Having the resources to implement 101 marketing strategies would be any business owners dream but the problem is, very few have a big enough budget. Particularly when just starting out when cash is usually hard to come by.
You CAN however advertise & sell your products & services without having to sell the house.
“But how?” I hear you say.
You really do not need 101 marketing strategies. You just need a couple of well proven, low cost options to give your business a boost.
First off, get yourself a marketing budget… even a small one will do! If you are a small business owner, you really do need one if you want to be successful. Before you start searching for marketing strategies, you should create a budget that is practical & workable.
If you only have access to $ 100 per month, then create a $ 100 a month budget. You then know how much you can invest on promotions without causing too much stress on the business.
Whether you wish to invest $ 100 a month or $ 20,000 a month on marketing, a well thought out & planned approach will help you avoid those “absolutely never to be repeated, too good to miss” marketing opportunities. “You know the ones I mean”
And… even if you did implement 101 marketing strategies only a percenatge would be successful. Some strategies simply work better for some business than others. The trick is to keep testing & measuring the results so you know absolutely for sure what works for your business & what doesn’t.
Find the methods that work best for your type of business, stick with them & forget the rest. When your budget is finally in place, research as many strategies as you can, that you think will work for your business. Have a think about who you ideal customers are and how to reach them.
Perhaps you can reach your potential customers through direct mail, classified ads in a newspaper, magazine ads, or even online advertising. Whatever methods you use, be sure to test various ads, headlines, sales letters, etc. to find what brings the most response.
Track down some online companies and/or local business to form strategic alliances (joint ventures) with. A strategic alliance is where you enter into an agreement with another company to promote each others products and services. The only proviso being that you share similar customer profiles, but you are NOT competitors.
If you are just starting up & do not have a customer base, you can still work with other companies (that are NOT competitors) & pay them a commission for any referrals or sales that they pass on. For an online situation, you can establish an affiliate program and reward other online business for any leads or sales they initiate.
A proportion of the 101 marketing strategies are going to be expensive so you really do need to research the low cost options. If you are considering classified advertising in a newspaper or other publications, ask about multiple as discounts. You may get a pleasant surprise if you present longer commitment.
If online, there are always businesses happy to allow other businesses to advertise in their e-zines, email responders & banner ads. Seek out those that compliment your business but do NOT compete with it.
You need to contact the web master or editor & simply ask the question. You may well receive a pleasant surprise at how cost effective this option is.
And then there’s the internet… you simply cannot ignore this giant. Online or offline, a selection of the 101 marketing strategies will work just as well. In fact, some work better online than offline.
Consider building a website even if you are a local business. Regardless of where your customers are, they will still search for your products & services and find you and even place orders
A website will not only increase the credibility of your company it will also improve your image and show the world that you and your business are up there with the best of them. Another major benefit of building a website is that you can place very small (and therefore very cheap) ads in newspapers, trade publications, etc and direct the readers to your site.
You can then present literally hundreds of pages of products & services which can be changed & updated at any time. You can offer special deals & discounts to collect email addresses and set up an automatic email responder sequence to keep in touch with your customers for ongoing enticements & loyalty deals.
For about $ 40 per month max, you can have as many offers, pages & specials as you wish. Where else can you have this amount of exposure for such a small amount of money? There is no doubt the Internet is the way of the future and perfectly suited to a vast number of marketing methods however, you really don’t need 101 marketing strategies to succeed.
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