Marketing is the path to success for virtually all businesses. The proper marketing ideas can, on occasion, influence a run-of-the-mill product to perform better than a superior one. Large organizations can devote a ton of cash and staff to creating blockbuster showcasing for their items, but small- and medium-sized organizations don’t have the luxury of allocating a large amount of money to marketing. There are some things that can be done to improve marketing results, even when working on a tight budget.
Jose Duarte, a businessman and entrepreneur from Costa Rica, has learned how to use several tricks to make a business successful without a major marketing budget. There are a number of examples, and he offers some of those that have provided the best results.
Be unique. Take your signal from huge sponsors and brands and discover something that sets you apart from competitors. Use this distinction to promote the difference, as well as the business. It could be something as simple as a motto, a major difference in the offerings or even a perceived difference.
Adjust advertisements, flyers and pitches for various market segments. Explains Duarte, “In the event that your marketing includes conferences or seminars and you want more attention from female customers, ensure that your promotional material includes pictures of women. If it’s in the budget, create two versions of flyers – one that portrays females and one that portrays both males and females.”
Approach your current clients for referrals. Referrals are extraordinary compared to other sources of business. A referral gives a specific level of trust in your business, making it simpler to convert a potential customer to a definite customer. You should also consider compensating them somehow for referrals.
Get engaged with social media. Ask customers which social media platforms they regularly participate in and then spend some time each day participating in those that are most popular with your customer base.
Content marketing is essentially distributing data to intrigue potential clients in your services, products and your company. “The goal of content marketing, as it is with any type of marketing, is to create sales,” says Duarte. “However, content marketing doesn’t come across as being a sales pitch. It provides helpful, and sometimes entertaining, information that can win over customers.” Examples of content marketing are videos, images, blog posts, infographics or similar offerings. The content should always be published where the customers are most likely to come across it.
Send email to your clients. Plan frequently scheduled messages furnishing your clients with coupons and uncommon offers, item tips, accommodating clues for enhancing their business or their own lives, or other data that will enable them to recollect you and visit your store or site once more. There are a number of inexpensive services, such as Constant Contact or MailChimp, that make managing email campaigns extremely easy.
Another popular option is content giveaways. These are freebies that offer instructional or how-to material, product tips, forms or other information that potential customers will find useful. They can be made on your PC and distributed online, which will keep publishing and distribution costs to a minimum. To request the information, ensure that the prospects are required to fill out a short form with limited personal data – name, location and email address will be enough. Once the form is completed and submitted, they receive the information and you receive a new contact for your email marketing campaigns.
Take a few minutes and create ads that can be put in weekly shopping guides or classified sections of newspapers. Many publishers will offer discounts that allow the business to advertise both online and in print.
“One option that has been exceptionally successful to me,” says Duarte, “is the giveaway. Give customers who make a purchase over a certain amount an additional item. If you’re offering a service, give them a gift when they sign a contract with you.”
Be proactive and be steady. You didn’t figure out how to ride a bike when you were a kid by contemplating how to ride a bike. You went out and tried and tried again until you figured out how to balance yourself. After that, you were able to gather speed. Marketing works the same way – entrepreneurs must keep going until they find the solution that works best for them. At that point, they must continue to market, even if the business is a success.
“The most important tip,” asserts Duarte, “is to begin today. Create a list of marketing ideas and include some of the ones included here. Incorporate your own, as well as some others that you may have come across. Start putting them to use one at a time and try to attack one new idea each week. If you find one that works for you, keep it. If one doesn’t, discard it. You will then have a tested marketing plan that will help your business grow.”