Every business owner wants the same thing – to run a successful and profitable business. But for small businesses running on a tight budget, owner-managers have to be extra imaginative with their marketing efforts in order to make some noise and get noticed.
The good news is that not every effective marketing technique requires a big budget. Even with a limited budget and resources, there are ways to raise your company’s profile, maximize your credibility and make sure your company is top-of-mind among customers and potential customers.
With that, we offer three tried-and-true low-cost marketing tips that will ultimately help you build your business.
Network. Network. Network. Most small-to-mid size businesses get the majority of their business through word-of-mouth. And the only way this happens is if you get out there and meet people often. Choose your network well and plan to meet with this group at least once a month. Also plan to go to a networking-type event (e.g. a conference or a workshop) at least once a month to expand your network.
Say hello to your contacts. Put your contact database to work by doing e-marketing. Sending out newsletters or eblasts on a regular basis reminds your customers, past customers and potential customers that you’re still alive and well. Just make sure that you’re being CASL compliant when you do so. (Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry, we can help.)
Breathe new life into your website. Freshening up your website with new content and images also shows that you’re alive and well. Sign up for base Google Analytics (it’s free!) to see what’s working on your website – or more importantly to see what’s not working so that you can change it. SEO is also important. By taking the time to optimize your content for the search engines, you’ll be able to increase awareness and drive traffic to your website organically rather than by buying online ads.
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective – what it does require to achieve your goals is a bit of planning and the time and effort.
