Every small business owner understands that to grow market share requires a proactive marketing plan and strategy. Unfortunately, running a small business can be extremely time-consuming, not to mention a drain on a company’s business capital and resources. Sometimes it’s hard enough just finding any profit after paying employees, meeting day-to-day operating expenses, and paying suppliers and creditors. Given the lack of available funds, are there some strategies that small businesses can adopt that will maximize their small marketing budgets? More importantly, when small businesses need to enact a marketing plan, but lack the funds, what can they do to get the ball rolling?
There are a number of cost-effective marketing solutions for small business owners looking to maximize their marketing budget and increase their marketing ROI (return on investment). In fact, a number of these approaches require no financial outlay whatsoever. Granted, their reach may be minimal at first, but combined, these marketing approaches can indeed lay the foundation for increasing the company’s market presence. Interested in knowing what these approaches are?
1. Trade magazines & Publications
We’ll start this list with a simple marketing approach that costs absolutely nothing at all. Industry and market trade magazines and publications are fantastic resources to secure free marketing. Most industry trade magazines allow companies to write articles and documents on recent events within their industry.
Small businesses are able to appear as experts in their field and can use these published articles as promotional material on their small business website, blog or customer newsletter. In a number of instances, these trade magazines will even allow the small business to include information on a new product development. Writing these trade magazine articles is a solid marketing tool for small business owners that produces fantastic results, and requires no investment at all.
2. Adopt Inbound Marketing Approaches
Within the world of marketing, there are outbound marketing approaches and inbound marketing approaches. You’re likely more familiar with outbound marketing approaches, where companies use billboards, radio, print, TV and magazine advertisements in order to reach their audience. In this case, outbound marketing approaches are predicated on looking for customers and hoping the advertisement piques their interest. Unfortunately, the financial outlay to make these approaches work, are often out of the reach for small business owners. However, inbound marketing is essentially online marketing and its costs are nowhere near as expensive. In fact, in almost every instance, the costs to run an effective online marketing campaign are virtually nonexistent.
Having a company blog or website is a fantastic way to have customers search for your business, rather than to search for them. The focus must be on matching those keywords within your website and blog’s content that describe your company, its location and its services. In addition, there are a myriad of content providers online that will allow your company to submit content about your company, its approaches and your expertise. You can funnel all interested parties directly to your company’s website or blog.
SMS marketing is simply mobile phone marketing and it’s fast becoming a dominant player in marketing approaches for all companies, regardless of size. SMS refers to “short message service” and the general consumer might recognize it as “texting”. However, mobile marketing isn’t merely sending out random texts. Mobile marketing allows small businesses to remain in constant touch with their customers by delivering a number of different advertisements.
Mobile marketing boasts a vast array of marketing techniques including text messages, visual advertisements and voice advertisements. Some mobile marketing plans have an incredible 90% open rate. Today’s consumer is dialed in like never before. A number of small businesses use mobile marketing to deliver clear and concise marketing messages about upcoming events, discounts, promotions, new product introductions and account statements. It’s inexpensive, impactful, and a great way for small businesses to keep their company in touch with their customer base.
4. Links with Local Chamber of Commerce Websites & Blogs
One impactful way to promote your company’s website or blog, within your local market, is to secure a link with your town’s chamber of commerce website. To improve upon this, securing a link with a local consumer advocacy group website is another way to get your company out in front of customers. It works because it provides instant credibility for those customers who are unsure of what your business is and what it can offer.
A number of small businesses take this one step further by securing links to complementary businesses in their local market. When potential customers search online, they use keywords that are focused on their location and the type of product or service they need. In some cases, they’ll go directly to your town’s chamber of commerce website. Having that link is guaranteed to produce results.
5. Social Media Sites
Granted, it's difficult for small businesses to create the necessary "buzz" online through a company Facebook page or other social media site. However, this doesn't mean it can't be done, or that small businesses can't benefit from locating those areas where customers congregate online. To this extent, small business must understand the social media influences of their customers and where they go. This is especially true for B2C (business to consumer) sales.
Even for B2B sales, there are always social media sites where professionals and like minded individuals gather. Sites such as Linkedin and others offer all sorts of business professionals a place to go and meet, develop networks and gain insight into business practices. Understand the social media influences of the company's customer base, and get found.
The above video explains inbound versus outbound marketing and is from the post: Sample Marketing Budget Excel Sheet: Graph & Pie-Chart of Expenditures
When it comes to small business marketing, your company doesn’t have to spend large amounts of money. The fact is, a number of small businesses have solid marketing plans with small marketing budgets. The approach is to increase market share over time and use the increased sales to invest in more marketing plans.
Small business owners must start small and work towards larger budgets by increasing their market presence. A number of companies use these four approaches and combine their efforts with online social networking sites like Facebook. However, your small business doesn’t have to spend lavishly on marketing in order to increase its market share.
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