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Marketing Your Small Business on a Tattered Shoe String Budget
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In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to market your business. But, like the rest of us, you probably don’t have a lot of extra cash to devote to your marketing budget. Here are some tips and tricks that you can use to get your business more exposure without breaking the bank.
1. Network. In the 21st century, we have a plethora of networking opportunities all around us. Joining professional associations is always a good idea, but the membership dues can be pretty steep. Other options are your local Chamber of Commerce or Business Association. The dues are generally pretty low and most have complete business listings on the organization’s website. That’s one more way your website gets hits on the major search engines. Another really great way for in-person networking is to join a local service organization like Rotary, Lions, or Kiwanis clubs. You get the opportunity to network with other local business owners and managers while working on service projects that benefit your community and the world around us.
We also have lots of online networking communities to connect with potential customers. Sites like Linked In can help you reach contacts by linking to past and present business associates, co-workers, and classmates, who are in turn linked to other people. While I don’t recommend them for business networking, if you are using the more socially-oriented networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, be careful how you are presenting yourself. If you are using those sites to stay in touch with friends, it’s a good idea to make your profile available only to friends. If you want to use these sites for business connections, have a separate profile and keep it “clean” of applications, wall posts and comments from friends, etc.
2. Work the Phones and Pound the Pavement. Remember how businesses were marketed before the internet existed? Business owners or their sales people picked up the phone and called existing and potential clients to drum up business. They also made sales calls. You may be doing some of this already, but it’s time to step it up. It’s not necessary to purchase a phone or mailing list. Remember one of the benefits to joining your Chamber of Commerce or Business Association? Their membership list is right on their website, complete with contact names and phone numbers. So, start dialing and introduce yourself to your potential customers.
Face to face sales calls can also do a lot to build relationships. Think this is only important for Business to Business sales? Think again. Let’s say you have a retail shop in the Old Port. If the other businesses in the Old Port know who you are and what you sell, they’ll be far more likely to refer their customers to your shop. So, get out on the street and make an impression.
3. Partnerships. While you’re out talking to other business people, look for complementary businesses that you could partner with to offer specials to your customers. A few businesses that can combine forces to offer deals to customers (and mutual referrals) are restaurants and movie theaters, stationery stores and flower shops, copy shops and courier services, legal and accounting services, and the list goes on. Think about what products or services might complement what you offer and find someone to provide those services to your customers.
4. Google or Yahoo! Ads. On either Google or Yahoo!, you can have your company’s website appear at the top of the page under “sponsored” search results by bidding for the ad. You can bid as little as a penny to have a specific keyword or phrase bring your site to the ad block at the top of the search results. The highest bidder will be listed first. The best part is, you only pay for the ad when someone clicks the link to go to your site. Be sure that the keywords you are entering are a really good match for your business or you may end up paying for a lot of clicks from people looking for something very different.
There are lots of other ways to market your business without spending a lot of money. Be creative. Find innovative ways to get your business’s name and logo out into the marketplace. My sister, who is also a small business owner, sent me this quote yesterday: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”-Sun Tzu. What opportunities will you seize today?
For more info: Success! Starts Here
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