Home > Sales & Marketing > Marketing, Advertising, and PR

Font Adjust: A | A | A
Marketing Your Product

Inexpensive and Effective Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business

Inexpensive and Effective Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business

Instead of relying solely on traditional marketing efforts like TV commercials and print ads, consider complementing your marketing campaigns with simple and less expensive promotional techniques.

One of the most effective marketing tools is a website. Web marketing is inexpensive, and 80% of customers use the Internet to find products and services, even in their hometowns. If you don’t have a website, make that your first step.

Here are a few additional low-cost tips and simple strategies to get your marketing machine up and running:

  1. Include your website link on all company emails and other correspondence. Display your company or business web address prominently in your email signature. Do the same on stationery.
  2. Offer tips, advice, and information on your website. Show customers how to repair, modify, or improve your products. Provide product usage tips and videos. As more customers engage with your products, conversions and sales will follow.
  3. Use targeted pay-per-click advertising. If you provide local services, include your vicinity in your keywords. "Plumber" is much too broad; "Plumbing repair Anywhere City, VT" is much more precise. You’ll keep costs down, and the customers you want will find you.
  4. Put flyers, catalogs, or brochures in every order. Make it easy for customers to buy from you. Refrain from assuming a particular customer knows all the services you provide.
  5. Run contests or promotions to garner attention. Giving away an item during a contest is fine, but ensure the publicity value offsets the cost. Donating an item to a silent auction may gain little public awareness; donating a product or service for a local radio station to offer in a contest will.
  6. Make contacts with local media. Newspaper and television reporters need reputable sources for articles; while you may not make "news," you can provide color to a story. For example, if you are a lawyer, you can explain how new legislation will affect local viewers. Get in as many reporter’s contact lists as possible.
  7. Create customer loyalty. Acquiring a new customer typically costs five to seven times more than keeping an existing customer. Set up frequent purchase discount programs or loyalty programs that reward customers who purchase regularly. The discount could be more than offset by the lower cost of sale.
  8. Partner with complementary businesses. Offer bundled products or services in related fields. Be creative. For example, a lawyer might consider setting up a package with a local accountant; people who wish to incorporate their business could also receive a basic accounting system setup. Think "one-stop" shop.
  9. Create eye-catching guarantees. If competitors offer six-month guarantees, expand yours to a year. If you don’t usually provide a guarantee, think of creative ways to safeguard products or purchases to help new customers overcome any hesitation in doing business with you.
  10. Pick up the phone. Call current customers. Ask how they’re doing. Ask what you can do better. Ask if there are ways you can make their lives easier (i.e., invoicing methods, delivery methods, customer service, etc.).
  11. Network with customers. Instead of joining trade or industry groups in your industry, go to where your customers are. If you are a lawyer, consider being active in your local bar association and civic or business organizations where potential customers can see, meet, and learn about you and your services.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. When shopping or browsing, pay attention to what other businesses in other industries do. Consider what resonates with you. If a particular promotion makes you interested in purchasing, envision how you can modify that promotion to best fit your small business.

This website and the articles contained within are provided as a free service to you and for general informational purposes only. Information on this website is not intended to provide legal, accounting, tax or other advice. Please consult your attorney, accountant, or financial or other advisor with regard to your individual situation. We also make no warranty or representation regarding, and do not endorse, any linked websites or the information appearing there.
© 2024 Small Business Resources.