4 Inexpensive Marketing Methods For Small Businesses

Before you start marketing your products or services, carefully consider who your ideal audience is. This will help you target all of your efforts more effectively from the beginning. There are several different ways to identify your target audiences. One such method is using NPS software to track surveys and questionnaires. From here you need only decide what you want to do and how. Let’s talk about some inexpensive marketing methods for small businesses you can implement right away. 

Old-School Printed Posters and Flyers

Using printed posters has always been one of the least expensive ways to get noticed as a business. They work especially well when you’re advertising locally and know where to find your ideal customers. Think about how bands plaster their posters all over a particular area of town to advertise an upcoming show. It’s also a good idea to leave flyers at local businesses if they allow you to. This not only works but it helps to solidify brand recognition.

Ideally, you want it to catch their attention quickly with a catchphrase and bright colors. Highlight the services or products that you’re offering and your contact information. Offering discounts, coupons, and freebies are always an attractive way of enticing customers and having a successful marketing campaign.

Referral Incentives 

Having a good solid referral network can be truly invaluable to a business. Referrals bring new customers/clients that you may not have reached otherwise.  You can sweeten the pot by offering your current customer base incentives for referring their friends and family. Offer discounts, commissions, or special packages for those who help you grow your business.

Follow Up 

Having a strong advertising campaign in place secures customers, however, what you offer after a service or sale can be an equally powerful marketing tool. Make sure to follow up with your customers after a purchase, whether it’s to give them the opportunity to review your business or simply thank them and make sure all is well. Here are some sample questions to ask: 

• Why did they choose you? 
• Where did they hear about you? 
• Where else did they consider? 
• What did they find satisfactory about your product or service? 
• What didn’t they find satisfactory about your product or service?
• Would they use you again?  

Giving customers a voice makes them feel good about their purchase and helps you to be a better business. Make sure you have a plan of action in place for any bad review and always make sure you deal with them and don’t ignore them. Bad news travels faster than good. 

Utilize the Internet Fully

We’ve all come to know that the internet is one of the fastest and easiest ways to reach a broad audience. Thanks to advances in technology, people are now using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on a daily basis to stay in touch with their customer base and find new business.

At the very least, you’ll want to have a business website as a hub for potential customers to find you and see what you’re about. I highly recommend offering articles and blogs that focus on tips, problem-solving, and events surrounding your business.

Of course, in addition to a website, small businesses need to build up an online presence. This is done with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. If you aren’t sure how to get started with social media, there is an abundance of social media management companies and freelancers who specialize in this area. Make sure you speak with them in-depth about your mission and the target audience you are aiming for.