No business can sustain without a solid marketing strategy. Yet for small businesses it can be quite a difficult task as most of them do not have ample amount of budget set aside for marketing their business.
So, if you haven’t got a lot of bucks to spend over for marketing or creating the buzz, then don’t lose your sleep over it.
Remember that while thinking of marketing your business, you must be able to stand out of the crowd. Just following the traditional modes of advertisement is not enough. You also have to engage your audience in a way that your competition has not thought of yet.
It is for this reason that the business owners and the marketers constantly acquire and learn about the most efficient strategies for marketing that is available. Here are some of the most pocket-friendly ways of marketing. Just take a look.
- Learn from the Competitors – At the time of searching for ways of improving your marketing, you should look to your competitors. Just try to find out what they are doing for their competitors and how they are attracting more customers. If yours is the only business that is using the cold calling methods and gaining minimum returns, then it is high time that you start learning what your competitors are offering. Their techniques can help you achieve your goals especially as you are in the same industry as the businesses that you are looking into. For example, if you find that your competitors are into blogging and opting for frequent press releases, then you should also try them. You can expect similar amount of success like them and even draw some of their competitors towards you.
- Add Value to Your Service and Product – The value adds are a great way to both enhance the loyalty and the awareness for your business. You can generate a huge persuasive power if you can give more than the actual value of the product. The value addition can come by in a plethora of ways. For this, you can give away free promotional gifts to a new customer and offer loyalty discounts for the repeating customers. Nowadays, the companies are also using the digital platform for value addition through quality webinars, whitepapers and free trials. This has a very simple goal. If a person has to choose between you and your closest competition, then what will make them choose you over your competitor! This answer is the ideal value addition to your particular service or product.
- Update the Social Media – You are probably already aware that the social media marketing campaigns are essential for the small businesses. But it is not enough to just have accounts. As a small business, you should always stay updated with the new social media tips which can improve your social media presence on the various platforms. The first thing to do is to keep your account information accurate and updated. Even the smallest change in your business should be portrayed through the social media. Ensure that your address, website, logo and pictures are current.
- Publish Quality Content – This is something that does not even need to be said. But the importance of kickass content cannot be ignored ever. Moreover, if you are able to create it yourself, then it is even better as that won’t cost you anything as well. If your writing is not that good you should ask somebody from your team to come up with some great articles. You can try the tip collections, top 10 lists and the best practices for your industry. These are seen to be the most effective for pulling your business in the top 10 list.
- Network and Take That into Your Leverage – You must be active on the social media. This is a great way to find others in the industry. You should join the chat groups and the forums of advice or the invites for the events. You should book a booth at the town fair. What’s more, you can also sponsor the recreational sports time in your region and place the logo on the back of the shirt. You should go for a local newspaper or magazine for running an advertisement. You can also offer discounts to people who will be able to display the particular ad. Once you have more to invest you can even think of organising an event. You can try chair hire and furniture hire so that you can save massively on the décor in this case. You can invite your community for a lunch or a conference and discuss the new strategies for branding.
The above are some of the advanced strategies that you can use for promoting your small business. Once you start implementing these, you are bound to see results which will help your business to sustain and succeed in the long run.
