Marketing a Start-Up Business

Now that you're a little more familiar with the definition of marketing and the marketing process, it's time to move on to marketing your start-up. Before you can create your marketing process, you should ask yourself the following questions.

1. What kinds of clients do you want to attract?

2. How can your products and/or services compete with already established products and/or services from other companies?

3. What is your business image? How will you gain attention, interest and trust from your prospects?

All of these questions are important when beginning your marketing process. Determining the types of clients you want to attract is often referred to as finding your niche market. This means that you target specific clients, such as those in accounting, real estate, construction, and so on. You can't market to everyone so don't even try to. Be sure to choose your niche market carefully and be certain that you can succeed and compete in those markets.

Once you've determined your niche market, you now have to determine what makes your products and/or services stand out from the competition. Knowing this will help you determine how your products and/or services will compete in your niche market(s) and you can estimate your level of success within those markets. When working on this part of your marketing process, be sure to think realistically. It's not uncommon for start-ups to think too broad or overextend themselves, which can often lead to business failure.

Now that you've answered the first two questions, it's time to determine your business image. Many people may have already completed this step first because it's how your business appeals to prospective clients. To start this step on a strong note, try to define your target clients' profile and tailor your communications to fit those profiles. What this means is that you simple define the types of people you believe your prospective clients are and communicate to them in a way that appeals to them. For example, if your start-up is a consignment shop for children's clothes and toys, you want to target only those prospective clients with children. Targeting clients who are single won't get you much business. Be sure that your marketing messages are suited for your target markets.