BLOG POST: |
When opening a business, it is important to make sure that you spend time and money on marketing the business so that the business can reach more people. Some businesses that are at an enterprise level have resources to spend on marketing and this makes marketing easier and more fulfilling.
Many businesses have a marketing department that has money available to spend on campaigns and other great marketing avenues, but if your business has a small marketing budget and little time to devote to research and marketing, what does that say for promoting your business?
Instead of giving up and throwing in the towel, think about these 30 low budget marketing ideas that any business can use!
No matter where you are, your business always needs to be marketed. If you are at a function where there are people, then you are at a place to pitch your business idea. Nothing is better than someone hearing excitement in your voice as you tell what your business can do.
Even though talking about your business is important, it is also important to keep your business idea short and simple. Most people have an attention span of around 90 seconds, according to the serial entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor, Robert Herjavec. He believes that if you cannot give your business idea in 90 seconds or under that you are not going to impact your audience enough to make a difference. Herjavec also feels that there are other things such as being confident and showing expertise in your business that are even more important than facts and figures.
In order to pitch a perfect business idea, it is important to have a simple and interesting idea, turn your pitch into a story, be courageous, discuss social aspects of your idea, tell your story so that it is motivating to the audience, be ready to answer questions and expect certain questions to be asked and be ready with amazing answers.
People who market oftentimes think that marketing to a large group or forming a national campaign is the way to get your business off the ground, but nothing can stir an interest more than involving the community in your business matters.
Find things that the community loves such as hosting a 5K or supporting a community sporting event. Find a charity or a non-profit organization where you or your marketing team can volunteer or even organize a block party with other businesses that are looking to grow. Printing out material and handing it out to local businesses, libraries, hospitals and community businesses can go a long way.
Referrals are an effective way to get new business. Sometimes, marketers, especially of new businesses, feel weird asking other businesses for referrals, but there are ways to ask for referrals in ways that will help you and other businesses to strive.
When asking for a referral, it is important to be direct and to ask for referrals through means that are easy to accept such as emails, in-person and online. Ask customers or clients that seem to be more about your business and focus on having a great referral instead of working to have more referrals. If your business can afford to, offering incentives like percent off services, gift cards or small gifts can help encourage customers to refer your business.
Make referring easy, add a link or a “recommend here” function to your site to make this an easy task. Remember, no one wants to spend more than a couple of minutes giving a referral. Get customers or clients to like your social media pages and to share them, join professional networking groups and be sure to pay the favor forward when a business asks you for a referral.
Building a network is a must for any new businesses. With a network, your business can build relationships that can help you to grow your business. Joining face to face networking groups helps you to be involved in what is happening around your community. If your local Chamber of Commerce has a group, many people there are business minded, just like you. Use apps and newspapers and community bulletin boards to find out when events are happening around you.
If at all possible, become a member of a business networking organization. There are many of these around such as Young Entrepreneur’s Council, SCORE, and other networking organizations. Search in your community or online to find organizations that you can join. There are generally hundreds of business networking sites that a person can join easily.
Participating in local trade fairs and business mixers is a must. This allows you and your coworkers to pitch your business idea and to meet people that are business minded, just as you are. Try to find local organizations that are hosting fairs so that you can keep your business in the minds of local people, nothing is better than word of mouth. Be sure to add events to your calendar so that someone from your business can show up and make a difference.
Industry trade shows can be a great place to meet new people so look at community bulletins and newspapers or even online to find events and even considering putting your business ideas on display!
Generate more customers to your business by applying for business awards. There are many awards such as “Best Restaurant,” or “Best of the Best,” “Best Customer Service Award,” “Best Sales Award,” and more. This type of award can get your business talked about and can peak the interest in new customers. If your business wins, post your winnings on your social media sites or hang signs outside of your business to make sure people know.
People are interested in businesses that they can trust. Finding ways to target your market is an important strategy, but finding the perfect way is important. Find ways to target your market audience so that many people can be reached but you should focus more on the quality of your targeting over the quantity. Marketers need to look for ways to reach a large following and it is important to try to reach people that are interested in the industry that you have chosen.
Once you have figured out how to target your audience, offer free products or services and encourage your followers to review your product or service. This type of target marketing is popular through Facebook and YouTube.
Try to find other businesses that are related to your industry and introduce your business to a new audience. You can collaborate with other businesses online or offline through social media or events. Offer to leave business cards, flyers or brochures at other businesses and then offer to do the same for them.
Emailing people still works and is the most cost-effective way of reaching out to someone. Email is free and all that it costs is your time. When doing this type of marketing, make sure that you reach out only to your target audience, that you are direct, that you have a great opening line but that you are not wasting their time, set up appointments, offer to answer questions or concerns about your product or service, always be kind, send a promotional item if available, be persistent and contact them on Thursday morning or afternoon, for the best response.
