6 Advertising Strategies For Surviving In A Competitive Market

Advertisement is key to boosting your business and being able to progress in a competitive online market, particularly if you are just starting up. You need to attract your desired customers, provide what they are looking for, and ultimately finalize sales. Without potential clients to provide a constant source of revenue, you will eventually be unable to secure a sale and pay your bills.  

There are various ways to get your business name out there, whether it is through the distribution of business cards, leaflets, banner printing, stationery, newspaper/magazine advertising, and then, of course, having an online presence via a website and social media accounts. It is rare for a business in today’s current climate not to have some online activity, considering that many of us are reliant on the internet to get us through the working day and in our personal lives. The advantage of the internet is obvious - you can reach out to a worldwide audience, depending on if this suits your business, and you can fulfill orders abroad. Even if you are not necessarily a business that plays in the international market, there is still a huge potential to acquire prospective clients through online and interactions.

1. Understand the various advertising options available to you

One beneficial way to advertise your business and demonstrate some creativity is through banner printing. You may choose to design the content of the poster yourself or leave it to the printing experts. They provide an excellent way to advertise your business as the signs/banners can be produced to the required size; and you can ensure that the custom-made materials that are utilised are appropriate for both outdoor and indoor weather.                                  

Banners are also suitable for use at marketing events and job fairs which are incredibly popular as they allow companies to interact with potential employees and customers. These events offer ideal opportunities to utilise banner printing as they allow you to draw potential customers by capturing their attention through bright and bold text/images; and enable you to discuss and advertise your business in a more relaxed setting with multiple prospective clients. These events also provide the ideal opportunity to promote your business by handing out your business cards or having yourself and other team members wear clothing with your business logo on it, thus creating the image of an already established brand and a visual stimulant.

The other benefit of human-to-human interaction, which is incredibly important, is to build rapport with people. Online exchanges are important, but they can never replace the intimacy of having a conversation with a person and responding to their reactions through discussion and visual aids. It also puts a face to your business as opposed to just being another brand online.

2. Conduct market research

Before you embark on your business idea, it is essential that you do some research first to ensure you know what you are competing against in your market. You want to be able to offer something different to other competitors in the market, so if you have market research skills that can help you define your value proposition, this could certainly help you stand out from the crowd. By researching in advance, you will also be able to find a gap in the market for your chosen product and establish whether your competitors have touched on your ideas yet or not.

3. Cement your domain name

Once you have established your company brand, prospective target audience and have your products ready to be produced or sold, it is also vital to create a company logo and slogan. Consumers can recall well-known and established brands due to the marketing techniques they adopt by creating catchy slogans and establishing a memorable logo that a potential consumer can remember. If you are a creative person, this is the perfect opportunity to tap into your creativity and create uniquely memorable designs to cement your ethos and brand. When opting for the online business element of your brand, you also want to think about potential domain names for your company brand and ensure yours is unique and memorable. You may then choose to cement your logo and domain through a trademark.

4. Fund your advertising needs

Essentially, the profits you make after the first few years of starting up your business will be higher than your expenditure. Working from home is a great way to reduce your costs as you won’t have overheads like office rent, building maintenance, or upkeep, so you would be able to focus your attention on putting money back into the actual product, shipping to customers, and ultimately diverting resources back into marketing and advertising which will drive your business forward and help to establish new clients.

Once you reach the point of establishing a steady stream of clients, they are more likely to repurchase from you once they are satisfied with your service. Thus, the word-of-mouth approach to advertising your business will deliver intended benefits. This can exponentially increase your advertising revenues as consumers are drawn in through this method of advertising. This can also lead to social media recommendations through influencers who are able to reach a significantly large audience through their followers. All it takes is for one of the influencers to mention your brand or capture an image of your product to share with their followers, and this can lead to a significant boost of online traffic to your website.

5. Protect your data from cyber criminals

You are on track with your business, or so you think, but have you ticked off on up-to-date cybersecurity? This is particularly crucial if you need to set up your website to benefit from online sales. The last thing you want is cybercriminals hacking into your account and accessing personal customer data. It is probably a misconception to think that because you are a small business, you are less likely to be hacked, whereas the reverse can be argued. Online criminals might think it is easier to hack your system as you are less likely to have all the expensive and up-to-date computer security protocols that large businesses can afford. The best thing to do is ensure you are up to date with any updates your computer needs and that you have a reputable firewall installed to ward off potential computer viruses.

6. Explore contextual advertising

Another avenue for boosting your company’s online traffic is to boost your presence through contextual advertising. This can be achieved through a third party that enables you to target your preferred audience by directly advertising your product through images or keywords that relate to your business. The consumer is then likely to click on the relevant link that will direct them to your website. You can establish the relevant keywords for your business brand and consequently attract new clients.