Being a small business can be hard, being a new start-up venture can be even more so. From learning to do your own book-keeping to getting the keys to your first bricks-and-mortar store; the majority of entrepreneurship is learning on your feet and grabbing valuable life-lessons as you go along.

Your marketing strategy can be the difference between hitting the ground running or not get off to a flying start at all. Here are five marketing lessons you can take from the pros…

Create a strategy

Just like the big brands, you’ll need to create a concise and structured marketing strategy. Failing to plan and simply jumping from idea to idea, week on week, only sets you up for failure and gives a disjointed message to your customers. Do your research, clearly define your target audience, and set measurable and achievable goals.

Having a clear marketing strategy in place is an essential part of any business strategy and sets you on the path to success. Ensuring that you have an accurate way of measuring how well the marketing efforts of your business are performing is a key component to developing your business further.

Your Ranking Matters

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an invaluable and essential marketing tool. When it comes to searchability and visibility for your brand, being on the first page of a potential customers search engine result is a must. Strong SEO will maximise your brand’s productivity, and allow you to target potential customers with precision.

Reaching the right customers will then turn clicks into conversions and generate a real-time revenue stream. Just starting out? Consider employing an SEO company who can work with you to evaluate your company's needs and drive the right traffic to your website.

Never Underestimate The Power of Social Media

In this digital age, social media is an easy and free way to get your business on people’s radar. Being an active presence on social media is one of the best ways to encourage brand engagement and produce user-generated content. An iron-clad and proactive social media strategy is a simple and effective way to organically grow your client based and create authentic brand relationships.

Listen To Your Customer

As a business owner, customer feedback both positive and negative is invaluable. Having an insight into your customers true brand sentiments can help shape your business and inform your future decisions regarding it.

Actively listening to your customers and asking them for their opinions, shows them that you value them and their input. In turn, this can make sure that your customers are more likely to return for repeat custom.

Offer Incentives

Everybody loves something for free. One of the best ways to get consumers attention is to offer an incentive. People love being offered a discount, a free product or the chance to enter a competition to win a prize. It’s is a great way to attract potential buyers and gain a bigger client base across online and offline marketing efforts.