Written By: Cheryl Ellemberg, www.abdpromotions.com, www.ABDwebsiteDesign.com

As a small business owner, you have products and services you want to offer.  So the question is: How do you market yourself so your leads convert into actual sales?

There are two important outcomes for small business owners:

1) Profit – Ensuring that you are actually selling your products and services at a profit.  (In Simple terms, what comes in is more than what goes out – dollar wise).

2) Branding – Allowing your excellent reputation, great customer service and positive customer experiences to begin to speak for itself.  Also, more and more people are recognizing your logo, brand and who runs your business.

The important mechanisms to get to these outcomes are:

1) Social Media – This means creating a host different social media platforms that you are populating and feeding everyday with content rich information that is useful to your audience.  Regardless of which platforms you use: Twitter , Linked In , YouTube, Facebook ABD , Facebook GPP, Foursquare, Google+?,you can share your expertise, influence and knowledge with an audience who has similar interests.

2) Networking – Word of mouth networking and marketing is a tried and true mechanism for marketing your business.  When resources are limited, establishing strong, powerful networks with partners, colleagues, family and friends to help you market your products and services is valuable.  It is an effective and efficient way to use your limited resources.

3) Technical Skill – Even if you had lines of customers at your doorstep, would you be able to handle that demand?  Being competent at what you do is not enough.  A small business owner needs to have enough vision to see who will carry through the process you lay out if orders start piling up your way.  Starting small is a conservative way to begin but would you be able to expand, subcontract, hire out – if that demand came?

Just like anything in life, preparation and vision is so important.  A small business owner wears many hats as a visionary, an owner, an operator….Do you have what it takes to be successful?

Take time to hear from your customers where the demand is and adjust accordingly.  They’ll let you know.