Get Your Marketing Message Out
You can have the greatest product or service, but if no one knows you’re there, your business
will fail.
That’s a harsh statement to make, but it is true. The business world is littered with great ideas
that did not succeed because the businesses had no buyers. A common reason for the lack of
buying was that people did not know the product or service even existed.
“Marketing is key to business success,” says Glenn Muske, the North Dakota State University
Extension Service’s rural and agribusiness enterprise development specialist. “I don’t mean
selling, but the broader aspect of marketing.”
He continued, “Marketing must be integrated into every facet of building and growing your
business.”
Today much is said about the rise of online marketing. However, online marketing should be just
one element of a marketing plan.
Other marketing tools include: newspapers, radio, fliers, word of mouth, networking and
testimonials. The tools must include local media at some level, as well as the media that
specifically reaches the business owner’s target market.
“It is important for small-business owners to make and develop a marketing plan,” says (Insert
name and title) of (Insert county). “There are so many avenues of marketing and within each one,
so many ways to approach marketing. A business owner must consider what is best for his or her
business, and that can vary by each product or service sold.”
Three elements are crucial in whatever marketing plan and strategy the small-business owner
develops. The message must be focused, remain consistent, and, most importantly, it must be
repeated constantly.
Today’s consumer is touched by 5,000 advertising messages each day, or about 200 an hour. Of
those, the average person can recall just one advertising message from the last hour. Why do we
see major companies advertising over and over? Because the consumer may not have heard the
message among the competition’s ads. Plus, as humans, we forget very quickly.
Thus, with that number of messages bombarding consumers day in and day out, being repetitive
in getting your business in front of people as a reminder is crucial.
“Be cautious, though, in how you approach this,” reminded Muske. “You can’t have the same
message on the same media over and over. Think about how you can reframe it. Change the
media you use. Do things to keep it fresh.”
