Make It Cost-Effective: 6 Ways To Market Your Business The Affordable Way

Dixie Somers

February 21, 2014

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In these times of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to market your business as economically as possible. Businesses that are able to stretch their marketing budgets will be able to more effectively reach customers, giving themselves the best chance for success. In order to use effective marketing tactics and make your money stretch as far as possible, it will take a little creativity. However, there are plenty of cheap (and even free) marketing strategies that will give you the recognition you want at the price you want. Here is a look at six cost-effective ways you can market your business.

Create a Strong Network

When it comes to marketing yourself and your business, networking is a fast, efficient way to get your name out there without spending anything. Networking with members of your community doesn’t require anything other than time. With networking, there is no capital investment required, and you never know when someone you meet during your networking will place an order that will change your business. Look for networking opportunities within your community so you can get to know other local business owners, and make connections that will help put your business on the map. If networking opportunities in your area are scarce, consider hosting your own activity or even that is open to businesses in the community.

Utilize Social Media

In the 21st century, there is no substitute for social networking to reach a large audience for almost no cost. You should create social media accounts for your business across multiple platforms if you haven't already. However, creating the accounts isn't enough. To use social media as an effective marketing tool, you need to actively use these profiles to interact with both existing and potential customers. Make sure to update as frequently as possible to keep your name fresh in your customers’ minds. Hold contests on Facebook, or make company announcements on Twitter. Feature your new products in Instagram posts, or create a fun series of videos on YouTube. Respond to all comments on your pages, and make sure you respectfully interact with other users. In many cases, if you don't exist on social media, you don't exist at all, so take advantage of this free tool that will get you noticed in the online community.

Sponsor a Local Sports Team

Sponsorship can get pricey, but if you're a new business, it's great to start small. It doesn’t take a huge investment for your company to sponsor a local sports team whether it be a high school team, or even a popular little-league team in the area. Getting your name on their team uniforms is a very effective means of getting exposure in your local community. Not only will it expose the community to your name and logo, but it will show that you are the type of company that supports your local community and you care about other organizations in the area. Sponsoring a team will earn you big points with parents in the community, and will be a great way to build brand recognition.

Have an Open House

If your business is relatively new, it is worth the investment to have a grand opening party, or an open house once the business gets running. It doesn’t take a lot of money to have a barbecue, hire some face painters and blow up some balloons to create an open house that will bring people in. Once you get people in the door with an exciting event like this, you will find that your business gets a real boost. A one-time event like an open house can help put your business on the map so that people know where you are and what you do. And again, throwing a community event will not only get you some nice publicity, but it will show people that you are a company that cares about the community—this will score you huge brownie points.

The Power of Coupons

There is nothing like a discount to attract customers. Many businesses mistakenly think that distributing coupons will cost them money. In fact, your company will profit on every sale even with the markdown taken into account. The trick is that the coupons will drum up enough business to make a huge profit even with the discount. If you plan to do discounts and coupons, you need to make sure they are well publicized and promoted so that it is worth your time. If done the right way, the use of coupons can be a cost-effective way to market your company.

Get Customers on the Mailing List

Make sure to try your best to get every customer who buys from you on your physical and email mailing lists. You will be surprised at how much business you can drum up from simply offering deals to people who sign up for your mailing list. The great thing about getting email addresses is that it provides a free way to contact your customers about sales, deals, new products, etc. If you can build relationships with your customers before you start an email campaign, they will be more likely to pay attention when they get an email from you instead of filtering or deleting your emails. Take time to design and format your emails (or physical mail materials) so that they are eye-catching for your customers. It does you no good to have home or email addresses if everything you send customers doesn't look like anything special and gets thrown in the trash (digitally or literally.)

The key to succeeding in business is to keep customer traffic steady. When you utilize these six low-cost marketing methods, you will have no trouble attracting business. Make sure to constantly change things up and add new methods of marketing so you don't get lost among the millions of marketing campaigns out there. As you attract more customers, your business will grow, and you'll have a larger budget for marketing. But for the time being, take advantage of these low-cost options that can still earn you the type of recognition you need to get your business off the ground. Information for this article was provided by the financial experts of Checks Superstore who provide custom checks for businesses and individuals.