Sofiya mentioned an interesting point in her blog: what do small businesses with little capital do to market their product? Obviously, they would not have the budget to run large marketing campaigns, so small business owners need to find alternatives. Simply by searching through Google, many internet sources will give small businesses ideas about grass-roots or low-cost marketing. This makes the topic a little mundane. So instead, I would like to talk about marketing even before the business has been created, or what I would like to call “pre-conception marketing”.
If you think marketing is expensive, think about how expensive it is to simply get a business started. So if a business really wants to consider costs, it needs to find out if its idea is even viable – by marketing, of course. No, the business will not start any campaigns, pin up posters, or send out flyers. What it will do, however, is use the most direct form of marketing, speaking to its customers (or rather, potential customers).
The store front may not be built, but the idea has already been created, so it’s up to the business to sell its idea to potential customers. The main question to ask the potential customer is “Would you buy it?”. If they would, then that’s great! Continue with the business plan. But if they’re not too keen on the idea, then that’s great too! Why? Because at least you didn’t sink any cash into it!
Marketing is something that needs to take place at every life stage of a business, not just after it’s been created. If an idea does not sell early on, it might be difficult to change that even after money has been put into it. Remember, though, ideas are abundant. Cash isn’t.