Marketing your company can seem like a daunting task, particularly if you’re on a shoestring budget. But regardless of how much of a headache it gives you, marketing is an essential part of your brand’s growth. As a matter of fact, without it, you’ll struggle to achieve the projected sales figures and expand your customer base.
However, marketing doesn’t have to cost you thousands of pounds every year. Actually, as long as you use your small budget effectively, you’ll be able to come up with interesting strategies to spread the word about your business. Today, we’ll check out a few of these interesting ways you can market your company even on a tighter budget.
Develop an Elevator Pitch
Elevator pitches are lines you can use whenever you need to present your business to someone in a timely manner. After all, you never know when you’re going to come across a potential client or business partner. So, having a way to grab their attention and present essential information about your business without jumbling your words will always come in handy.
Keep in mind that first impressions are extremely important. Plus, coming up with one doesn’t cost you a single penny! As a result, you shouldn’t ignore the power of a well-structured elevator pitch.
Increase Your Reach Through Networking
Networking can help you create connections and increase your reach without having to spend a fortune. It’s important to note that your main challenge is to make sure that people are aware of your company. Therefore, by reaching out to people and building strong partnerships, you will get your brand’s name out there more quickly.
Additionally, networking can also involve collaborations with other business owners as well. Isolating your company with the goal of dominating the market might actually backfire. Instead, you should see partnerships as a mutually beneficial way to work together with your peers. Not only will you increase your brand awareness, but collaborations will give you opportunities to tap into the audience of other companies.
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Pinpoint Your Target Audience
It’s essential to be very specific when targeting your customers to achieve the best marketing results. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid a broad approach since it’s not cost-effective and reliable for small businesses. And, more often than not, you’ll end up spending your entire budget on people who are not interested in your company or industry in the first place. But what’s so baffling is that many brands get their audience wrong.
Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to pinpoint your target audience thanks to precise and in-depth data that’s offered by lots of marketing and advertising platforms. In fact, nowadays, you don’t have to hire an expert anymore. And while some of these tools do require a purchase, they are much more affordable than hiring a whole research team.
Ask for Referrals
When customers experience positive interactions with your company, you should request a referral from them. If they do value your brand and products, they’ll be happy to talk about it with their friends and family. They might even allow you to quote them on your website, further building your reputation as a reliable business.
At the end of the day, enticing customers is all about trust. Potential clients want to know that your company is trustworthy and won’t sell them a low-quality product. So, if you don’t boost your reputation with positive feedback and referrals, they might choose to do business with a competitor instead.
Work to Retain Your Customers
You might believe that attracting new customers should be your number one priority. However, maintaining your existing client base is just as important, especially if you are a small business with a limited budget. That’s why you should come up with a strategy that focuses on current consumers.
Our advice is to stay in touch with them using social media or email advertising. That way, your customers will always think about your brand, even months or years after their initial purchase. Just don’t overwhelm them with corporate messages or ads, as you might end up pushing your clients away.
Generate Interest Through Competitions
Contests and competitions are a fun and appealing way to give something back to your customer base while also increasing your reach. They also boost engagement, encouraging people to interact with your brand. And let’s be honest — who doesn’t want to receive free branded merchandise or a discount in exchange for nothing but their time?
The best way to tackle these kinds of competitions is to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. For instance, you could make it a requirement for people to use a specific hashtag in their posts. Then, you’ll select the user whose post has the most likes or shares. That will guarantee that your brand’s name reaches the news feeds of other people, even those who’ve never heard of your business before. In other words, social media contests are a smart way to generate interest in your company.
Use Social Media Creatively
Generally speaking, social media provides a lot of opportunities to improve your company’s reputation and reach your target audience in a fun and interesting way. As a matter of fact, any company that wants to grow and expand uses social media to keep in touch with their consumers.
And while social media advertising might sound difficult, it doesn’t have to be! Just create your account and start marking your first posts in order to figure out what kind of content your audience enjoys most. Then, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to incorporate your ads seamlessly into your posts in a fun and creative way. And best of all, you won’t have to spend a dime on this efficient marketing strategy.
Leverage Your Local Community
Even though digital marketing is important, you shouldn’t forget about your local community. If you own a retail shop, it’s a good idea to encourage face-to-face interactions with your customers.
One way you can spread the word about your company is by handing out flyers or leaflets. Doing so will make it hard for people to ignore your message, enticing them to at least check out your business. Or, you can take part in local events where you can either sponsor a sports team or give away promotional products to attendees. Keep in mind that there are many ways to engage your local community, so find the one that works best for your specific industry.
Put Together an Email List
Sending emails is a cheap and effective method to stay in contact with your consumers and ensure that they are up-to-date with any of your new products or services. After all, customers like to be informed about brands that they enjoy, so why not do just that?
You can also use emails to remind people about past purchases and encourage them to check out your brand again. So make sure to keep a list of your customers’ emails and then send them a monthly newsletter. It’s cheap, easy and, most importantly, incredibly effective!
Focus on Thought Leadership
A thought leader is someone who, through their expertise, offers guidance and inspires innovation. While becoming a thought leader can mean many things, it’s usually about making your voice heard and being recognised as an important personality in your industry or niche.
To reach that status, you’ll need to develop your online presence by helping people on forums and social media. Once you become a thought leader, you’ll also be able to boost your business and spread awareness of it.
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The Bottom Line
Developing your marketing strategy is crucial if you truly want to expand your business and attract customers. That’s why you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment and stretch the bounds of your imagination. And remember that the beauty of a well-thought plan is that it can cost you little to nothing!
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Browse our bestselling affordable products for more ideas. They will surely fit your marketing budget. If you want to know more, we are here for you. Give us a call at 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
