Tips to Improve Marketing

Marketing a Fasteners Business

The value and earning capacity of a fasteners business largely depends on the quality of its marketing efforts. But great marketing takes a lot more than hanging a shingle and hoping for the best.

We recognize that the best fasteners business entrepreneurs tend to possess solid marketing skills. However, capable marketing is elusive for many leaders in this industry.

Top performers habitually integrate sound marketing concepts with market demands.

Loss Leaders

The majority of fasteners businesses understand that more customers will walk through the door if a few products are priced at less than full retail value. Moreover, a loss leader marketing strategy can compensate for dead periods when customers tend to making purchases. The key is to know your profit margins and use loss leader pricing to undercut the competition in targeted product categories. For fasteners businesses, the real benefits of loss leaders emerge through the careful marketing of other products, usually offered at a much higher margin. Whenever possible, piggyback a loss leader approach with the purchase of bulk merchandise that can be bought at a discount.

Customer Awareness

Many of the highest performing fasteners businesses go out of their way to maintain clear channels of communication with their customers. In this market sector, managers and promoters need to be extremely familiar with their customers' needs and purchasing preferences. More often than not, failure to maintain a robust connection with the marketplace translates into poor brand recognition and lackluster sales. By improving market awareness, small companies can often establish more meaningful customer connections than their competitors.

Building A Community Around Your Brand

Social media is an up and coming marketing channel, primarily because it coalesces a community around brands. Whether they realize it or not fasteners businesses are struggling to find ways to communicate directly with customers - and for businesses, that's the whole point of maintaining an active presence in social media. Direct mail campaigns featuring mailing lists from a reliable list partner can jumpstart a social media drive by expanding your customer base and alerting them to your social media presence.

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary