First up is cost. The proposals below are all lowcost or no-cost. There are also lots of other similar ideas you can use. As a rule of thumb if something is low cost it will involve some graft but often works because there's no competition – people are lazy!

The absolutely number one priority for any marketing is to get your targeting right. Who are we aiming to sell to? Until you've answered that question everything is pure theory. I would suggest that your overall targets are:

1. businesses which already buy printwear. They might be getting ripped off or hacked off by their existing supplier and one of the great things about printwear is that it's public knowledge who uses it.
2. businesses in your area that don't have printwear but are in a sector that uses it a lot.
3. Businesses in low-use sectors but for which you have a specific, compelling reason for them to buy.

Just as relevant is to have targets to avoid. As a small business, you are not going to win competitive quotes for major promotional programmes by Coca Cola or NatWest. I applaud the ambition of anyone batting above their league, but there's an awful lot of wasted time built in. similarly, don't target the professions. Except in a few exceptional cases lawyers, accountants and the like aren't likely to buy printwear. Aiming too high is a virtuous fault but aiming too low is a real mistake. Small companies might want your product but a) can they afford it and b) how much do they want? My gut feeling is that businesses with more than 20 employees are the right target for printwear, but if your experience of the 10-20 employee grouping is good, then include them.

There is one other definition of an appropriate target. Do they have an employee tasked with marketing? Ideally this would be a marketing manager/director, but a sales and marketing manager is also fine. If a business doesn't include such an individual, they may not understand the reasons why they should buy and that makes for an uphill struggle.

Think of the old gold miner's axiom: when you hit gold, dig all the way through the mountain. An existing client who buys regularly is telling you something – and that is to sell to other businesses in his sector. You need to be subtle here because your existing customer might see this as a conflict of interest. It's wise to check. Assuming he's relaxed, you have a good sales story to tell: this works for your business sector and I can prove it.

Be creative. Customers are in the market for clever ideas above all else. Keep a record of such ideas that you implement yourself or see elsewhere and offer them around. Incidentally: "I have an idea for you Mr Customer," is a much easier sale than:

"I've got some top quality garments to show you." The other benefit of this route is that, as long as you do have a good idea, you can contact clients very regularly. It also establishes you in their mind as the place to go for fresh ideas. It doesn't have to be blindingly original art either – it could be as simple as applying different uses for specific garments, for instance. A big pub near me gives its staff shirts with ‘staff’ written big and bold across them; wouldn't that be a good idea in a garden centre? You get the idea.

Exhibitions are great consumers of printwear. If you have an exhibition venue near you that isn't of NEC or Earl's Court proportions (typically a hotel or town hall) you could have a regular market. Approach the managers and propose yourself as their recommended printwear supplier. It is unlikely that a smaller venue will have all their preferred suppliers tied down. Both venue managers and exhibitors should be delighted to have a reliable local supplier to fulfil one of the dozens of elements of an exhibition – you're taking problems off their plate and doing steady business.

Apply the same thinking to local travel agents. Since independent agents are increasingly rare, there may not be too many opportunities, but it is certainly the case that young groups buy tour shirts. Give a travel agent an introducer’s commission and you both benefit. Again, the typical young group won't have an existing connection with another garment decorator and the travel agent probably won’t either.

Read your local newspapers and stay tuned to who's doing what. All the local fetes, fayres and general events are business opportunities. This is where those professional companies often spend their marketing money through sponsorship of the events themselves or carnival floats and stands. In these circumstances they will probably be looking for freebies. They are at liberty to ask and you are equally at liberty to say no -– you're in business. But you can plan to offer some low-cost freebies as part of your sales package (maybe some ageing product). If you have portable printing machinery such events could also be an off-site sales opportunity. Apart from a few phone calls most of the above are next to free. But sooner or later you will have to invest some of your hard-earned money. As a small business, it is probable that your catchment area is similarly small; one large city or a county is entirely normal.

Although advertising business-to-business in such an area is not easy, it's still necessary. There's a famous saying that goes: "Being in business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark; you know what you're doing but nobody else does." It is highly likely that the business section of your local evening or weekly newspaper is one of its weakest elements. The reason for that is simple; such newspapers are read at home when the potential customer is trying not to think about work. If you're lucky enough to have a regional morning newspaper in your area, it will have a much better business section and be a thoroughly appropriate advertising medium. Unfortunately, they are few and far between.

The County Life magazines are the right geographical size and they have the advantage of being in colour. However, their circulation tends to be low and aimed at upmarket consumers rather than businessmen.

One option worth considering is the Federation of Small Businesses’ regional magazines. The audience is 100% appropriate (their definition of small is generous – up to 200 employees). They have 200,000 members nationally so the volume is there and they cover every conceivable business sector. There's also the advantage that small businesses like buying from other small businesses. I would recommend you join for many benefits but also for the networking opportunities presented by local and regional events.

But the simple reality is that direct mail will be an essential part of your communication strategy. You can target it geographically and by business sector very accurately. You can start and stop it at will and choose to operate it in bursts or keep it steadily ticking along, day by day. It is, however, not as simple as buying some stamps and envelopes and setting your printer going.

First you need a database of potential customers. If you build your own list it's timeconsuming, but accurate; if you buy a list, you can have it immediately, but it will have inaccuracies, notably the wrong name (whatever a list broker tells you, there is always a percentage of people who have changed jobs, moved etc). As a principle, any small business should be religious about database building. Every single contact who could buy should go on that list for regular contact.

Then you've got to decide what to send them. If you have a catalogue it seems straightforward, but I suggest that's the wrong item to send. The recipient's reaction is likely to be: “That could be useful, I'll file it." Then, if you call to make a sales appointment, he won't see you, because he's got all the information he wants and isn't in the market presently. Far better to send a mailer or letter that makes a specific proposition, such as: order winter workwear before September 1st and save 10%; dominate Anytown's high street for a month (he's going to give away lots of T-shirts); or, launch your micro-brewery's range to the region's students.

There are a number of tricks of the trade to use. First, be sure to address a mailer to an individual. A letter sent to "the marketing manager" will get scant attention; most likely it will be binned unread. Second, I'd recommend a coloured envelope – it stands out like a beacon in the post pile and it definitely isn't a bill. Third, plan to follow up your mailers with a phone call. This needs to be done within three days of the recipient getting the mail-piece – any later than that and busy people have forgotten what you sent them. In its turn, this defines how many mailers you should send out. A really good telesales person is unlikely to speak to more than 10 people per hour (six is likelier). So, since you've only got those three days, mail out in proportion to your follow-up capability.

Consistency is one of the magic ingredients of marketing. Being a regular presence in any advertising media you choose is one example. Mailing regularly to serious prospects is another. Phoning contacts is a third. Sitting back waiting for the phone to ring definitely isn't fourth.

Paul Clapham is a marketing consultant with over 25 years’ experience covering a broad range of business sectors and a full spread of marketing disciplines. He has run his own business since 1996, working with small, medium and large companies alike to increase their profitability through marketing.