Branding and marketing essential for small firms

Thu, 09 Jul 2009

Small companies seeking to grow must ensure they get their marketing strategy right, it has been claimed.

Maria Ross, founder of the branding and marketing firm Red Slice, said the recession is a good time for bosses to step back and re-evaluate their brand.

She suggested companies should seek to build brand basics, by thoroughly considering any design, writing, advertising or promotion spending.

"This foundation will save you time, money and headaches and countless billable hours from vendors, Ms Ross added.

In addition, she explained that it is necessary to build a detailed character profile of your ideal customer.

Ms Ross stated: "Create a real, crisp target so you aim for someone specific. Focus on who they are, where they live, what they do for a living, what they read, if they watch TV, what clubs they belong to, etc so you only invest in marketing programs that really get in front of them, rather than blasting your message to everyone and having no one pay attention."

Last month, PC World chief information officer Steve Adams claimed that small businesses can reduce costs by switching from direct mail to email in their marketing campaigns.

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