What does a company do when they have very little money for marketing or advertising? Beyond hiring an affordable specialist like Purple Diamond to coach your company through the marketing and advertising maze of options, the first thing a business owner must know is what their product or service is, who the right target market is for this product and what budget do they have to work with.
TIPS:
*Attend business networking groups [join the local chamber if your budget allows and be active on committees and attend events].
*Seek out free business help and mentors in your area.
*Print-up tons of business cards [both sided….it costs pennies to add another message to the backside of your card] and give people more than one card and ask them to give it to someone who could use your services.
*Make sure you use an email signature and it has ALL your contact info and a tag-line where you promote your brand or tell of a special offer. Have an active link in your signature to your website! Use this signature ALWAYS!
* Hand-out flyers and post them on Bulletin Boards where they allow flyers to be posted. Give extra flyers to family and friends about your services in case they have opportunity to hand them out or display them at work.
*Email ready to print press releases about your business. [Contact the papers and other publications in your area to find out who the contact person is, what format to type the press release in and try to connect with someone on that staff so you have a better chance to get your press release in the newspaper.]
*Reach out to local colleges, business groups and chambers to lecture about your expertise in business.
*Put magnetic signs on your car promoting your business.
*Create an internet presence. Have your own company website and blog. Make sure you list your site and have a profile on the many on-line networking sites so that it links back to your business website. Many on-line sites offer affordable web templates that will save you money on design and hosting services for your site. Take advantage of the free social media sites that will help you to draw attention to your business like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
*No money to have a table at a business expo? Walk the floor with plenty of business cards and connect with someone at each booth if possible. Follow-up with them either by phone, mail or email and create the connection back to the business expo.
*Encourage customers to sign-up for your email newsletters and special offers. Use an email newsletter hosting company that will offer easy to use newsletter template designs and provide the opt-in link for your home page of your website and a way for members on your list to opt-out of the newsletter if they no longer wish to receive it. A company can harm their on-line reputation by emailing people without their permission which is known as SPAMMING and potentially lose clients and potential clients.
*Always thank your clients for being a client and ask for referrals. And, refer business to others when possible!
*Word of Mouth Advertising! Make sure you contact everyone you know and tell them that you now have a business. This is where connecting with old friends and family on Facebook will help.
*Make time for one on ones where you learn about someone else’s business and they learn about yours.
*Never buy rate card for your advertising and don’t jump at every advertising sales rep that walks in the door promising great results.
*Cut the size of your ad, but be sure to get ATTENTION within the ad.
*Create a clever tag line to brand on all marketing materials and be sure to use it at networking events! My tag-line is “Success wears the Purple Diamond!” This immediately tells my clients that I am focused on making them successful in business.
*Create a MARKETING THINK GROUP with employees, friends, family who know your product and can help to come up with creative marketing ideas
*Create a Client Questionnaire and learn the pros and cons of your service or product so you can compete in the market place. Never be afraid to ask the tough questions and find out the areas you need to improve in. This will help you to retain your existing clients and discover why others may not be doing business with you.
*Promotional Product is your silent salesman! Make it something they will keep.
*Stay positive! No matter what is happening behind the scenes at your business, always smile and stay positive. People worry about doing business with struggling companies because they may not be around if there is a problem with the product later. Lead by example. If you believe in your product…..others will follow! 🙂
