As Canadian small businesses position themselves for a rebound in 2011, they should expect to find a resurgence of competition from recovering businesses and new ventures finding greater access to capital and rejuvenated consumer activity.
Because of the anticipated tightening of market share, marketing budgets are expected to blossom nationwide. According to a recent BtoB magazine survey, more than half of business owners intend to increase their marketing spend this year.
Accordingly, small businesses should embrace their most vital resources for effective marketing: creativity and ingenuity.
Take direct mail marketing, for instance. While some analysts decry direct mail - and really all print media - as increasingly out-of-date, most experts agree that direct mail can be an extremely effective technique, if conducted properly.
"While a flimsy, black-and-white postcard addressed to 'Current Resident' is probably not going to have much impact, a creative, unusual direct marketing piece could bring in business," writes Tony Case for AllBusiness.com. "Slick, eye-catching mailers increasingly are a small business owner's solution for standing out from a sea of unwanted spam."
While direct mail should by no means be the only marketing tool at a business' disposal, the growing uniqueness of the medium exemplifies the need for companies to be creative in how they forge campaigns.