Instead of having the stress of marketing your own product, find other affiliates and re-sellers. Having affiliates and re-sellers can help you to get your business leads and can help you make commission on sales.
Offer to speak when you have the opportunity. People do not know what you are about unless you tell them. Go to your local community offices, libraries, business groups, community colleges and any other available venue and offer to tell about your services. Doing this will get your business recognition that you need.
Plan an event or a class that can help get your business’ name in the community. Print out bulletins and flyers and place them around the community so that people know you exist.
Write blogs, publish articles in the newspaper and hand out information. None of these cost a lot of money but they are quick ways to get out information.
Find industry blogs that work towards your same industry and write blogs that accept new writers. Be sure to demonstrate your knowledge of your business and this can help you get noticed by larger groups.
Purchasing an ad campaign can be expensive but try to find coupons or discounts and go with cheaper routes of ad campaigning such as Facebook Ads or Google Ads. Check out local sites and web hosting services to see if you can get any type of advertising discounts.
Make sure that your business idea is new and up to date. If you have old information, redo it and make sure that it fits with what is happening in the now. Do podcasts or videos to help spread your new information.
If you have a service or business, it is easy to bring loyal customers by offering coupons or other incentives. This type of advertising can also bring new customers in to try your product. We all like to try it before we buy it.
Giveaways and online promotional contests can be helpful in generating business. If your business has a product, offer it for free or a free service. Promote the promotion online through social media and announce the winner in style.
Give away free stuff such as free trials or a free service. If people like your product or service, they will come back. People like to test something before they get fully committed.
Be sure to make sure that all of your information is up to date online. Make sure that your Facebook, local directories and website have the correct addresses and phone numbers. Nothing is more frustrating than calling a business and getting a disconnect notice.
Sending out newsletters is encouraging to new customers. Find people to send newsletters to that will sign up to your social media accounts. Getting real mail is still fun and creating a newsletter can make your subscribers feel that they are important.
Turn your vehicle into your marketing companion. Purchasing a magnetic sign is cheap and can have your business contact information on it. When you are driving around, people can know that your business exists. Try to get other people to dress their vehicles as well.
Having a great business card is important and catchy. Find a place to create a business card that is flashy and exciting and leave them with other businesses to leave out for you.
Go live when you are hosting an event or have a sale. People love to see what is happening on social media and going live with a new product is a great way to stir up excitement.
Podcasting is inexpensive and can help build business awareness. Showcase your brand and invite other businesses to join the podcast so that you can promote your own business and theirs too, someday you might need the favor returned.
When meeting new customers, make them feel like they are appreciated and loved. Write out thank you notes for new customers or give shout-outs on your podcast or live stream videos. Making your customers feel special is what it’s all about.
Have your business team add a call-to-action in their email signatures shouting out to your business. This way, potential customers can receive a marketing message that is not pushy or overbearing.
Do not ever leave your customers waiting. If you receive an email, make sure that you take time to answer questions. Answering questions pertaining to your business shows your audience that you are serious and that you care about your business.
Using Instagram and Pinterest are ways to tell your story. Having a brand story is important and using these platforms is free and easy. Publish photos that relate to your business, post pictures of your products, funny memes, hashtags, short business videos, customer testimonies and ask your customers to upload pictures to share to new and potential customers.
Use guerrilla marketing to express your business. Place stickers or graffiti find places to leave street art or even plan a flash mob. Do anything that is legal that will get your business noted. There are so many great ideas in guerrilla marketing, and this can be cheap and effective marketing!
