Your Guide to Starting a Small Business: Marketing – Part II

Christmas is upon us, and amongst all of the traveling and family gatherings we’ll be attending over the next couple of days, Chris and I have carved out our own small window of time to celebrate the Holiday together with a nice little night on the town. Upon choosing the restaurant for our Christmas date I did a quick Google search to check out the menu and look into booking a reservation. You can imagine the shock and horror I felt when the results turned up a big ol’ goose egg! Sure there were a few review sites and even a Facebook page, but no website. In this day and age, who on God’s green Earth does not have a website?

The marketing materials you use to portray your company say a lot about the quality of your business. So to round out the marketing portion of this series on starting a small business, I’d like to emphasize the importance of having a quality website and print materials in your marketing arsenal.

Your Website

Now if you’re sitting there breathing a sigh of relief because your business is light years ahead of the restaurant victim from my story because you have a website, ask yourself this; is your website something that you’re proud to show off to potential clients and customers? Believe it or not, the physical appearance of your website does impact peoples’ perception of the quality of your business. A recent article published by The Daily Egg (http://blog NULL.crazyegg NULL.com/2011/12/19/does-web-design-matter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+crazyegg+%28Scrambled+Eggs%29) referenced a study which found a whopping 94% of the factors that cause people to reject a website are design related!

Are you surprised by that figure? I’m not. I mean, think about your own web browsing habits. If you come across a shoddy-looking website that’s been hacked together or one that looks older than HTML itself, are you very likely to stick around long enough to read what they have to say?

Every company is different when it comes to the type and magnitude of their website. Some businesses just need a basic site with a few static pages and a blog, while others require something more elaborate with high tech web applications or e-commerce functionality. You want your website to portray your business in a professional light while serving the unique functions of your business.

Print Materials

There’s still something to be said for having something physical to give people as a reminder to check out your business. Print materials are a great way to reach out to people who might not find your website on their own and let them know what your company is all about. Whether it’s in the form of business cards, brochures, post cards, or posters, print materials can help you catch the eye of your next big client.

Like your website, your print materials should be consistent in quality with the type of business you run. Sure you could probably put together a design in Photoshop on your own, but if you’re not a professional designer, the result will probably reflect that.

This year, give yourself a Christmas gift, and call Perception for assistance with your marketing needs. We hope you enjoyed this series on starting up your own small business. Feel free to let us know if there are any other topics you would like us to cover in the future.

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Signed,

Your friends at Perception