Low Cost Tips for Advertising a Small Business
What are the Best Ways to Advertise a Business within a Budget?
Aug 30, 2009
As profit margins get squeezed and operating budgets get tighter, many small business owners struggle to put aside capital for their advertising initiatives. Knowing how to effectively advertise a business while staying within a limited budget is therefore a big plus, and it is all the more important at a time when consumer confidence and spending are weak.
But before considering any low-cost advertising strategies, small business owners must realize that in order to advertise with their budgets and to do it successfully, they will need to focus on a combination of advertising basics, creativity, and flexibility. If they handle their marketing initiatives properly they could also end up with a stronger business.
Here is a brief list of the best ways to advertise a small business while staying within a budget:
Know What Customers Want
This is step one in any marketing plan and it will help to avoid costly mistakes. Small business owners need to be in touch with the major shifts in consumer demand, attitudes, and behavior, and then do their best to align their businesses with these trends. Business owners should, for example, be aware of what customers are buying and then managing their inventory accordingly. They should be familiar with how customers are making purchases. Are they paying with cash or credit; are they looking for value or status; are they comparison shopping? With this information business owners can then plan a more targeted and efficient marketing strategy.
Promote a Developed and Clear Brand Image
The second step that small business owners must take is to define how their products and services differ from those of their competitors and to make sure that this distinction is promoted in their advertising.
Make Customer Service a Priority
One of the best forms of advertising is the word-of-mouth generated from good old-fashioned customer service. This means responding promptly to customer inquiries. Even if a business does not yet have an answer to a customer inquiry, representatives should try to acknowledge receiving a customer's e-mail or voice message within 24 hours, and inform the person that they are in the process of considering the matter. In addition, business owners should make it a point to reward repeat customers and make sure out-going correspondence is professional and relevant to the topic at hand.
Add a Personal Touch
As a follow-up to the focus on customer service, business owners can look for simple, low-cost ways to personally connect to their customers. Some examples include: handwritten notes, special "birthday coupons," personally targeted emails, and no-obligation follow-up phone calls. All of this can make a big impression on customers and can greatly increase word-of-mouth advertising.
Use Cheap, Non-traditional Advertising Mediums
Some examples include: body art (such as, hand stamps), logo projectors, and removable magnetic car signs.
Reach Out to the Community
There are many ways to be involved with the local community that can drum up business. For a clever example, consider the Verlo Mattress Man. Not only is this business owner spreading a lot of good will, it is a brilliant way of advertising his store. Other forms of community involvement include: hosting workshops or other small events that are open to the community or making it a business-wide project to get involved in local community service programs. Business owners should also not forget to promote these events by sending out press releases to the local paper or news agencies.
Keep in mind that there are two possible goals with this community strategy: to get customers in the door so that they will spend money and to create a positive association with the business in the minds of customers which could lead to sales later on.
Get Customers Involved
Business owners can give their customers an active role in promoting the business by, for example, requesting from customers their personal videos that show them using the business' products or giving them as a gift, and running contests for the best logo or T-shirt design or for the best commercial.
Invest in Focused, Online Advertising Strategies
By now most people have heard about the importance of having an optimized and well put together website and of taking advantage of social networking sites, such as Linkedin and Facebook. Many may have even heard about the benefits of writing articles for online publications. But before all of this, business owners should not forget to register their businesses with any online business and phone directories as well as Point of Interest service providers. A restaurant owner, for example, can ensure that someone doing an online search will find a listing for the business and maybe even a review.
In short, with a little effort and know-how, advertising a small business can be done effectively without costing a lot of money.
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