MARKETING ON A BUDGET
5 easy marketing strategies for small businesses on a tight budget
Marketing your business is extremely important but as a small business you probably do not have the money for huge marketing campaigns. Those of you with tight budgets here are 5 easy ways to market your business which require little to no money:
1. EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies. Not only is it useful in helping you generate leads, sales or memberships etc. it is a method that allows you to deliver your messages to masses including new and existing customers. Think about it.. who doesn’t have an email address?
You will need to build and maintaining a mailing list. One way to do this is by offering people an incentive in exchange for their email address for example a free eBook or weekly newsletter. Email marketing services like Mail Chimp can help you with your email marketing campaign.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA
This is another way to market your business to masses. Take advantage of the popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn by creating business profiles. You can also pay for social media advertising in addition to your profile so your content can reach an even larger audience.
3. REFERRALS
Do not forget good old fashioned word-of mouth. The best promoters of your business are existing or previous customers. Most existing customers are more than happy to refer a friend or someone that they know anyway but a referral program will give extra incentive for them to ensure business comes your way. Referral schemes could include you offering your product or services for free or at a reduced rate.
4. BLOGGING
Your potential customers will usually be seeking information relating to your industry. Be the one to give it to them by blogging. This could be in the form of a ‘How to’ blog or a review etc. Blogging is an affordable way to make people aware of your business as well as keep existing customers engaged. To lessen the expenses, write your own content – and if you find yourself running out of ideas, why not write about a topic that you have previously blogged about but add updated information.
Make sure you draw attention to your new blog post. You can do this via the strategies we have talked about so far i.e. email or social media.
5. FREEBIES
Everyone loves a freebie so why not give something away? This will give your potentials a chance to experience what you have to offer and if they like it they will most likely come back for more. This could be a free trial or a special discount on your product or service.
As you can see, you do not need to break the bank in order to market your business. There are many marketing strategies available that are cost-effective and wide-reaching.
