Effective Marketing Activities For The No Or A Low Budget Business

Small business owners know they have to market their business for all the same reasons as mid to large companies market their companies. Growth and viability. But we know a key differentiator is that the marketing budget for a small business tends to be very limited, in good and bad economic times.

So how can we market our small business when there is little or zero money available to do so? Through what is called Integrated Direct Marketing or what we marketers call ‘combining our sales initiatives with our marketing initiatives’. What does that mean, you ask? Well it’s taking those selling, interacting and networking opportunities and then coupling them with your marketing tactics.

Let me give you a few ideas that you can implement quickly or ease in to them one by one. Just a note though, some of these activities require serious time commitments and others may only be effective for the small local company. Yet, all have been proven effective marketing tactics for the small to mid-sized company:

• Get On Your Local Banks Small Business Spotlight of the Month Program. Many local bank branches have recently been offering their customers’ free display space in programs like ‘Small Business Spotlight of the Month’ (or two week intervals). You will have to create a display of some kind and it will gain attention and provide value to passerby’s with an enticing offer for encouraging folks to take the next step towards purchasing your goods or services.
• Be The Expert in Your Industry. Can you provide educational presentations or write articles for your local Chamber of Commerce or other national organization? When you provide educational seminars to your Chamber of Commerce or organization where your target market participates in, those members see and hear your knowledge and they begin to recognize you and your business as the experts within your field. People like to do business with experts. You can also utilize online blogging websites as a method of sharing your expertise. But will talk about that in a future newsletter.
• Become A Volunteer. Volunteer with an organization or program that you have passion for. An organization that allows you to meet and interact with many people, while supporting a greater cause. One thing that people really like is the company they do business with give back to their communities - local or global. They are attracted to companies that genuinely support their communities. Also, some non-profit organizations will even promote your personal volunteerism by advertising your business as a sponsor.
• Partner With Your Vendors. Partner with a vendor that provides a complementary product or service to your business and has an established reputation/ brand within your target market. If it is a retail store, ask them to allow you to put up a small display or flyer that includes an incentive or offer with your vendor or partners name located within the display. Joint collaboration helps with many direct marketing tactics, like having a joint direct mail campaign with a combined offer or co-sponsored newspaper advertisement.
• Get a Facebook Fan Page. Fan pages on Facebook are free and if you carve ten minutes out of a day, you can effectively build your following – or rather, fans. Use your fan page to post recent events, happenings, news, incentives or specials. Post photos or ask existing customers to write reviews. This will provide you with a method to keep your business in the minds of your existing customers. You do not have to post every day, but do post often and make it effective. Word of caution... do not sell to your fans on Facebook. Just communicate with them. See my next blog for more information about this.
• Write and Submit Press Releases to the Media. Press releases are free but they must be news worthy. It is at the discretion of the media provider whether or not your press release gets published or not. Do this on a monthly basis and the news mediums will want to know you more.
• Reach Out To The Media. Meet your local press – small and regional newspapers, radio and television. Introduce yourself, your services and provide them with an opportunity to showcase your products or services with their medium. Remember that volunteerism that I mentioned above? Well, volunteerism makes great human interest stories and the local press really likes to portray those stories. Invite them to your volunteer event. If the press does attend they usually interview organizers about the event, its purpose and history. Then when the story is aired or published, the reporter will name you – the interviewee – and your business name. Free publicity instills a subliminal message in viewers and readers minds that you and your business are respectable and trustworthy.
• Become An Active member of Your Local Small Business Organization. You will want to join your local Chamber of Commerce or similar organization. But more than that, you will want to become an active member of that organization. Get yourself, your skills and your business known throughout the membership. Attend the networking events and educational sessions. Meet the people. Members tend to be loyal to each other and buy and support their local businesses.
• Begin A Monthly Email Newsletter. Start an email newsletter program where subscribers are provided with practical and useful information about your industry, business or area of expertise. For example, we here at Promotional Channels are marketers with specialties in web design, search engine optimization, advertising, direct mail, social networking and much more. But it is our intention via this newsletter to share our knowledge to help you market your business.
• Institute a Customer Referral Program. Provide an incentive for customers, friends and family to send you customers. For instance, a $50 credit or gift card, or comparable, for any referral sent to you that actually purchases your product or services. This way, your customers will be sure to send you quality referrals, not just quantity.

As mentioned, each of the above requires time, but they are options for low or no direct costs to you. Also know that marketing is not an exact science like, one plus one equals two. So not every promotional strategy mentioned above will be a match for your business and there is also no cookie cutter promotional strategy by industry either. So you must do your research, some trial and error testing and tracking in order to increase your success.

You may not be able to do all of these right away, but by adding one of these activities one by one you will begin to see your business grow and expand over time. As you implement each program, be sure that you continuously and regularly work the tactics that work for your business; maintain these Integrated Direct Marketing commitments for your business until you find that the respective approach is not feasible for your business.