If you can sell ice to an Eskimo, marketing and promotions might be right for you.
If someone you meet tells you about his business and that gets your creative juices flowing with ideas about how he can market his products or services, then you may be able to turn your ideas into money by starting your own marketing and promotions company. As new companies go, a marketing company is relatively easy to start up since most of the assets are inside your head, in the form of ideas, experience and skills.
Portfolio of Your Work
Chances are, if you love marketing you have some work experience in marketing or sales. This is vital if you are to start a marketing company. When you start out, you will not have any projects under your belt, so if you can point to projects you worked on for your previous employers, that will give you credibility when you talk to potential clients. You may even want to offer your services to a company or nonprofit organization for free or low cost in order to build up your portfolio and your references.
Computer Equipment and Color Printer
If you are going to be doing any graphic design in-house, you may want to consider getting a computer and software with graphic capabilities. There are several commonly used software programs that can create impressive graphics. If you are doing website design, you may also want to get an HTML editor. These vary widely, depending on your experience with HTML and other online coding languages.
When you have a marketing company, the way you present yourself and your company is paramount, as it is an indication of the skills you will employ on your clients' behalf. Therefore, having a sharply designed, well-thought-out and eye-catching presentation is key. Your brochures should be professionally printed, but you can make an additional visual impact by printing your proposals and presentations on a color printer. For these types of materials, a relatively low-end color inkjet printer will be sufficient, and will go a long way towards making your materials compelling and professional.
Market Research
There are thousands of marketing companies out there. To make your business stand out, find a niche that you want to serve, and find out all about that market. Market research not only will show you who your target market is and reach them, but also how best to serve them.
Let's say you wanted to do marketing for local restaurants. Your market research might include a list of the restaurants, with information on their size, owners and types of food. Additional research would include interviews with some restaurant owners, books and studies about restaurants and examples of successful restaurant marketing campaigns.
Website and Marketing Materials
Because marketing is visual and persuasive, a website is a great medium to get your message across to potential clients. Use your marketing savvy to dazzle them with design and sweep them off their feet with your copy. Next, use your promotion acumen to spread the word to your target market using web traffic generating tools like blogging, article marketing, pay per click and social media. That way, you will be benefiting in two ways: creating business for your company and practicing your marketing skills.
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