Small
business marketing has been a problem with almost half of new businesses
closing within five years. As a small business owner, marketing has been a
problem for the company, but have continued to do well because of the word by
mouth. There are two reasons, according to the article, that have contributed
to the high amount of closings: inadequate marketing or poorly focused and
executed marketing. A small business is what drives the economy today.
The
purpose of this article is to examine how small business owners conduct
marketing, try to understand why these decisions are made, how decisions relate
to marketing strategy of the company, and how these decisions affect their
small business. Small businesses are important to the economy, not only because
they hire about one-fourth of the working economy, but because they create more
new ideas than large businesses. Small businesses are needed by large
corporations to sell their products. Small firms who later grow into mid-size
to large companies employ about three-fourths of new jobs. Creating better opportunity
for small firms to have better access to marketing strategies would benefit
many people.
Many
small business owners are willing to be trained when it comes to marketing
strategies. But many of these owners do not know how knowledgeable these
trainers are. Many of the owners who were interview only plan marketing
strategies six-months ahead. The article suggests small business owners should
include networking with other companies as part of their long-term marketing
strategy. But owning a small business is very risky and these owners are not
willing to “financially dependent” upon other companies.
Managers
of small businesses should be proactive when it comes to market strategies.
They should seek help from qualified professionals. Keeping an open mind will
pay dividends in the future. As a small business owner, I did not have enough
money to market my firm. I had to depend on the people who used my services to
spread the word for me. I believed in my service and the customer service we
provide.
Gilbert,
ReplyDeleteThank you for getting your group started. Could you please edit your post to include citations to the article, as requested in the assignment instructions?
Thanks,
Dr.V.
Gilbert,
ReplyDeleteInteresting, that you chose this topic because this is something i have thought long and hard about doing myself. I agree if there is something you believe in there should be time and money spent as any investment we make in our lives but I think that the small business that are struggling just don't have the financial means to get expert help, being that it can become very costly. Small business have always been such an important issue because that's what brings growth to middle class America. Recently I just read chp 5 in our textbook and it also mentions how networking with other companies it a competitive advantage. Maybe if some of these companies would cut cost in some of their other area they will be able to receive the proper marketing strategies that lead to a more stable future.
Gilbert,
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you own your own business, like you and Sara I have thought about opening up a business. When I think about the 2 reasons that businesses close (inadequate marketing or poorly focused and executed marketing) and how difficult it is to get great advice without hurting business owners pockets its no wonder why they are closing up shop within a short period of time. I wonder if the owners they interviewed sought help through the mentors at SBA or if they are utilizing all the easily accessible information out there? I'm sure some did. Though, it would be interesting to hear how they acted upon it and what went wrong or right during that time. I'm kind of surprised that the owners only planned for 6 months. As a business owner Gilbert is that too short of a time span in your experience?
You make a good point of including marketing as a strategy early in small business development. I can see how the expense of marketing could easily be overlooked by a new business owner. I'm sure there are many other expenses that are perceived to have more priority than marketing. Employing the services of a professional sounds like the best investment because money spent on bad marketing would not only be a bad investment for future income, but a waist of money that could have been appropriated toward other expenses.
ReplyDeleteGilbert,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas in your post about the marketing strategies for small business. My older brother is a small business owner and he also has the marketing problem. He is hiring about a hundred of workers and his business’ strength is its quality of the products which can be marketing itself. His biggest problem is the access to capital to enlarge his business. According to your post, marketing is an essential part of growing in the long run. I agree with you, and marketing should be no less than 40 percent of the total expenses of a firm. Another point I like in your post is small business owners should join networking with other companies as part of their long-term marketing strategy. My product can be compliment of your product, thus we can help each other in marketing our products.
I do agree that marketing strategies are important to small companies, they rely on the local communities to stay in business, and word of mouth may be only kind of marketing a company can rely on. So not only is the marketing important to maybe expand pass the word of mouth advertising, I believe customer service is an important part, thus training programs could be helpful has well. Managers should try to stay update to in any new programs that could separate them from other small business, which could help them be more competitive.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article, especially for those who own and would like to start a small business. I think the articles provided a wonderful suggestion for small business owners to network with other companies as a long-term strategy. Marketing is very important for small businesses and I think it is vital for business owners to have strong insight on marketing tactics for their business.
ReplyDelete