Marketing Your Social Enterprise Business – Old School Marketing, but it WORKS

You have a small business and it’s not where you want it. You have so much good stuff but no one knows. If these are the statements you are making you NEED to market your business ASAP. If you’re thinking, “We are marketing. We have our business listed in the phone book and the local paper.” My comment to you is, “that is so sad.” You need to get your business into the “in the now” arena. Just using the phone book and the local paper is soooo 1990. Alone, those two areas are ok if you are depending solely on older people supporting your business. How many young people are reading the phone book? They Google it between texting their BFF. You can put it in those two areas but don’t lose sight of your other options. Go back and review your marketing plan and see what it says. WHAT! You have no marketing plan! You’re lucky you’re still in business ding dong. I hope you just forgot to put it in your business plan because if I find out you DID NOT do a business plan I will freak out. Ok, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. I choose to stick my head in the sand. Let’s just move on to the details.

The first thing you need to do is CREATE A MARKETING PLAN! Good God.

Determine your unique selling proposition (USP).
1. What are you selling and what need is it filling?
2. Why is this so unique and what are your differences from other businesses like yours?
3. How does this uniqueness benefit the consumer?

Get a strategy in your pricing.
1. What do you need to charge to break even?
2. Do a break even analysis

Sales and distribution of your stuff.
1. How does your customer get your stuff and what other ways can you get your stuff out? If you have a physical store, start a delivery service. Start an online distribution. Review packaging, labeling and costs associated with inventory.
2. How does/will your customer get your stuff? (Start to finish: ordering, billing, payment (method and terms) return policies, warranties, support) Create policies and procedures to maintain consistency.
3. How do you sell your stuff? Salespeople? They need training and support. Sales copy? Be careful here because people screw this up all the time. I like to think of sales copy like this: Sell the sizzle not the steak. If this doesn’t register in your non-business plan-doing head, how about this: Sell what the items will do for them, don’t sell the item. Then reread your sales copy and say “big deal, whooptie doo.” Why? Because your customers will. Think about it, don't you when you read someone else's sales pitch? We all do.

How will we advertise and promote our stuff? This is where my superior marketing greatness comes into play. Stand back and watch the smoke come out of my ears.

Basic Old School Marketing Tips:
1- Advertising: classified ads, phone book (it was all I could do to type that), local coupon books, high school newspapers,, and whatever else you can think of and afford.
2- Word of Mouth: fliers, solicitations on the street, speeches to civic groups, demonstrations, on-line and off-line newsletters, mass emails, et…
3- Marketing Materials: business cards, pens. magnets and other items people won’t throw away.
4- Publicity: press releases, soft spots, local cable access, or have the local car dealer put a sign in the background of his commercial.
5- Co-branding: advertise a local business in your store, if they will do the same for you. Don’t use a competitor, Duh.
6- Customer-Loyalty Program: reward repeat customers or referrals with a discount or cash bonus. Offer a gift for purchases above a certain level.\ or any other ass-kissing method you can think of.
7- Network, Network, Network: start with your current customers then branch out to the networking groups. When going to a networking group, please drink lots of coffee, tape on your happy face, then fake the thrill of it all.
8- Community Events: free or discounted product handouts showcasing your stuff.
9- Bartering: Say something like this: “If you print my business cards and fliers for free, I will give you some of my stuff for free. And you will be the one coming out ahead.” Put a little more game in your spiel but it goes somewhere along those lines.

Now this is the end of old school marketing but new school marketing is just around the corner. Old school marketing is still relevant and will remain relevant for as long as small businesses exist. What you have to remember is that going to the new side is not as scary as you may think. The first step is to just stick your tow in, and if it feels good, jump in. Start by saying….Website. SAY IT! Website. You have to get one. I will discuss in detail the new areas you can venture into. What areas are an option for your business and how to measure if it works for you?

One last thing: GET YOUR MARKETING PLAN DONE!!!!!