Unfortunately, many small businesses find themselves in a vicious cycle of no money to advertise = no sales and no sales = no money to advertise . They struggle with not having money to advertise and market their business which results in not being able to generate more sales and revenue. Since they are not able to increase their revenue they continue to not have the money available to invest back into marketing strategies. We all know that consumers are not able to purchase products/services that they do not know exist.
Many small businesses buy into the myth that it takes a big budget marketing strategy to generate more business. This is simply not true. The focus needs to be on the quality of the advertising instead of the cost of it. If you have a limited marketing budget you can still form a marketing plan that will work for your company.
Be Creative Your initial step to cheap marketing tactics is to create a website for your business. This is a cheap and relatively easy task to accomplish. There are many different hosting companies that also have website packages included. Sign up for hosting with a company and many will have templates you can use to build your initial site. This is a great way to advertise your business with little investment.
Your next step will be to create an electronic newsletter. This will be used to share information with not only your former customers but potential customers as well.
While you are in the writing mode, you will want to create a blog and write in it daily. You can create a blog for free and you will initially submit postings daily. Once your business is growing and you are getting more traffic, you can slow down your posting to every few days. You do not want to ignore your blog completely, however, as this is a great way to drive traffic to your site and develop a relationship with potential customers.
Write articles about your business and post them in online article directories. Make sure you are including links back to your own website. This is usually done in the About The Author section of the articles.
Use the Power of Email Marketing Along with your website hosting package, you will receive an email account. If you do not already have a dedicated business email account, you will want to utilize the email account that comes with your hosting package. This will be beneficial as those who may want additional information on your products and/or services will be able to contact you with their questions. It is important, however, to check your email daily. You would not want potential customers to lose interest in your products because they did not get a prompt reply.
Additionally, whenever you send out an email, use a signature that promotes your business. Every email you send out will have a reminder at the bottom of your business and what you offer.
Word of Mouth Has Power Although word of mouth advertising is a slower process than other marketing avenues, it is a great method. Word of mouth is absolutely free. You can also consider trading products/services for marketing. Depending on the services you offer, you may be able to locate a reputable marketing company who will represent your business in exchange for products/services from your business.
One other idea is to turn your car into an advertising platform. Getting a magnetic banner ad made for your car can be relatively inexpensive. Put the magnetic banner on your car door and everywhere you go you will be advertising your business.
Network Network Network Business cards are a very inexpensive way of promoting your business. Handing out business cards is like handing out mini commercials. Check for trade shows and conferences in your area where attendees may be interested in your product and/or service. You can also look into setting up a booth at these trade shows in order to promote your business.
Once you start generating sales, use whatever funding you can allocate for fast marketing prospects that will generate customers for your business. Fast Marketing strategies include radio and television ads, professional brochures, etc.
The average consumer needs to hear and/or see an ad up to seven times before they make a decision to purchase. Using multiple marketing techniques not only allows you to reach more people, it can help you turn those fence-sitters into cash-in-hand customers.
About The Author: Jessica VanderHaar is an Internet Marketer who also enjoys helping others develop their own Internet Home Based Businesses.
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