Low-Cost Marketing Tactics For Small Business

Do you know that you can actually fight back against the industry giants outspending you on ads? That is right. You don’t need to have thousands of dollars to reach your target audience.

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In fact, if you are smart about it you may see more returns than competitors that spend thousands more on marketing. After all, Tesla spends very little on marketing but outsells most of its direct competitors. Of course your business isn’t as large as Tesla, but that just goes to show that in sales and marketing money isn’t everything.

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So if money isn’t everything, how can you compete with people who spend unholy amounts on ads? Easy. You follow our low-cost marketing tactics for small businesses. Here they are. 

Conduct A Survey 

The first thing every small business that wants to get serious with its marketing needs to do is to conduct a survey. A survey is necessary to create a marketing plan, and that needs to be done before moving on to actual marketing. Small business owners need to know what message they want to push before even devising tactics on how to push it out. 

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Remember, direction is more important than speed. A survey tells you what direction your business should be going in before you even start marketing. And the good thing is that surveys are generally quite cheap. You could conduct one with just a google form link and it would provide easy to understand analytics that would help you make great decisions about your marketing strategy. 

Embrace Online Marketing 

Traditional marketing channels, such as posters and billboards, are extremely expensive especially if your business is in an expensive city. The downside of these channels is that they are not targeted and generally just work for awareness and rarely drive the conversions needed for sales. 

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However, online and content marketing are more targeted and easier to track. They are also cheap, and you can run ads without spending hundreds of dollars. But the success of this type of marketing rests entirely on how well you understand your target audience and how good the ads you’re putting out are. That is why it is very vital to use the survey results to understand who your customers are and target them appropriately.  

Build A Personal Brand

As a small business owner it is important for you to spread yur business’s brand real estate by also working on your personal brand. Your busines should be known as a business, and you should also have a brand as the owner of that business. 

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One way to perfect your brand as a business owner is to perfect your elevator speech. At networking events you often have less than 90 seconds to sell your business. So you need to make sure you have just the right things to say and have all the necessary numbers at hand. 

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Secondly, you need to print a lot of business cards. They are cheap, and are an easy way for you to leave you mark at an event. The good thing about business cards is that people hardly refuse them, and if your pitch is even halfway decent most people will take your card. While not all of them wil eventually reach out, the percentage grows the more you connect with others and hand out your card. 

Work The Media

If you run a business that would benefit from a mention in the papers, then you need to get to work. Some businesses hack this phase by sponsoring ads in papers, but the thing about ads is that people know they are ads. In fact, most people instinctively ignore ads unless the ad especially catches their attention. 

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However, people don’t ignore a good story. You can email journalists and pitch them interesting feel-good or even “totally shocking” stories from your business. You can even sell business stories to independent journalists. They are always looking for an exciting and compelling story to tell, and you might never know if your business makes the cut. 

Use Your Employees To Market

As a small business owner you’re probably no stanger to being resourceful. And what does being resourceful mean? It just means finding multiple uses for the resources you have. Your employees are an important part of your business, and they should be an important part of your marketing as well. 

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Speak to your employees, tap into their network, and give them incentives that would encourage them to bring in more business. You could also turn them into ambassadors and give them perks for posting your business on their personal social media. That sort of authentic in-person marketing cannot be bought, and it is just as well because you probably would not be able to afford it. 

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Of course the success of this tactic depends wholly on whether you have a great relationship with your employees. If you don’t, well you better start working on it!

Focus On Retaining Old Customers

Many small business owners focus on getting new customers through marketing efforts and almost forget entirely about retaining their old customers. But this is a huge strategic mistake as there is a lot of evidence that retaining an old customer is cheaper than acquiring one in the long run. 

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So it is more profitable to retain ten customers and add none than to acquire five new customers and lose five. This means you need to form strong business relationships with your customers. That way they can even help you market your business. 

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One way to form these strong relationships is by providing top customers with generous discounts or even writing them a personalized thank you note periodically. If your present customers are satisfied, they are more likely to refer you to others and improve your clientele.

Conclusion

In today's competitive market, small businesses must leverage every opportunity to stand out and attract customers. By employing low-cost marketing tactics, you can promote your business without straining your budget or breaking the bank. From harnessing the power of social media and content marketing to working the media, you can effectively maximize your reach and impact no matter what your budget is. 

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Remember, the key to successful marketing lies in creativity, consistency, and understanding your audience. Regularly analyze your efforts, adjust your tactics based on what works best, and remain adaptable to new trends and technologies. With dedication and strategic planning, small businesses can achieve significant visibility and growth, ensuring a strong presence in their respective markets. Embrace these cost-effective methods and watch your business thrive beyond your wildest dreams..

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