Every business owner will know that marketing can be a costly ordeal that doesn’t always pay off. And in this tight economy marketing budgets are often the first to be slashed. But if anything, harder times should be even more of a reason to spend on marketing. You need customers to keep the business going, right?
And the only way you’re going to get customers is by reaching out to them.
Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be expensive. And we’re going to share a few ways that you can market your business on a budget here.
Social media
You were probably guessing that this would pop up, so we’ll get it out of the way first. If you aren’t utilising social media, you’re going to fall behind. It’s that simple. All of your customers will be using sites like Twitter and Facebook, so make it a place on which they can contact you. It’s completely free to set up too; all it takes is a few minutes of your time.
Plus, it’s a great way to reach out to new customers and advertise offers and deals.
Don’t underestimate its power.
Use your existing clients
You know who the best advocates for you business are? Your current customers. They’re the people who like your product or services enough to come back regularly, so why not ask them to fly the flag for your business?
Nothing works better than word of mouth recommendations, so encourage your customers to tell their friends about you. And in return, you could hand out discounts or special deals. We have all seen the ‘recommend a friend’ flyers – and that’s because they work!
Be charitable
Nothing will win you brownie points within the local community like helping out a charity. It may even garner some press interest which as you can probably guess, is an excellent thing for marketing. Not to mention that warm fuzzy feeling you’ll get for doing some good.
Perhaps donate a certain percentage of earnings? Or maybe you can offer some of your products completely free of charge?
It all depends on your business and the charity you’re helping out.
Give it away
If you have a brick and mortar store, why not think about giving samples of your product away free of charge? If you believe that what you’re selling really is the best, then customers will appreciate the free gift. And if they like it, they’re going to come back for more!
Visit the Mauve Print Management website for more information on How you can market your business on a budget