Page Sitemap, Post Sitemap, Our Locations
We also offer Our local digital marketing and SEO services in specific locations: digital marketing and seo in agoura hills, digital marketing and seo in akron, digital marketing and seo in albuquerque new mexico, digital marketing and seo in alexandria virginia, digital marketing and seo in alhambra, digital marketing and seo in amarillo, digital marketing and seo in anaheim, digital marketing and seo in arcadia, digital marketing and seo in arlington, digital marketing and seo in arlington virginia, digital marketing and seo in artesia, digital marketing and seo in atlanta, digital marketing and seo in augusta, digital marketing and seo in austin, digital marketing and seo in azusa, digital marketing and seo in bakersfield, digital marketing and seo in baldwin park, digital marketing and seo in baltimore, digital marketing and seo in baton rouge, digital marketing and seo in bell, digital marketing and seo in bellevue, digital marketing and seo in bellflower, digital marketing and seo in bell gardens, digital marketing and seo in bend or, digital marketing and seo in beverly hills, digital marketing and seo in birmingham, digital marketing and seo in boise, digital marketing and seo in boston, digital marketing and seo in bridgeport connecticut, digital marketing and seo in brownsville, digital marketing and seo in buffalo ny, digital marketing and seo in burbank, digital marketing and seo in calabasas, digital marketing and seo in cape coral, digital marketing and seo in cary, digital marketing and seo in chandler, digital marketing and seo in charleston south carolina, digital marketing and seo in charlotte, digital marketing and seo in chattanooga, digital marketing and seo in chesapeake, digital marketing and seo in chicago, digital marketing and seo in chula vista, digital marketing and seo in cincinnati, digital marketing and seo in clarksville tennessee, digital marketing and seo in cleveland, digital marketing and seo in colorado springs, digital marketing and seo in columbus, digital marketing and seo in columbus georgia, digital marketing and seo in corona, digital marketing and seo in corpus christi, digital marketing and seo in dallas, digital marketing and seo in dayton, digital marketing and seo in denton texas, digital marketing and seo in denver, digital marketing and seo in des moines, digital marketing and seo in detroit, digital marketing and seo in durham, digital marketing and seo in elk grove, digital marketing and seo in el monte, digital marketing and seo in el paso, digital marketing and seo in escondido, digital marketing and seo in eugene or, digital marketing and seo in fayetteville, digital marketing and seo in fontana, digital marketing and seo in for strippers, digital marketing and seo in fort collins colorado, digital marketing and seo in fort lauderdale, digital marketing and seo in fort wayne,digital marketing and seo in fort worth, digital marketing and seo in fremont, digital marketing and seo in fresno, digital marketing and seo in frisco texas, digital marketing and seo in fullerton california,digital marketing and seo in garden grove, digital marketing and seo in garland, digital marketing and seo in gilbert, digital marketing and seo in grand prairie, digital marketing and seo in grand rapids, digital marketing and seo in greensboro, digital marketing and seo in hayward california, digital marketing and seo in henderson, digital marketing and seo in hialeah, digital marketing and seo in honolulu, digital marketing and seo in houston, digital marketing and seo in huntington beach, digital marketing and seo in huntsville, digital marketing and seo in indianapolis, digital marketing and seo in irvine, digital marketing and seo in irving, digital marketing and seo in jacksonville, digital marketing and seo in jersey city, digital marketing and seo in kansas city, digital marketing and seo in kent washington, digital marketing and seo in killeen texas, digital marketing and seo in knoxville, digital marketing and seo in lakewood colorado, digital marketing and seo in lancaster, digital marketing and seo in laredo, digital marketing and seo in las vegas, digital marketing and seo in lexington, digital marketing and seo in lincoln, digital marketing and seo in long beach, digital marketing and seo in los angeles, digital marketing and seo in louisville, digital marketing and seo in lubbock, digital marketing and seo in madison, digital marketing and seo in mcallen texas, digital marketing and seo in mckinney texas, digital marketing and seo in medford, digital marketing and seo in memphis, digital marketing and seo in mesa, digital marketing and seo in mesquite texas, digital marketing and seo in miami, digital marketing and seo in milwaukee, digital marketing and seo in minneapolis, digital marketing and seo in modesto, digital marketing and seo in montgomery alabama, digital marketing and seo in moreno valley, digital marketing and seo in nashville tn, digital marketing and seo in newark, digital marketing and seo in new jersey, digital marketing and seo in new orleans, digital marketing and seo in new york, digital marketing and seo in norfolk, digital marketing and seo in oakland, digital marketing and seo in oklahoma city, digital marketing and seo in omaha, digital marketing and seo in orange county, digital marketing and seo in orlando, digital marketing and seo in overland park, digital marketing and seo in oxnard, digital marketing and seo in palm beach florida, digital marketing and seo in palmdale, digital marketing and seo in pasadena, digital marketing and seo in pembroke pines, digital marketing and seo in philadelphia, digital marketing and seo in phoenix az, digital marketing and seo in pittsburgh, digital marketing and seo in plano, digital marketing and seo in plumber, digital marketing and seo in portland, digital marketing and seo in raleigh, digital marketing and seo in redding ca, digital marketing and seo in reno, digital marketing and seo in richmond, digital marketing and seo in riverside, digital marketing and seo in rochester ny, digital marketing and seo in sacramento, digital marketing and seo in saint paul, digital marketing and seo in salem or, digital marketing and seo in salt lake city, digital marketing and seo in san antonio, digital marketing and seo in san bernardino, digital marketing and seo in san diego, digital marketing and seo in san francisco, digital marketing and seo in san jose, digital marketing and seo in santa ana, digital marketing and seo in santa clarita, digital marketing and seo in santa monica, digital marketing and seo in scottsdale, digital marketing and seo in seattle, digital marketing and seo in sherman oaks, digital marketing and seo in shreveport, digital marketing and seo in spokane, digital marketing and seo in st louis, digital marketing and seo in stockton, digital marketing and seo in tacoma, digital marketing and seo in tallahassee, digital marketing and seo in tampa, digital marketing and seo in toledo, digital marketing and seo in torrance, digital marketing and seo in tucson, digital marketing and seo in tulsa, digital marketing and seo in valencia ca, digital marketing and seo in vancouver washington, digital marketing and seo in virginia beach, digital marketing and seo in wichita and all others.