Marketing Ideas Small Companies Can Borrow from Brand Biggies

Despite enormous budgeting differences between big business and small business, it's possible for small independent brands to mirror certain marketing strategies from corporate brands. One edge that a small company does have is its flexibility to operate creatively for a variety of small niches, an important factor in this new marketing era in which innovation beats business as usual.

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Keeping in mind that big business can afford to be more experimental within a generic framework while small business needs to focus on direct messages within a creative framework, the following examples represent an overlap of marketing ideas that work for both big and small business.

1. Create Customer Personas
2. Use illustrations or photos of characters that represent different market segments of your customers. Give them names and descriptions then use them internally to clarify your target market or even in your public marketing.

    

    

3. Personify the brand
4. Bring your brand to life by providing examples in your marketing as to how the product can be used by customers. Most importantly, explain through various channels why your brand helps people.

    

    

5. Develop an original compelling narrative
6. One of the ways you can meet the challenge of crafting unique and original content for your blog is to formulate a consistent narrative that resonates with online followers and provides solutions to problems. This narrative needs to be an authoritative voice that opens people's minds and leads them on a journey that connects a series of compelling stories. Think about planning a public relations calendar months in advance that summarizes your narrative through press releases.

    

    

7. Build social network followings
8. Don't waste your time trying to build profiles on every popular social network that comes along, but do be selective and choose the ones that best allow you to engage with your followers regarding your brand. Consider developing a real-time interactive news feed that delivers unique content through social media. You can also use social networks for idea collaboration to elevate and innovate your brand.

    

    

9. Use Google Analytics
10. Measure your audience behavior in multiple ways to help fine-tune your marketing plan and content.

     

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