Small businesses and business owners heavily rely upon marketing to establish themselves in the competitive market while driving sales. For such a small business, the marketing approaches utilized to determine whether it will be successful in penetrating the market or not. Here are five essential tips on how small businesses can establish a foothold in the market through marketing. Utilize social media channels Social media has become one of the most reliable channels of marketing that gives a small business the opportunity to channel specific products to specific markets. When thinking about social media marketing, a small business should start by establishing a social media presence on channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Regularly publishing relevant content on such channels actively engages the customers. Have a marketing budget A small business should also have a well-crafted marketing budget that outlines how much the company intends to spend and on which channel of marketing. The budget helps the business not to spend irregularly. When setting the budget, more funds should be allocated to channels of marketing that reach out to more customers. Evaluate the marketing initiative The business should also undertake a regular evaluation of the marketing initiatives while generating suitable reports that show the progress achieved. The assessment should focus on measuring the extent of return on marketing investment. Depending on the outcome of the evaluation, the business can make certain adjustments to its marketing initiatives to achieve precise results. Ask for reviews and referrals Product and service reviews and referrals are a great way of partnering with existing customers to spread a company’s fame across the market. A small business should, therefore, utilize this opportunity to request previous customers to issue appropriate reviews on the quality of services and products that they receive. The reviews should be published on blogs, social media sites, and the business’ website as a way of reaching out to more potential customers. Focus on digital marketing Digital marketing is an exceptional way of exposing a business to new markets over the internet. When seeking to implement digital marketing practices, it is essential to think about Search Engine Optimization where content marketing generates internet traffic to the business. Channels of digital marketing are highly effective as they support various performance metrics. Such metrics support performance evaluation and thus help the business to set strategic marketing goals. This article was originally published at HenryVinsonConsulting.com