear picture of how your marketing is performing, you need to keep an eye on the right numbers. Here are a few that really matter:
Website traffic – How many people are visiting your website? Where are they coming from? Are they finding you through search engines, social media or other sites? This will help you understand which channels are bringing people to you.
Conversion rates – This one's important. It's all about how many of those website visitors are actually taking the next step, whether that's buying something, signing up for your email list or getting in touch. High traffic is great, but it's the conversions that matter most.
Customer acquisition cost – How much are you spending to gain a new customer? By factoring in everything from marketing ads to your time, you can figure out if you're getting good value for the money you're investing.
Return on investment (ROI) – Are you making back the money you put into your marketing? Measuring your ROI helps you see whether your campaigns are worth the spend and where you might need to adjust.
There are plenty of tools out there – Google Analytics for your website and built-in insights on social platforms – that make tracking these metrics fairly straightforward.
Adjusting your strategy
Once you've gathered the data, it's time to figure out what's working and what isn't. If you're seeing great results with email marketing but not much from your paid ads, it might be time to rethink your ad strategy or invest more in what's already giving you a return.
The key is being flexible and willing to change course if things aren't delivering as expected. You don't have to make massive changes overnight, but keep an eye on patterns.
For instance, if you notice a lot of visitors coming to your site via mobile, you might want to check that your site is mobile-optimised. Small adjustments like these can make a huge difference.
A/B testing and optimisation
A really handy way to identify what's working is A/B testing. It's essentially testing two variations of the same thing to see which one performs better.
You might test two different subject lines for an email campaign, or two versions of an advert to see which one gets more clicks or sign-ups.
It's a simple but effective way of fine-tuning your campaigns. Over time, as you run more tests, you'll get a better understanding of what appeals to your audience, and you can continue to optimise your content, ads and messaging.
Building a long-term marketing plan
It can be tempting to focus on short-term wins. But for long-term success, you need a marketing plan that builds over time. A solid marketing strategy will keep your brand in the public eye, help you form lasting relationships with customers and make sure your business grows steadily.
Creating a marketing calendar
One of the best things you can do is plan ahead. A marketing calendar doesn't have to be anything fancy – just a simple way to map out what you're going to be working on each month.
This could include anything from social media posts and blog updates to special offers and product launches. Having everything laid out in advance helps you stay organised and makes sure you never miss an important moment.
The beauty of a calendar is that it frees you up to be more strategic. You'll have time to think about your campaigns and content rather than rushing around trying to figure out what to post next.
Staying consistent
Don't overlook consistency – it's vital! It doesn't mean you have to post every hour of the day, but it does mean sticking to a steady rhythm.
Whether you're posting on social media, sending out an email or running an ad, make sure your messaging, tone and visuals stay consistent. When your audience sees the same style and voice across all your platforms, they start to recognise your brand and feel like they know you better.
Being consistent helps people remember you, of course. But it also builds trust. If customers know they can rely on you to show up regularly with valuable content or offers, they're more likely to engage with you and, eventually, make a purchase.
Adapting as you grow
As your business evolves, your marketing needs to evolve with it. What worked for you initially might fall short once you've gained some traction, and that's completely normal.
If you've been managing the marketing yourself, it might be time to think about outsourcing or using more advanced tools as your business grows. You could look into paid ads, collaborations or even ramping up your content creation to keep your audience engaged.
Scaling your marketing doesn't mean blowing the budget. You can continue doing what works, just on a larger scale. It's about finding new ways to reach the right people without spreading yourself too thin.
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