If you are a small business owner and do not have a website you could be slowly putting yourself out of business. Website presence is just as important for the local corner store as it is to the large corporations that make up the downtown skyline in all major cities. Researches and studies have shown that over 70% of consumers will use the internet to research a product or service before deciding to buy or contract a service. Looking at it from the other side of the coin, not having a website allows you to only attract 30% of potential customers. That it is a deficit large enough to put most companies out of business. So whether you are a one-man show, or a company of 10,000 strong, if you do not have a website than you are losing customers to companies that do.

With that said, it is not enough to just have a website. If you want to be taken seriously, you must have a professional looking website. A well designed website for a small business can give you more credibility than larger companies with poorly designed websites. In most cases your website will be the first impression that a potential customer will have about your business. They should be able to easily navigate the website and learn more about your business from the comfort of their own home or office. Presenting a poorly designed website could leave you out in the cold when it comes to whom that potential customer chooses to give their business to. This happens far too often when companies choose a “design it yourself” website package and try to build a professional website themselves.

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Looking for something that is quality that doesn’t cost a lot, since I am just starting up I don’t have a lot of money to spend. Willing to spend a little bit of money to get something quality instead of settling for something free that isn’t of any real quality at all.

i just started a small home based business and my advertising budget is almost non-existent. how do i effectively promote my business for free or for little money.

thanks

Most of the targeted advertising in my field is very expensive. I have a website, and make a point to pass out my business cards to each of the vendors I visit, but it seems to be difficult to get customers without spending several hundreds of dollars per month on advertising.

For all of you small business owners out there, the times are tough and you need to do everything you can to save a dime and increase profits. Now is the time to re-think your marketing efforts and make a real change. I’m not talking about jumping out of bed and being semi-inspired to work on marketing because you read this article, or had a tasty glass of fresh squeezed orange juice then had a marketing epiphany. You need to be truly inspired. This is not a walk in the park.

One of the most effective and most cost-efficient forms of promotion is, by all means, internet marketing. The internet is not only a portal to contact your customers, but also a genie in a bottle that will help you fully understand your customer’s wants and needs. Google analytics and other website/keyword tracking tools provide webmasters with invaluable information on what pages are viewed by visitors, how long they’re on a site, how they found the site, and much much more.

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Other business owners tell me the yellow pages are a thing of the past and the internet is the only way to advertise, I think the Yellow pages are still effective. What do you all think?

My husband and his brother have been starting their own construction business, building custom homes, in a small city. They’re both very experienced and do a great job. The only ones involved with the business are my brother-in-law and his wife + my husband and me. My sister-in-law takes care of the finances, and I’ve been put in charge of the advertising. I have no idea where to start! We don’t have a lot of money to work with here, but we’ve got to get their name out somehow.

Any suggestions would be great!!!

Marketing is the key to success for any business organization, whether you are a large scale enterprise or a micro-business. Every small business owner knows how important marketing is. But most of them don’t know which small business marketing ideas are effective and will help them attract more customers, increase sales and maximize profits with very little effort. Given below are 7 low cost simple and effective marketing ideas that will ensure the success of your enterprise:

1.    Don’t spend on advertising like big businesses: The aim of big businesses is to create name recognition through advertising. Since you have a small business, you can’t afford to do so. Your approach should be simple. Your advertising should be solely aimed at producing sales. An offer in your advertising is an easy technique to attract potential customers.

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I don’t believe it is impossible to succeed in business without an advertising and marketing budget. How much you need to spend will depend on your business and your industry. If you are a retail shop then a certain amount of advertising will be necessary, perhaps. If you are a service business, you may need to spend some money on marketing.

In the construction industry, for example, you are likely to know people in the industry before you start your own business, and a few telephone calls to a few acquaintances may be all that is necessary to get the ball rolling. After that maintaining contact with as many industry people as possible could get you all you the business you want.

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