Creating profit as a new small business can be difficult. It’s a huge hurdle to overcome. Most companies will see small losses or just about cover operating costs in their first year. So how do you begin turning over profit? The key is to get your brand name out there. Your products or services can be perfect, but if nobody knows that they exist, then their quality is irrelevant. Here are a few ways to effectively raise brand awareness!
Business Cards
Who knows when you will bump into a potential client or contact? Simply saying your brand name isn’t always enough to secure its position in the individual’s memory. So invest in some interesting business cards. A dull card will generally be slipped into the back card segment of someone’s wallet or purse. But an interesting card is likely to pique their curiosity and may be something that they even show their friends. So get creative! Make sure that the card reflects your business’ aesthetic or purpose. Most importantly? Ensure that it has all of the necessary information on it in a legible and clear font: your business name, contact number, email address and, if you have a brick and mortar business, your company address.
Stickers
Truly make your brand name stick with custom cut stickers. These are a seriously underused tool in business marketing, which is a shame considering the profound effect they can have on a brand’s reputation and recognition. Stickers can come in many shapes, sizes and finishes, so they can be used by your business in various ways. A good way to start out is investing in a few sheets of small, circular stickers with your brand name and logo on. When a customer purchases a product, whether in store or online, wrap the goods in tissue paper and use the stickers as a way to fasten and seal the package. This gives a high-quality, professional finish that will remind the buyer of the source of their brilliant products! If you’re catering to a younger market, you might like to include a high quality, gloss finish sticker in your orders or purchases. They are likely to put these on their laptop, promoting your brand to others around them.
Promotional Campaigns
If you have the budget to hand, arrange a promotional campaign. This will involve bringing in staff from a reliable and recommended promotional agency to distribute flyers, engage with the public and bring attention to a certain concept of your company. This might be a new store opening, a sale, special offers, new products or unique events. If you leave leaflets around, the odd person here and there might pick one up and take a look. But for people to really get the message, you need to be proactive. Remember, people are busy and easily distracted. Some have to have a message literally handed to them in order to stop and take notice. If you have food or beauty products for sale, try sampling too! Once people have tried out your products for themselves, they are much more likely to return to the store and make a purchase in the near future.
