As a small business, having the right marketing strategy can help keep your company afloat and even boost your sales and overall profits. If your business is on a tight budget, though, coming up with an affordable marketing strategy is the key to spreading the word about your services and products and increasing your sales. Fortunately, ramping up your marketing game doesn’t need to be a pricey or unattainable endeavor. There are five different steps your company could take to change its marketing strategy or further its marketing goals without dipping into savings funds or stretching the budget too thin. Here are some top ideas to consider.
1. Start a Business Blog and Focus on SEO Efforts
Perhaps one of the quickest and simplest moves your company can make to expand its marketing is to start a business blog. Whether you choose to subscribe to monthly SEO packages or start producing content in-house, having a blog is a simple way to update your customers, increase brand awareness, and incorporate search engine optimization efforts all in one go. On your blog, you could write about:
- Updated industry newsI
- New developments in your company, including announcements, upcoming product news, and more
- In-depth explorations of controversial or trendy professional topics
- Explanations of the historical roots of your field
- Information about your company’s goals, origins, and products or services
2. Ask Current Customers To Help You Spread the Word
Although it sometimes gets taken for granted, word-of-mouth marketing can sometimes be a more powerful tool than top-down advertising. This longstanding marketing method relies on customers letting others know about your business and giving you positive, free publicity. If your business is close with certain loyal customers, you may want to ask them to help you spread the word. This method could allow you to:
- Reach wider networks of consumers
- Gain an organic, positive reputation
- Lower your overall marketing expenses
- Potentially boost your total consumer sales
3. Post Physical Advertisements Throughout Your Local Community
Although digital advertising is an important component of modern advertising, don’t discount the importance and potential impact of physical ads as well. If your business is grounded in the local community, consider capitalizing on that strength by putting up ads in your area. For instance, you could expand your advertising via:
- Posters
- Billboards
- Coupons
- Direct mail
- Newspaper ads
4. Contact Sought-After Influencers for Potential Endorsements
Influencer marketing is a modern and increasingly popular marketing method that could help your company gain access to a wide base of potential consumers practically overnight. Consider researching the most popular and sought-after influencers on a variety of social media platforms to find the ones who may be willing to post ads for your business. This method can allow your business to:
- Increase online brand awareness
- Reach your target audience directly
- Expand to new markets
- Get in touch with authoritative figures and trendsetters in your industry
5. Start an Affordable Yet Reliable Email Marketing List
Lastly, consider relying on email marketing methods for an affordable way to reach your customers. Email methods are well known for being effective at:
- Reaching out to consumers in a more personalized way
- Helping top customers keep in touch
- Converting potential leads and driving up sales
- Getting direct feedback in the form of email messages, surveys, and other types of consumer feedback
Marketing well is one of the most important steps your small business can take to promote its products and services, gain more customers, and expand profit margins. Fortunately, your company doesn’t need deep pockets or an expansive marketing budget to enjoy successful marketing and advertising efforts. If you’re thinking about changing your strategy or adopting new marketing tactics, consider using email or influencer marketing, physical ads, SEO methods, and word-of-mouth advertising to kick-start your efforts. These ideas could produce large impacts on a small budget.