For a small business owner, having a big marketing budget is out of the question. Having to meet payroll every month and, and having the cash necessary to cover accounts payable, is already a feat in itself.
For many small business owners, their ability to do their online marketing is closely tied to the amount of money they can spend. It also plays an important role in its execution. Online marketing can be done well without breaking your finances.
Here are some of the best options you have to list and promote your business and start building that relationship you need to keep and attract customers.
- Website – Start by having a website that shows what your business does. Simplicity is a good thing when you start with a website that will promote your business, upcoming events or news in the future.
- Google My Business – can allow you to post what’s new in your business, add photos and lets you start building a relationship with your new and existing customers. It’s a free Google listing that will show your business to people searching for your business or business related to yours.
- Social Media – There are many social media platforms that you can use to promote your business for free. Try to do it free but if you are able to afford it, pay to advertise locally first and see how the experiment goes. You can always take the advertising nationally if that’s what you need later on.
- Content – Quality, tailored content that speaks about and for your business is a great way to promote it. Keep the content relevant, and fresh. Articles that have been posted two or three years ago and are still showing on your website is a sure way to lose prospective customers.
- Word of Mouth and Customer Service – Businesses that are local and rely on local customers to prosper, can take advantage of their location by providing excellent customer service to their customers. Word of mouth is a powerful advertising component that many businesses can use to advertise without spending a penny.
- Consistency – Consistency is not something you can buy, but if you don’t have the consistency to do your marketing on a regular basis, it doesn’t matter how much you are spending on advertising or other venues to promote your business. The marketing has to start with you, be constant.
A good business with a good product still needs to advertise. Perhaps the product will sell itself — eventually — but the business has to promote it to introduce it to their customers or prospective customers.
A marketing strategy that works for a business does not necessarily mean it will work for you. Marketing can be a very specific strategy for a specific industry. Trying a strategic marketing idea to gauge the ROI for your business can be a very first good step, but remember your business does not be married to it. Explore other ideas or other strategies and choose the one that you think is the best solution.
