5 tips for marketing your sole trader business

The company has been set up. But what’s the point if nobody knows about it? And you don’t know who actually needs to know about it, or exactly what they should know? Now is precisely the time to think about marketing. No matter how good you are, no matter how flawlessly your idea works, no matter how many people your skills help – if nobody knows about you, not many will benefit from it. Least of all yourself.

How can you use the right marketing tools, when should you use them, and how much time and money should you invest? There are no clear-cut answers here, and that’s a good thing – otherwise everyone would be doing exactly the same thing and you’d be back at square one. What follows are some basic considerations designed to help you develop your marketing strategy.

1 | Planning is the be-all and end-all

No one knows your business as well as you do. So it’s only you who can draw up this start-up plan. What do you actually want to achieve? What are your goals, how do you define your idea, and who are your customers? If you’ve already drawn up a business plan – which would be advisable – use that as your basis. Many of these questions should have been addressed there and should now help you with your initial marketing activities.

There’s one thing to bear in mind when launching your first advertising campaigns: marketing can take time and, in some cases, cost a lot of money. That’s why it’s important that you know what you’re doing. Here are a few pointers.

Be effective:
It sounds like what’s known as ‘nona’ advice, but it means you should start with the things that take up the least of your time. Do you enjoy writing? Then write! A blog, emails to customers, social media posts. If the words just flow from your fingers, make the most of this talent, as it takes very little time and yields effective results. The same applies, of course, to other useful skills such as creating graphics, expertise in social media or a gift for public speaking (in which case you could, for example, record interviews with yourself). Focus on your strengths and start there.

Be efficient:
If you already have a rough idea of where your customers are (whether in real life or ‘digitally’ on various platforms or media channels), then focus your efforts precisely there! If your target audience is mainly aged 40+ and has high purchasing power, leave Snapchat and TikTok out of the equation for now, and when you run adverts, target precisely these age groups. The content should, of course, be tailored to this as well.

Don’t try to do everything at once; whilst it’s nice to be active across all channels, as I said, it takes up time that you might otherwise lack elsewhere. It’s more efficient to reach the right 20 customers than to have over 10,000 followers who, at the end of the day, bring little benefit to your business.

2 | Who are you?

No one knows your brand as well as you do. And that’s precisely what can become a problem. Take a moment to consider how you want the outside world to perceive you. What is your brand’s core essence – ‘what do you actually want’? Here, too, people often spread themselves too thin, trying to do too much and thereby diluting the message – which confuses, puts off or simply fails to appeal to customers.

Depending on what you want to achieve with your business, you too can take centre stage. Perhaps it is your knowledge, your presence and your strengths that define your brand.

To ensure your brand ‘speaks the right language’, the logo, website design and other promotional materials should all be coordinated. It’s also worth taking a look at the competition here. On the one hand, you can draw inspiration from them; on the other, you can make sure you stand out sufficiently.

So, once you’ve established your brand for marketing purposes, this provides a good basis for planning and implementing further advertising campaigns.

3 | Show yourself!

Here, too, there is no right or wrong. Your content simply needs to fit your brand and your objectives. Fortunately, it’s now possible to reach your target audience even on a modest budget. What used to be possible only through traditional advertising channels such as TV, radio or print advertising has now expanded enormously thanks to the monetisation models offered by various digital providers. This means that even as a small advertiser, you can implement an effective advertising strategy without needing an expensive advertising agency or a large advertising budget.

This brings us back to the topic of efficiency and effectiveness. Facebook (including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), Google (including Google Ads, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Business and search engine marketing), as well as business platforms such as XING and LinkedIn. Opportunities abound everywhere, but you should focus your time on the right one(s).

If you’re familiar with all the platforms, you can of course share content – such as a good blog article – across various platforms (multi-channel). However, you should definitely plan for a minimum level of presence on well-known channels such as Facebook and Instagram, or a business profile with opening hours and visibility on Google Maps. Simply to ensure you can be found when customers are actively searching for you. We’ve all been there – if you can’t find anything, you quickly become suspicious.

However, this does not mean that a purely digital advertising strategy is always the right choice. It may well be that an advert in the local press or a billboard in the right location could give your business a massive marketing boost.

You don’t have to compete with the biggest players right from the start. Perhaps there are niche areas that haven’t been explored yet and where you can establish yourself. Showcase your expertise and explain why working with you can be a real advantage. Be authentic. If you enjoy being in front of the camera, why not interview yourself, so to speak? Technically, all you need is a smartphone, perhaps a small tripod and a simple video editing programme. However, if you don’t like being in front of the camera – or if the very thought of it fills you with dread – it’s best to leave it alone, as everyone will spot that straight away.

4 | Keep up with the times

Are there any annual highlights, events or a date that’s hugely important for your business? Then plan it straight away and organise everything else around it. Timing is crucial, not least for delivering your advertising message in a focused way. 

An editorial plan helps you keep track of things, see when you’re communicating too much or too little, or how to spread the topics out more effectively. Nothing is worse than feeling pressured to publish, post or release something. So it’s better to plan it carefully; then it’ll run automatically in the background, so to speak, and you won’t miss a thing. Is it holiday season and might your target audience be out of reach? Or is that precisely when they’ll be available? Considerations like these save time and money.

5 | Networking, networking, networking ...

Having a solid network is arguably the most sustainable and reliable asset a sole trader can have. The problem is that it takes time to build up. However, the first steps would be to start within your personal circle. But even here, presenting yourself in the right way is absolutely crucial, because if your website is still ‘under construction’, your social media profile is missing a profile picture and your LinkedIn page is sadly empty, you might miss out on good opportunities right at the start to lay the foundations for a huge network. And one thing is certain – you learn how to ‘network’ over time, even if you don’t feel in the least bit capable of it at first. Once your brand is established and your business is up and running, you’ll gain the necessary self-confidence, and networking will become easier and happen almost automatically.