Know What You Want: Part 5 Start Your Small Business Now

Now that you already know how to do the research and you already found out what's your market going to be, then it is time to know what you want. It means you need to know exactly what you are looking for. So if you are really interested to know how to set up a small business in a right way, then it is advisable for you to keep continue reading this series of articles from Entrepreneur Philippines magazine. Remember, the more you know what you want, the greater chance of success you will have in the world of business.

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Although there are many ways to conduct market research, what's important is that you know exactly what you're looking for. Being clear about what you want to learn, says Perez of Satisfind, will not only lead you to ask the right questions but will also show you the best way to gather the answers from the best possible survey respondents. 

Market research can be classified into qualitative, says Kai Salvino, Satisfind's director for customer research. The former explores the "whys" and "hows" and the latter gets the numbers and other measurable results like age, income bracket, and educational attainment.

Qualitative research methods include focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews, while quantitative research counts the usage, attitude and image (UAI) study; product, concept and brand name tests; and pricing studies among others.

Also, it's important to define the market you would like to penetrate, says Paulo Lao, a strategic marketing lecturer at the University of the Philippines Institute for Small Scale Industries (UP-ISSI). "What market is involved? What are the customers' unmet needs and wants? Is the product or service you're going to offer better than the one existing in the market? That's really the source of business opportunity," Lao says.

Continue on Part 6 of Start a Small Business Now: ACCORDING TO PLAN.

Rewrite from Entrepreneur Philippines

January – February 2010 issue. All rights reserved.

Small Business Marketing Strategies - 3 Key Strategies For Maximum Visibility of Your Site

Let's get into the detail. What are the marketing strategies for a small business' site to have a maximum visibility? I found an article and what the author said is very true and very effective.

There are several small business marketing strategies that can provide optimal success when choosing the web as your marketing venue. Small businesses today are at a great advantage with the internet providing several tools and resources for internet marketing and traffic generation. Knowing what these small business marketing strategies are and how to use them in order to locally market your business properly is very important before you get started.

1- Business Marketing Strategies: Start with the Site

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When you want to employ top small business marketing strategies online, you want to start with the site because you just cannot get anywhere without your base. This site will be where you are directing your target audience in order to find out more about your business or purchase goods and services from you online. This site should consist of several elements to ensure that there will be a high search engine ranking such as:

• Appropriate Locality Related Keywords
• Keyword Rich Content
• Use of Meta Tags and Descriptors
• High Quality Graphics

You want the page to which you refer your target audience to consist of a landing page with the necessary information and elements to ensure they are able to catch the scope of your offering and get right to where you need them to be.

2- Business Marketing Strategies: Build an Email List

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Once the site is in motion, you want to build an email list of subscribers to which you can email information to direct them to your site, to your business and what you offer. Building the list can be quite simple with some key business marketing strategies. There are several ways you can capture an audience to build your email list such as:

• Adding sign-ups to home page of site
• Blogging sites
• Opt-ins upon site entry

Building the email list allows you to share pertinent information with your audience, thereby getting them to be part of your business dealings and, as a result, more likely to convert to customers and ongoing loyalty.

3- Business Marketing Strategies: Blogging and Article Writing

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There is a strong force behind blogging and article writing that many business owners have found to be extremely beneficial to employ in their small business marketing strategies. The key picture here is getting extreme exposure so you are found by the search engines, target consumers, and everyone else who inquires within your niche. Starting up a couple blogging sites can greatly increase your visibility, as well as traffic generation to your site.

As you provide relevant information that is sought out, you are building a special relationship with your readers, allowing them to trust your services and products. When it comes to small business marketing strategies, writing articles and posting on your site or on third party sites can also greatly enhance your visibility online and are therefor proven traffic builders.

There are various strategies that can be combined with others to offer high volume traffic generation, allowing your community and all that you wish to become your consumers to see and be well aware of your business and all you offer. Using the right small business marketing strategies means understanding what it takes to get the exposure that is needed exceed expectations.

(c) Copyright - Darren Brunson. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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