Congratulations! You made the right choice in quitting from that awful job of yours. Now, it’s your time to shine by establishing your own business and carve your own future. No more bosses; you are your own boss. No more sticking to a marketing plan that you know doesn’t work; you now have the freedom to exercise your creativity. No more overtimes; you dictate your own working schedule.
As you may have known already, to let your business fly off the shelf, you need to market your product or service. But that is where the problem is. To reach out to your audience, you need to have a vast amount of money, something that you can’t cover with your limited final paycheck and meagre savings combined. Should you throw your dream out of the window because of this obstacle? No, you don’t have to. See, you can effectively develop and implement a high-impact marketing plan without having to have a treasure chest. No, I’m not talking about television ads, shiny brochures, or flash-enabled sites that will suck up your budget. Here are a few ways on optimising your marketing plan without having to spend a fortune:
1. Use the Internet
Today, the Internet is the most powerful advertising medium that has a worldwide reach. Use it to your advantage by developing a simple website or blog that markets your product or services. Share your site, offers, promos, etc. in Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, and other social media sites. Participate in forums that revolve around your niche and offer your solutions. The Internet is your best friend in low-cost advertising.
2. Piggyback
If you have the opportunity, be a part of the marketing scheme of a bigger company to save money, time, and effort. For example, if a large company is planning a major contest, approach the company and offer a few of your products as prizes for their contest. In exchange, your business will be included in their advertising campaign for the promo. That’s a win-win deal, isn’t it?
3. Target the right audience
For a high-impact, low-budget advertising plan to work effectively, you need to target a specific customer niche. Targeting the mass market, on the other hand, not only will cost you a lot but it will most likely be a hit-or-miss thing. For example, if you are selling your services as a guide, then reach out to tourists who have a knack for thrill and adventure without minding the inconveniences in the outdoors. Targeting all kinds of tourists will be ineffective due to the higher cost in reaching out a large market.
4. Engage in a joint venture
Take the opportunity to forge an alliance with another company. Joint ventures allow you to decrease costs while creating new markets and distribution opportunities. Let’s say you want to market your services as a dog trainer. You can have a joint venture with a local pet shop. The joint venture may entail you training pets that people bought at the pet shop. You may charge a discounted fee for such pet buyers.
5. Maximise your referrals
It is important to offer your customers the best products and services that you can offer. That’s because satisfied customers will begin telling others about how great your business is. Remember word-of-mouth is a very powerful and effective way of advertising.
These are just some of the high-impact, low-cost marketing strategies that are proven to work for small businesses. Try them and experience a boost in business.
