Freelancers need to consider marketing

With government cutting spending considerably, small businesses and freelancers in the UK are the most likely to be effected by the reduction in resources, an expert recently said.

The Work Foundation's associate director Stephen Overell recently commented that the cuts to spending the coalition government is making have repercussions for the next two years at minimum.

Mr Overell said that the effects are expected to begin feeling the effects of the cuts late in autumn but will last until 2012 and most likely beyond that date.

In light of the soon-to-be-felt effects of having less funding supplied by the government, small businesses are turning to alternatives to build their market share through increased marketing efforts and making forays into the online community.

The Forum of Private Business is hosting 11 seminars across the UK in an attempt to encourage small businesses to harness the Internet for business growth, with the first event scheduled for this coming Thursday in Leeds.

Forum chief executive Phil Orford commented that small business owners and contractors are most often struggling to keep up with their online business presence due to the fact that the Internet is constantly evolving and changing, but smaller companies can get a handle on the subject at their free events in order to gain understanding of how they can make the Internet work in their favour.

Mr Orford also stressed that the events will make excellent opportunities to network with like-minded small business owners.

In the realm of marketing, most small businesses are in need of help as well, according to Geoff Ramm, a speaker at the 2010 small business conference Sage World.

Commenting that most small businesses typically undersell their firms in regards to marketing, they are quite often defeated by their own brand image in the marketplace.

Mr Ramm commented that people do tend to judge a book by its cover, despite the old adage not to, and and that goes the same for how businesses are perceived.

If a business hands out a business card fit for nothing but the bin at networking events, Mr Ramm said, giving an example, no one will take it seriously; maintaining a professional image, even at times of harsh economic climates, is absolutely crucial, he added.

Mr Ramm counseled businesses to remain a constantly high level of visibility, recommending that promotion and marketing efforts, usually just considered once a quarter, should be reviewed on a constant and consistent basis.