As they say, you have to use money to make money. That saying is true of any type of marketing. But, what would you do if you found out that you don’t have many bucks to inject into marketing your business? No problem- there are plenty of low-budget ways you can use to reach there.
Today, we are going to look at plenty of tactics that you can employ to ensure that one of the most crucial business goals-marketing-is achieved without blowing your limited budget. That being said, let us see how far a business can stretch a few bucks! Read on.
Publish Kick-Ass Content
The power of great content needs no explanation, because in a world of the internet and online marketing, content is without a doubt the order of the day everywhere. These days, businesses of all types are leveraging on the power of social media to sell more and hence make more profits.
So, even if writing or publishing content isn’t your cup of tea, don’t find it difficult to have someone else craft killer content for you. Whatever the path you choose, make sure to come up with content that will create a buzz around what you are offering.
For example, as a wholesale jewelry business, we can try top 10 lists, jewelry trends, positive and negative talk, best jewelry brands, and such. Write just about anything that revolves around what you have to offer.
Also, make sure to apply rules of content marketing, such as SEO writing and such jokes. Do that on your blog and on social media pages. Have people talking.
Leverage Your Surroundings
When you are operating on a shoestring budget, you begin to leverage everything around you. That comes naturally. You don’t have to struggle a lot when trying to figure out what to leverage. You see, business success doesn’t have to involve lots of efforts.
Instead, working smart is the way to go. Think about what is going on around you. What is your community involved in presently? Maybe, community games, anyone? Or there’s a serious flooding in your village, maybe.
That is where sponsoring a charity walk or a small league comes in. Just think about ways you can meet you customers and stand in front of them with your business message.
Embrace Networking
There’s no better way to achieve business success than leaving your comfort zone and get out there to shake a few hands and know people. It requires your commitment to make the most out of networking.
Maybe you can bring along a few bookmarks and business cards during your weekend business conference. Above all, know that a strong network is one of the most important assets a business can have.
Volunteer to Give Speeches
Most people dislike public speaking, right? But there are many people and institutions out there looking for subject-matter pros who can talk to their groups.
As jewelry sellers, we wouldn’t hesitate to take a deep breath and give speeches whenever called upon, because it will present us with a perfect marketing opportunity that doesn’t require even a buck to sell us to prospective customers. We know that the more we do it, the easier it gets!
Collaborate
Approach a few non-competitive businesses in your industry and agree to promote each other. You can use bundled promotions, affiliate website links, fliers, etc.
Think of this classic example: a gas production company collaborating with a gas cylinder manufacturer. At the end of it all, it will be a win-win for you all. That is one great way to expand more and reach new customer base.
Seek Customer Referrals
It won’t do you any harm if you ask your customers to refer you to their friends. We can attest to that because some of our jewelry wholesale buyers tell us that they were referred by their friends.
And, as you will realize, majority of your customers are more than willing to refer you if asked. Referrals bring in new customers, so if you aren’t asking your customers to bring along new customers during their next trip to your businesses premises, you are missing great marketing opportunities big time.
Strengthen Customer Loyalty
Besides thinking about cheaper ways to market your business during downtime or when you are operating on a limited budget, also remember to see how you can build long standing relationships with your customers.
You see, it’s way cheaper to keep the customers you already have than it is to bring in new ones. One way to strengthen the relationship with your customers is by ensuring that you offer them genuine products and helping them whenever they have questions and concerns.
Additionally, keep in touch with them through custom emails and newsletters. Marketing experts would advise you to embrace informative and professional communication, as that is something all customers look forward to receiving.
Guest-Blog OR Write a Magazine Article
One great way to run your business thousands of bucks without much effort is by advertising in blogs and industry magazines. Contributing articles to most magazines and renown blogs is absolutely free, so come up with good content and have it published. Remember to promote your business in the bio section.
Comment on Blogs and Posts
Pick a few blogs you follow and be a passionate reader of their content . If it’s possible, be among the first people to leave comments. Write thoughtful comments that other followers can’t resist. That way, you will easily get noticed by both the blog owners and their followers, too.
Create Social Media Groups
When things get tough for you, it’s only important to leverage technology to fix things quickly and make more profits in return. That being said, come up with topical Facebook groups and such, that your prospects would be more than willing to join and make their contribution.
Center the topic and conversations around your products. For example,since we are into wholesale jewelry, we wouldn’t mind creating a Facebook group centered around “Wholesale Jewelry for sale” for example. See that?
Marketing your business on a shoestring budget doesn’t mean that you should skimp on the costly tactics that large businesses use; it just means that you should sit down and try to figure out what smart , targeted approaches you can make use of to achieve the best results.
Think social media, content marketing, mobile, and all that they are scaled to business needs and they have a greater capability of taking your marketing a notch higher as compared to the old-school techniques.
The above ten low-budget marketing tips will help you strengthen the relationship with your customers, and eventually keep your business top-of-mind.
As you have realized, it’s not about the money you invest to market your business, but the time and effort you inject into it all, and of course its relevance to your customers. Do you have other great marketing ideas that can work on a limited budget?
Final Thoughts
Marketing is a vital step for a successful business. But how market business on a limited budget is also important. After reading this article, hope you can have a better understanding and benefit from this.
