Innovation, rapid technological development, increasing accessibility to technology and the wide spread adoption thereof have had far reaching consequences for the entrepreneur. It has not only presented small businesses with opportunities (and even advantage) in a global business landscape but also presented the challenge of reaching customers through increasingly fragmented channels.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, "It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required." Often small business owners fall into the trap of trying to outshine their competitors, reinvent the marketing wheel (with some outrageous once off campaign) and forget what is required. In today's world where we are bombarded with information from every angle (sms, email and advertising for example) a clear well targeted message conveyed simply is often the most effective.

Sweet marketing simplicity in a world filled with possibility on a small business budget. Daunting or do-able?

MARKETING MUSTS:

• Ethics

Ethics is the foundation of good business practice. In marketing this means that you keep your word and deliver on your promises. Customer service and word of mouth are lethal weapons in the marketing arsenal.

• Targeting and research

You cannot be everything to everyone. Research your market and break them up into market segments. This will ensure that you allocate marketing resources correctly to produce effective results.

• Work smarter!

You don't have to reinvent the wheel! There are times that it's wise to imitate not innovate. Focusing on what works can prevent failure and save your money. Often the basics are effective. Strive to strike a balance between innovation and imitation.

• Creativity and branding

Don't market or advertise like a big business! Large companies have money to spend on awareness and brand campaigns. You however need to design marketing campaigns to produce sales (now). This entails promotional activities which will provide short term instant results.

• Messaging

Translate your product or service offering to meaningful benefits for your customer. Your service offering or business proposition should focus on the benefits not the features of your product or service.

Customers want to know how the product will add value to their lives. Will it make their business more profitable, will it make improve their productivity, will it make them more socially responsible, will it improve the quality of their life? Define how your product and service will make their life easier, better, less stressful and more fun. It must be something that they can relate to.

Market to build awareness and provoke response. Thomas Jefferson suggested that "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do" and this is a good maxim for writing good marketing material.

• Collaboration

Buddy marketing is a form of collaboration. Try and create value-added joint promotions with other role-players and businesses through combining complementing products and services offerings.

• Explore new technology and methodology. Technology has opened a door.

The business landscape today is no longer bound by location and time zones. Technology has changed the way people do business and has created a need for mobility and connectivity. Virtual offices and business hubs have embraced this phenomenon to offer entrepreneurs cost effective solutions to a mobile lifestyle addressing the need for connectivity and small business support.

• Use the internet - it provides free tools and services.

There are fantastic programmes and services available online. Platforms such as Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Skype are already popular ways of sharing and communicating. Why not expand your arsenal of free applications and tools by using online resources in other aspects of your business?

OpenGoo is an Open Source Web Office - a complete solution for every organization to create, collaborate, share and publish internal and external documents. Blinksale allows you to send invoices online, while Basecamp allows you to manage and collaborate with co-workers on client projects. Picnic is a great alternative to Photoshop.

• Bridging the gap between marketing creativity and budget.

Single marketing efforts don't work. It's as simple as that. A small marketing budget need not be your excuse for an ad-hoc, bull in a china shop marketing approach. You have to vary your approach and rotate your marketing efforts to ensure consistency. Look at your budget and at the marketing strategies available and draw up a schedule to include different channels o your target audiences at various intervals.

• Track your marketing and learn from your mistakes!

Building evidence of advertising and marketing effectiveness is vital in any future decision-making processes and the proper management of your marketing initiatives. Why guess if you can base your marketing decisions on experience and previous statistics and data? Avoid guesswork, especially on large scale activity.