Whether you’re planning to develop your own software or sell cell phone accessories, you need to learn how to market your business if you want to stand out in the crowd and succeed. However, as a small startup or small business, it can be tough to get people’s attention and convince them to buy from you instead of from your competitors. Here are the top five marketing tips for startups and small businesses to succeed in this competitive industry.

1) Understand Your Audience

The most effective marketing strategies are built around understanding your target audience. Find out what they like, dislike, and everything in between. Ask questions to learn more about their habits, needs, wants and desires. This will give you a solid foundation on which to build your marketing strategy.

2) Under promise over deliver

If you over-promise and under-deliver, your clients are going to be disappointed, which will cause them to distrust you. Worse, they might just leave. So deliver what you promise—and then some. The key is to deliver it early and often. If you do that consistently, your clients won’t know any better than to expect great things from you. They’ll give credit where credit is due because they won’t have anything better with which to compare your performance.

3) Get social

It’s no longer enough to just build a great product or service; you have to build a great brand, too. That means taking time to actively cultivate your social media presence and community (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.). More than ever before, people make purchasing decisions based on their friends’ recommendations; connecting with users and potential customers through social channels is an important part of any marketing plan.

4) Create Great Content

Before you even think about building a marketing strategy, it’s important to determine what exactly you want your business to be and how you plan on achieving it. Once you have a vision, it’s time to put in place an actionable marketing plan.

5) Try New Things

It’s always a good idea to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Whether it’s a new platform, audience, or medium, chances are you won’t be an expert at first. That is fine! The first version of anything will never be perfect. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them as you develop and experiment with your marketing strategy. Good marketers try new things every day—it keeps them fresh and nimble, ready to take on whatever challenge comes their way. In today’s competitive environment, your company needs to be visible and relevant to keep up with all of your competitors. You may not have a lot of money or people working on marketing efforts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact. Take some time today to familiarize yourself with these tips and you may be surprised how much they help your brand in ways you didn’t even realize! If you want some agency who can build your online brand with minimal budget feel free to contact US.