Are you looking to market your company with a limited budget? If you don’t have a lot to spend, don’t worry, there are plenty of budget-conscious marketing tips and tactics that can help you achieve your 2014 goals!
Tip #1 – Focus on a target audience
Identifying a target market is at the core of any successful marketing strategy, but it’s extra important for businesses with smaller budgets and no room for error. By purchasing media and determining keywords that you know will help you reach your target audience and developing a message and voice that will resonate with them; you’ll be making the most of your marketing budget.
Tip #2 – Stay consistent
Imagine how a child would feel if after three weeks of finding chocolates in an advent calendar, they opened the cardboard door on December 22, and the candy wasn’t there. They’d be devastated! Have you considered how your community may feel if you stop showing up in their inbox or news feed? Consistency in your target audience outreach is imperative. Many businesses start out with wonderful goals of sending quarterly email newsletters or daily Facebook updates but give up when things get busy or when writer’s block sets in. If your marketing strategy lacks consistency, you will find your audience’s growth to be minimal.
Tip #3 – Keep an eye on social media activity
It is likely your customers are having forthright conversations about your services or products on your social media pages. Even if you’re not doing daily updates, it’s important to keep up with your Page’s notifications and threads. By monitoring these conversations, you’ll learn what you’re doing right and wrong. It’s an effective way to collect basic customer research. You’ll also have the opportunity to remedy any mistakes or misunderstandings.
Tip #4 – Sign up for free online marketing
Be sure to take advantage of free online marketing such as a Google Places account. A Google Places account will allow you to list your business’ address, phone number, web URL, and a description of services. You can even upload a photo or logo.
Tip #5 – Create a blog
All businesses – from tanning salons to manufacturing companies – can benefit from a blog. Businesses that integrate a blog into their website typically see significantly increased monthly traffic – and with the right content, increased traffic should turn into more sales leads and eventually increased customers and revenue. If you do create a blog for your company, be sure to host the blog on your domain name (i.e., domain.com/blog) and consistently upload quality, well-written content.
Tip #6 – Reward loyalty
A loyalty rewards program creates a beneficial and engaging brand experience for customers. And with today’s technology, carrying out a loyalty program has never been easier. There are apps that allow for smartphones to be used in place of printed loyalty cards as well as apps that can send rewards directly to a customer’s debit or credit card account.
Tip #7 – Create a referral program
Referrals are an incredibly important marketing tool. There are countless ways to generate referrals, but most successful programs typically present some sort of value to both the customer providing the referral as well as the potential customer receiving the referral.
Tip #8 – Use Facebook Insights
Before starting a campaign, contest, or giveaway on Facebook, make sure your posting schedule aligns with the best post days and times. You’ll be able to determine these through the data provided within your Business Page’s Insights.
Tip #9 – Keep it family-focused
Recent studies have shown that deals or products benefiting entire families tend see an increased amount of consumer attention. This trend can be spotted in many resorts’ and car manufacturers’ marketing messaging.
Tip #10 – Use email signatures to sell
Attach a promotional message or deal as well as the company’s web address to all employees’ standard email signatures.
What cost-effective marketing tactics have you found to be the most successful for your business?
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