As a small business it’s understandable that you may be keeping your purse’s drawstrings rather tight. Unfortunately, marketing campaigns tend to cost money – even if you know you’re going to see a return on investment you still need to have the cash on hand to pay for it in the first place. For that reason, many small businesses avoid marketing campaigns in favour of protecting their cash flow.
Luckily, there are a bunch of low/no-cost options that can help you market your business, especially in the digital space. If you’re looking for ways you can capitalise without smashing the piggy bank, read on:
Email Marketing – If you’re a small business and you have a small list of customer details – let’s say under 1000 entries – you can upload this list into a service like Mailchimp and start basic email marketing campaigns without it costing you a cent. Email marketing is a simple yet effective way to reengage past customers and we would strongly recommend every business finds a way to incorporate email marketing into their sales process.
Create a Google My Business listing – This should have been one of the first things you did when your business opened, but if you haven’t, it’s never too late. Google My Business listings give your potential customers all they need to know about you and is a great place for you to pop news, offers and updates and have them easily found. It’s completely free, and there is one more advantage too…
Take advantage of offers – If you’ve got a Google My Business listing but no Google Ads account, Google will probably send you an introductory offer at some point to entice you onto the platform, and these can run anywhere up to $150 of free credit. This is a great opportunity for you to test the Google Ads platform without denting your finances, and if you achieve some sales, now you’ve got a new channel to take advantage of!
Turn your customers into your advocates – Here’s some interesting stats for you: customers referred by a friend are 3-4 times more likely to buy, and 67% of potential customers are more likely to buy a product that they have seen family or friends using on social media. Offer existing customers a free service or some other type of reward for referrals and you’ll soon have a team of brand ambassadors making your job much easier.
Hopefully these tips help you achieve business success – and ADhesive are always here to help and offer advice based on whatever budget you can afford. If you would like to organise a chat, get in touch!
