Are you considering starting a business in 2021? Now could be a great time to give it a go!
Starting A New Venture
It is no secret that 2020 was a tough year, and 2021 does not look set to be much easier, but for entrepreneurs, which means there are fewer people taking risks and less competition.
If you are ready to stand out from the crowd with your new business venture, take a look at these nine marketing tips for new businesses and entrepreneurs and get out there and make your new business the best it possibly can be this year.
Pick Your Brand Colors
When it comes to color, you need to consider what is right for your brand and your voice. What is it exactly that you do? Knowing what you do and what you stand for will help you pick the right colors for you and your new brand.
For example, do you make handmade bags aimed at women? Softer colors like pinks, greens, yellows, and blues in more muted hues will give off a more female-centric handmade vibe music more than cold greys and dark blacks will.
Equally, if your brand is in the food and farming business, you may want to look at more earthy colors like greens and browns to allude to you from farm to fork ethos.
Picking the right colors is the first step to goof branding but sticking to them is even more vital!
You will want to go with a minimum of three colors, one dark and one light, and one complimentary. It is a good idea to go with a few more, around 5-15 colors are usually the recommended limit for most brands.
Stay Consistent with Your Look
Once you have got your brand colors figured out, you will want to stay consistent with them as well as with everything else that goes out publicly.
It may seem petty, but things like email signatures that look off-brand can turn customers off. Use Email signature software for G-Suite and Office 365 to keep your templates centrally, ensuring that everyone’s email signature looks the same and no one is using the wrong straplines or a different shade of red, or an unfortunate font!
Put Your Logo on Everything
Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING! It is important to keep up with the brand awareness, especially if you are a newer and smaller company, so do not be afraid to put your logo on as many things as possible.
If you create a YouTube video, place the logo in the top left or bottom right of the screen. If you have got a few social media images lined up, be sure to pop your logo on them somewhere that makes sense, so people will recognize it is you.
Some brands even go a little crazy by having branded merchandise for both their employees and their loyal fans to buy. One step at a time, though!
Get Some Inspiration from Elsewhere
Note: it says inspiration, not plagiarism!
Getting inspiration from other similar brands that you like, and respect will help get your branding down properly, and it will mean that you can see how you are placed against the competition.
You do not have to stick with what everyone else is doing; if everyone else uses green and you hate green, then go for a different color. However, there could be a very good reason that other brands have sorted their marketing materials out in the way they have.
Create Your Marketing Personas and Audience Segments
Do you know what your brand messaging will be? Is it suitable for all kinds of different audiences?
For some businesses, your brand messaging will stay the same because your audience is very similar, but this is quite rare, in all honesty.
Take a flooring company, for example. One customer might be a homeowner who wants new wood floors, another custom may be a school that needs a new floor in the gym, and another customer may be a historic house that needs the flooring restored.
Each one of those audience segments will need slightly tweaked messaging in the right place to ensure they feel like they are being spoken to.
Only Use Marketing Channels That Make Sense to You
This is a tip that so many small businesses get wrong! They try very hard to be ‘on’ all the different social networks and online options; they may even buy magazine ads or do a flyer drop to local houses.
While getting the message out there is a perfectly valid argument in marketing, you are at risk of spending far too much time and energy on platforms that will see no return.
A good example of this one is our flooring company from above. They would be well placed to have ads and reviews on TurstATrader.com, but any effort putting reviews on Trustpilot might be wasted.
Get Your Strapline Nailed Early
You need a mission statement for your business to let your customers and clients know what you stand for and what you believe in.
It would help if you also had a strapline, something quick and simple that sums it up in one breath.
Think McDonald’s’, “I’m lovin’ it,” or Nike’s, “Just do it!”. They are short and snappy but say a lot about the company in few words.
Invest in Design Services for Your Marketing Materials
Do you know your way around Canva and think you can design all of your marketing materials yourself to save a bit of money?
You might be able to, and you might be able to create some stunning materials, but like all these things, you will likely waste time, effort, and money-making things that either do not help or look quite poor.
For tasks like design, your taxes, website building, and perhaps even wider marketing efforts, it’s usually best to call on a professional who is experienced and knows exactly what they’re doing.
You will see the return on investment straight away.
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