Connor Brooke
Marketing is one of the most essential aspects of any business. It helps people get to know who you are and why they should purchase your products or services. However, marketing can also be expensive. This often creates a dilemma for many companies who are struggling to make a profit. How much should they spend on marketing? After all, they need it to help them make money, but they can’t spend too much on it and lose money as a result. Fortunately, there are great low-cost marketing objectives that are helpful for companies on a budget. Try these 5 ideas first to grow your customer base.
1 – Start A Blog
First, blogging provides many companies with a great opportunity to market to potential companies. They can create a blog for free and share valuable advice that potential customers may find useful. This is a great way to build credibility if your company is relatively new. It also helps people find your business online through search engines. Even more, there are plenty of interesting topics that you can blog about that relate to your company. Therefore, it does not always have to seem extremely sales driven. Instead, it can be warm, open, and inviting to readers.
2 – Utilize Social Media
Another great low cost marketing initiative that is helpful for companies is social media. In fact, effective social media efforts can help you reach a lot of people at once. However, the key with social media is consistency. In addition, business owners also need to understand that it takes patience and time to build a following on social media sites. Over time, they will reap the benefits from their efforts. Even better, they will not have experienced a huge dent in their checkbook as a result.
3 – Referrals
Many businesses are very successful with referral-based marketing. However, this type of marketing is trickier because it requires help from your current customers. Sometimes, these referrals are simply a result of great customer service. Other times, referrals happen because the company motivates their customers to tell their friends and family about their business. In most cases, good referrals come when customers get a benefit from providing a referral. For example, an insurance company might give their client a gift card if they refer them a friend or family member to give a quote to.
4 – Word Of Mouth
Furthermore, word of mouth advertising is also inexpensive and very effective. However, it requires you to open your mouth in various circumstances. This can sometimes be uncomfortable. It is often easier to place a banner on a web page and hope people click on it. Talking to people and explaining your product or services has a much higher success rate. Therefore, try to use your mouth more. It will help you be more successful and save you money.
5 – Exhibit At A Trade Show
One way to reach a lot of customers is to exhibit at a trade show. Although this costs money, it is much less expensive than other forms of advertising like billboard ads or mailers. In addition, it is more effective because you can reach a targeted customer. People who exhibit at tradeshows generally see positive results quickly from their efforts and come back time and time again. They also like to visit several different shows each year. They provide them with networking opportunities and allow them to expand their customer base at the same time. Even better, they are a great way to build their brand.
If your marketing budget is minimal, many of these options are inexpensive and will provide you with the results you need to catapult your company to success. Marketing is important, and it should not be overlooked. How do you market on a budget successfully? Share your ideas with us.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.
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