Marketing can be a pain, especially for small businesses. But it’s also essential to a successful business. So how can you market your company on a budget?

1) Back to Basics- What do you want to achieve? Make sure your objectives are clear. Target the right people in the right way to maximise your results. Focus on your customers and their needs so that your service satisfies their requirements.

2) Get Listed-Get your business in a directory like the Yellow Pages or a local business directory. When you advertise in a directory, be clever with what you say about yourself. Look at what’s already there, what’s eye-catching and effective, and what’s not.

3) DIY PR- You may not be able to afford a full service PR agency, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid PR altogether. You can write your own PR by publishing news stories sent to your local newspaper or business magazine.

4) Creativity-Creative services don’t have to cost you the earth. You can easily find businesses that specialise in promoting smaller companies in the Yellow Pages or such. These are usually cheaper and more flexible than larger agencies. You could also try sharing the costs and ideas with other companies in your area that you don’t compete for business with. Any publications you apply to will help you create your advert if you supply them with a logo and the wording you have drafted, at no extra cost.

5) Improve your Website- This can be vital, and only costs a few hundred pounds. A company website is also generally expected these days. However, you must keep your site up-to-date so that your customers don’t get confused and frustrated.

6) Stay in Touch-Emails and newsletters are a good way to remind your customers you are still there and gives you chance to promote new products. But be aware of recent spamming laws and only contact customers by email if they have given you permission to.

7) Word of Mouth- Offer customers incentives to recommend friends. Send out referral forms with delivery invoices to make it easy for your customers to recommend you. On the referral, include positive quotes from existing customers.

8) Try Something New-The internet is probably the best way to go to try something new, but because the web is so big, you need to do something to make yourself stand out. Pay-per-click on a search engine may be an idea– each time someone clicks on your link on a search engine’s site you pay a tiny price to the engine. This will target those looking for specifically what you offer.

9) Show Off- Trading exhibitions can provide somewhere to meet customers and clients face-to-face and check out your competition. You can also see what works and what doesn’t for similar companies so you don’t make the same mistakes.

10) Learn From Past Mistakes-What have you used previously? What worked well, and what went horribly wrong? Go from there

What Do You Think?

Comment here.

Our Random Articles

• Small businesses plan staff cuts in early 2012
• Unemployment rise – what does this mean for small businesses?
• The Mary Portas Review
• Experts Warn Small Firms of the Need to be More Aware of IT Security Risks
• SMEs Unprepared for New Pension Reforms

More Links