Here are some low cost ways to increase awareness and visibility of your company: 1.
Networking This is a great way to meet people, build trust and make valuable business contacts and is invaluable in the small world of the Costa del Sol.
Here it is particularly important to be visible and known personally in order to show yourself as a trustworthy and knowledgeable business person.
Here are my top tips for making the most of your networking experiences: · Bring lots of cards and promotional materials and meet as many people as possible · Find out who is going before the event if you can and try to get introductions to those who most interest you · Ask the organisers to help and if you can't meet someone ask them to pass on your contact details on your behalf · Make sure you follow up - this lets so many people down! 2.
Build a database A database is really important if you want to effectively market your company and make the most of the contacts you make and enquiries you receive in the course of doing business.
Don't lose any potential clients, always log all the details you receive from networking events, enquiries, friends and any source you can on a database.
A well kept, accurate and large database is very powerful for future marketing.
Make sure your data is as accurate and as complete as possible, as this gives you more options for future marketing.
Try to include: a.
Name b.
Company Name c.
Postal address d.
Email e.
Phone number f.
Where you met the person - this makes it much easier for future contacts 3.
Create a fantastic brand Your company brand is vital to making your company stand out from the crowd.
Make sure your name, colour scheme and font projects the right image about your company.
This is very important for the ongoing success of your company and the effectiveness of your marketing, so it's good to use the services of a designer to get it right.
Once you have a great brand use it! Brand as much as you can, it's a great way to extend the reach of your company identity and generate enquiries o Car stickers for your friends, family & clients o Pens o Notepads o Mugs o T-shirts o Beach balls o Umbrellas/Parasols The important thing to remember is that your branded items must be things people want and find useful so they keep them and use them regularly so other people can see them.
Pens and mugs are great for this as they are low cost to produce and always welcome.
4.
Email Marketing Once you have a database you can take advantage of email marketing.
Regular email marketing is an effective way to strengthen the brand, gain customer loyalty, encourage enquirers to make their first purchase and existing customers to repeat buy.
Costa del Sol Email marketing is: o Cost effective o Quick to create and send o Global o Direct marketing to your contact's PC There are tools to help you e.
g.
Constant Contact to manage your lists, make sure you comply with spam regulations, offer modifiable design templates and monitor responses.
This is a fantastic service and is around 35EUR a month, depending on the number of contacts you have.
However, the templates you can create on Constant Contact are not the best way to convey a professional image which matches you brand identity.
It's worth getting a designer to create an email template for you to ensure you get the best success from your email campaign.
Consider producing a monthly or quarterly email newsletter with company news, special offers, interesting information etc.
Make sure you always include an opt out & don't email people too often, it will get annoying - I think once a month is enough, but maximum every 2 weeks.
5.
Organise Events Events are a great way to generate awareness, publicity and positive feelings about your company.
If you keep it simple, they do not have to cost lots of money and can create a lot of publicity and awareness, but they can be time consuming to arrange.
Here are my tips for a successful business event: · Make it relevant to your business · Offer something for free to add value to the event e.
g.
a CV clinic if you are a recruitment consultant or a website review if you are an SEO expert · Write a press release and invite the press · Consider fundraising for a charity at the same time, it's good PR, you will find it easier to get press coverage and the charity will help you to promote the event