Small Business – Marketing Benchmarks for social media and websites

Marketing benchmarks for small businesses are hard to find. Benchmarks for marketing, in this instance, is to compare what you are doing with others to find out what is considered ‘best practice’. So firstly consider where you are planing to spend your time, energy and money in marketing your business. Are you going to use Social Media and your website to bring in new customers in 2012? Then find out what others are doing in order to asses your strategy. Be mindful though, following others may not be the best thing for your business.

 

The following infographic looks at what other small businesses are doing in regards to marketing, social media and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on the net. See if what other businesses are doing aligns with your plans. Do you think that they are on the right track, do you need to adjust your strategy? These marketing benchmarks are easily to understand and follow due to the graphical format.

 

Small Business and Marketing - Infographic

While blindly following the pack is not a suggested strategy, knowing what they are up to can give you tips of how to effectively use for marketing dollar. I hope these marketing benchmarks have provoked you into at least thinking about what your next step is.

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The Small Business Dilemma – how to clear Surplus Stock

Yes it’s a dilemma faced by all retailing or wholesaling  businesses,  how to clear surplus stock. Auction sites such as ebay, listing sites such as craigslist and the likes has helped with connecting sellers with buyers, but there are thousands of sellers offering similar products to just as many buyers, For new items ( not second hand or used), were the condition of the goods is not an issue, it boils down to price and maybe location. How does your product stand out in a crowded marketplace and how far are you willing to lower the price?

 

UPDATE:try your own daily deal site, click here for more info

Maybe location can be a factor in the decision. In today’s society it’s all about now and fast. If a potential customer is looking for an item surely if it is available  within a short space of time, as in minutes rather than days, would this influence the buyers decision?. The answer is more than likely.

Our course the next issue is how to connect the buyers to your store. Well, here just maybe the answer to how to clear surplus stock.

A new  web and mobile device based service that connects local buyers and sellers called Zaarly.

From Zaarly’s You Tube channel

Zaarly is a location based, real-time buyer powered market. Zaarly helps you to buy and sell from people around you. You get What You Want, When You Want It.

 

This short video clip will give you more of an idea of what it is and how it works

 

 

Now, I do not advocate discounting as a pricing strategy for any business, especially those operating in niche markets. There are times when it is necessary to clear surplus stock  and this might be another tool. I also suspect that this will not clear large quantities.

As  an added bonus, use this system to educate the buyer on the benefits of shopping at your store, Get them on your email list, ask them to like you on facebook. You never know  you might have gained a new customer.

 

UPDATE:try your own daily deal site, click here for more info