Last Wednesday, March 29, a few members from our team and I walked the streets of the many business corridors on Chicago’s southside to promote a networking event for a client of ours. We wanted to meet face-to-face with small business owners to get a better understanding of some of their daily struggles, and why their attendance at our event would be advantageous to them from a business development standpoint.
What we learned is that many of these small, black-owned businesses face difficulties in connecting with a broader audience, building their brand, and marketing themselves in strategic way that won’t exactly break the bank. Below are my tips as a public relations professional for over a decade, and some of the things I have learned in this industry that can give your small business the jumpstart it may need.
Build your brand
When starting a business, you have to know what you’re all about and what message you want to convey to your audience. I spoke with Yvette Moyo, publisher of the South Shore Current and co-founder of Real Men Cook, and she stated, “Know your statements of who you are and what your business is about. In building the brand, don’t say it differently every time. When you lose direction, you can lose money.”
This is important because losing sight of your company’s goals and aspirations can confuse potential partners and clients, ultimately leading them away from your product. You want to project yourself as confident in your work and not willing to settle for less. My tip is to practice introducing yourself as if you were to attend a networking event. Stick to your message, don’t say it differently every time, and always lead with your name and what you bring to the table.
Additionally, establish a branding budget. Anywhere from 20-30% of a budget should be allocated towards public relations and advertising. You can have the best product in the world, but if no one is aware of it, you’re going to continue to lose money and potential clients.
Connect with your audience
We live in an age where information can be connected to an audience faster than ever before. Most of these avenues of networking are either free or relatively inexpensive, and it would be counterproductive to not take advantage of them.
We spoke with a woman who was in the restaurant business and she didn’t understand why she was only retaining ‘regular’ customers instead of acquiring new ones. Here’s a tip, word-of-mouth marketing is great, and it’s important to retain those loyal customers. However, relying solely on word-of-mouth is going to get you nowhere. Get someone on your team who has media connections or is well-versed in the world of online marketing and advertising. This is something I will discuss more a bit later.
Surround yourself with a committed team
Toure Muhammad, editor of the popular southside newspaper Bean Soup Times, touched on an important aspect that all successful businesses seemed to have mastered. “You need to either have these three people with you in business, or exemplify all three yourself, but I find acquiring these team members is much more efficient,” he said. The three team members goes as follows:
- The visionary – Someone who will set the company’s goals five to ten years from now. Someone who is wholeheartedly committed to leading the direction of your business.
- The producer – Someone who will assume day-to-day operations and make sure everything’s running smoothly. Without the producer, the company will not thrive.
- The analyst – Someone who understands the financial aspects of getting things done, and is able to bring the visionary back down to earth if needed. Not every goal you set is going to be achieved right away, though the analyst helps your team understand what logical steps need to be taken in order to achieve those goals.
I also want to touch on the importance of building an adequate team under you. Would you rather have 10 employees who have a firm understanding of the business’ goals and are committed to capitalizing on opportunities, or 20 employees who are just there to collect a paycheck and wouldn’t think twice about moving on? Appreciate a hard-working team, pay them a competitive wage, and you will see a difference in your company’s success.
Understand social media marketing
As mentioned earlier, there are so many different avenues of accessible marketing options that your average everyday user can utilize. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just a few of those options and have actually shown to be very successful marketing tools, especially for businesses with a limited advertising budget. Therefore, it’s almost a requirement nowadays to establish a proper social media presence.
While post boosting and social media calendars are important parts of understanding social media marketing, I believe the most underrated part is making sure there are no ties to your personal accounts. Often too many times I see small businesses marketing through a personal account, or having connections to a personal account, in which that account has controversial material on it. If potential clients or customers see you using vulgar or offensive language, making radical political posts, or anything of the sort, it can almost certainly drive them away. As they always say, “it’s nothing personal, just business.” Live by that model.
The power of good public relations
I couldn’t round out this post without, of course, mentioning the advantages of having a good public relations (PR) team in your corner. I spoke in a panel conference at our networking event about the power of public relations, and what a top PR professional can do for a small business compared to someone who just relies on media relations connections and calls it PR. Think of a PR team as your boyfriend, spouse, or any significant other that wants nothing but the best for you, and will stop at nothing to see your business thrive and succeed.
It goes beyond connecting the client to the media. Our job is to get you in front of investors, key players, movers and shakers, or anyone who can contribute to the cause. Top PR can assume marketing and advertising roles, as we know exactly what it takes to drive viewership and bring in sales. We are about business development and bringing new and innovative ideas to the table. In times of need, good PR teams provide crisis management services and will help you dig yourself out of a hole.
Public relations covers such a broad scale of communication, I could not imagine any successful company going without an experienced PR team. If you’re serious about taking your business to the next level, investing in a seasoned PR firm is never a bad idea. And that is my pitch.