by Joseph Kiwia

Created on: May 24, 2008   Last Updated: May 29, 2008

The effectiveness of marketing for small businesses

Marketing is an essential tool for small businesses in order to achieve their goals of prosperity, realizing profits and development. The internet is a modern and effective marketing medium. It is reliable, can reach a large group of consumers in diverse areas of the country or the world. Its short coming is that not all the consumers are internet savvy or have a constant access to the internet. Actually, internet will attract a section of the population of the consumers who are information technology literate rather than the whole population of buyers. It is also expensive to run marketing activities in the internet. The direct mail is also an effective marketing medium for small businesses. It enables the small businesses to make direct touch with the customers irrespective of their economic class or status. However, it is slow and unreliable and may be influenced by poor infrastructure.

Cover television is another effective marketing for a small business. It reached the targeted audience without discrimination of age or class. Furthermore, it enables the consumers to watch the products and services of a small business. A cover television is intended to create effective demand for the products or services. However, not all the people have television or have access to television. It is expensive to advertise through the television for small businesses and it reaches a selected audience especially those who can afford a television or have access to it. Furthermore, small businesses can use the commercial radios to market their products and services. Its effective is that it can reach a large number of consumers over a wide area. And thus it is reliable. It creates a consumer awareness of the product. However, it may create an exaggerated assumption by the consumer about the shape or form of the product which may not be the reality in the long run.
Moreover, small businesses may use outdoor advertising or the print media to market their products and services. They may use the local press or the regional press to reach their audience. This includes, use of newspapers, magazines posters, flyers and prospectus. They are cheap methods of marketing but are insecure because they may reach the hands of the competitors who may strategize and thus increase competition I the market. This may cause low profits for small businesses. Small businesses may also use a cinema and make cinema going an event. The use of electronic outdoor advertising targets the youth audience which buys semi luxury goods such as cosmetics and consumer durables, Thus appealing to single persons with high discretionary spending power, or youth married and engaged couples. It is effective to use for the targeted audience. However, it's expensive to initialize and run for the small businesses.
Other effective marketing activities for small businesses include, aerial advertising by use of aircraft towed banners, hot air balloons, calendars, business cards, exhibitions centers, town maps, and the sponsorship of sporting events. They may be cheaper for the business and may increase the volume of consumers and also increase their awareness of the products and services hence creating effective demand for the business products and services. However, not all consumers know how to read and information may be misinterpreted to them by those who are literate.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Kiwia.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.