Inexpensive marketing ideas small business. Put the cheque book away and put simple ideas into play that get you in front of the crowd
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Table of contents
7 ways to better business results
| Branding | Consistent |
| Newsletters | Necessary |
| Social media | Choose yours |
| Still the easiest way | |
| SMS Marketing | Instant results |
| Instore training | Stand on their toes |
| Understanding the rule of seven | Yes there is such a rule |
Why is branding so important
The first thing of course is instant recognition. Therefore consistency is so important.
That is the consistent logo, colors, staying, and USP (Unique Selling proposition)
Nike is probably not the best example because they change colours at random however the swoosh is consistent and the USP Just Do It is recognised worldwide.
This has not been an accident. Millions of dollars have been poured into Nike brand recognition. One that indicates performance, value, and quality.
Branding is not a cost issue
Once you have established your brand it is just repeated use of it in just one format.
You may be a corner shop, a national marketer, or online sales the rules are the same.
Consistency will bring recognition and importantly trust. A very important ingredient in the sales cycle; is Know like and Trust.
Therefore repeated exposure to your brand will have instant recognition.
Understanding the rule of seven
I have moved this up the list because it will give more direction to the following operations.
This is an ancient Advertising rule that states a buyer needs to see your message seven times before they will make a buying decision.
This is regularly shown in TV advertising when the same advert is shown over and over often on the same night or even same hour.
If you are like me you may scream at the stupid ad nauseum display however it gets stuck in a part of your brain and comes out when you are in a buying mood.
It works and that is why Millions of dollars are spent on marketing campaigns based on this reality. Remember if the big guys are doing it so should you? Therefore let's look at some cheap ways.
Do Newsletters work anymore
Having written Newsletters for many years I am more convinced than ever of the success they bring. However, this may be a longer-term success because you are building The known factor with repeated touch.
I have new customers come to me years after getting my first email news. The time is right and the recognition comes to the forehead.
When you have a base of customers ( which you must have) it is a half-hour job every two weeks or a month to bash out a product ( newsletter ).
You are not madly selling you are simply entertaining or teaching about your industry or business.
When you value a new customer's worth to you it is far more than the few dollars you spend on emails.
You may be selling groceries however the customer spends over a year could be over $10,000 a year and well worth capturing every time.
Social media is a small business asset
Everyone should have a Social Media account and own it with consistent posting to a wide variety of followers.
However not every media will work for you.
Your job is to choose the one with the right demographic.
First of all, we believe everyone should have a Facebook account. This is the first “go-to” for new seekers to find out a bit about you. What your business looks like, who they are dealing with, and any bad reviews that follow you.
Next is a LinkedIn account so I can find out about you. What is your experience, what do you offer, and are you a match for my business? This is certainly a big player in the recognition factor.
Choose a principal media and hammer it hard
Choose a media that matches your client profile.
It is not good marketing retirement plans on TikTok because no one will be interested.
Likewise presenting acne cures on Twitter will go unanswered.
Perhaps Instagram has a large Female population in the 20-45 age group. Therefore is that your target.
Don't get me wrong here because a lot of these gals are message carriers to those that follow them.
Facebook is general however the younger brigade has found more interesting sand pits in which to play, It is so yesterday Dad.
There are general rules to niche marketing however only experimentation will find your true arena of results.
You must hit it hard and often to sink into the minds of your audience and get them to take action. Can you push too hard? Not likely but can you be too reticent? Absolutely.
Your cost is in time and that may be outsourced or packaged into the future.
My summary on this is that not own media that meets your objective is destructive to your future.
Inexpensive marketing ideas for small businesses with email
Email Marketing is still number one
If you are not sure about email marketing you have not looked at your inbox today. Yes, it is filled with marketing in many ways and that is because it gets results.
Sending emails is almost costless yet so many of us fail to use it properly.
When someone sends me an email inquiry I immediately respond by email and continue to do so until we have a result.
I will use my database and extract a small niche to send an email to ask for a response.
Plus I use an Autoresponder to create a sales channel for those that just wander in looking for information.
We all use email the only question is do we use it effectively.
Seven truths behind email marketing
SMS marketing gets instant results
The best thing about SMS marketing is that the results are generally instant. The question is not tucked away for another day like an email it requires action.
Is it good? Then reply if not delete, pretty simple stuff.
The great part of this is that you can test market a small section of your base and analyse the results.
If it does not work change the message until it does and then go hell for leather knowing you will get a return on your investment.
Inexpensive marketing ideas for small businesses with training
Instore training
When I wrote this heading I had a single destination in mind. However, when I re-read it we found it important enough to break it into two parts.
Customer service
More people than ever now vote with their feet. They believe that the customer is always right and wants to be treated like that.
We can long argue this point and have all wanted to tell a persnickety person to go to a new location. You may be very correct however you will lose not one customer but the ten they tell.
When customers are expensive to get they are also costly to lose.
Both my wife and I had a very average experience with a local Health provider.
This is interesting because this business has marketing skills working well. They do everything correctly to be a stand-out leader in our area except for one thing.
They fail to make us feel important.
The main competition however is a failure at marketing, has no idea whatsoever even though I have tried to counsel him on the basics.
He is far too busy looking after his clients to waste time on marketing.
A family member just today said she was going to the first offer because of convenience. This was even after her Doctor had recommended the latter as the best choice.
The marketing nearly took the day until she asked our advice.
Customer service won over marketing in this case proving its importance.
Make sure your staff is trained to look after the customer and treat them like they are important because they are.
Instore training for customers
This is inviting a group of customers into your premises to market to them. It may be unveiling something new, Showing the benefits of a product, or just a breakfast meeting to chat about the market.
Including your customers in your focus builds bonding that lasts forever.
This has very little cost associated with it however it can result in great sales volume for now and into the future.
We recently bought a new Sewing Machine at an indoor demo. It was promoted by the newsletter and we were given times. dates and location.
Along I trudged as an obedient husband to watch the demo and carry out the new machine because I got a great deal with benefits.
Conclusion
It is all about touch, as often and consistently as you can displaying your brand and showing them that you care.
Of course, there are many other ways of doing this however I have picked ideas that cost little and gain much.
It is a competitive world and the internet has made it cheaper and easier to win the market.
However it must be done, if they are not being touched by you it is by someone else and you will be the loser.
If I have encouraged you to up the ante in some small way I have done my job.
Inexpensive marketing ideas small business by Peter Hanley
