Allocating Resources to Help Small Business Grow

One of my favorite headlines of late: “What Helps Small Business Grow? It’s Still Email.” That’s the title of fellow Fast Company Expert blogger Francine Hardaway’s recent piece, which looks at the return on investment for various forms of marketing that small businesses can utilize to get more exposure. Francine’s right on the money when she says email marketing still delivers the best bang for the buck, despite the increased number of ways small businesses can connect with their customers.

That said, the way Francine combines direct mail, traditional print advertising, email marketing, and social media marketing into a single bucket could be a bit confusing to the small business person trying to figure out how to best allocate his limited marketing dollar. Instead, the issue of figuring out how to allocate resources (time and money) for most small business owners hinges on two questions:

1. Where is my revenue coming from next month?
2. What’s the best source of new customers to keep my business growing?

To answer those questions, one must weigh the primary and secondary uses for each form of marketing.

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’re interested in learning more…