Marketing is one of the most important business aspects. You can have the best product or service and the best customer support, but if no one knows about you, it will all be in vain. Marketing is the only way to make yourself known to your target audience and make them aware of your offers. What's more, if you don't focus your efforts on marketing, you'll lose customers to your competitors. However, small businesses usually struggle with finances and they oftentimes allocate fewer funds to marketing than needed.
Nevertheless, marketing doesn't have to take away the majority of your budget, in order to be effective. The fact of the matter is that you need to be creative and innovative with your spending, as well as choose the right channels for your marketing campaign. That way, you won't spend too much, but you'll be able to successfully spread the word about your business. Here are a few tips for optimizing your marketing budget.
Social Media Networks
Nowadays, social media networks are quite well-suited for businesses of all kinds. Even large enterprises leverage social media platforms to engage with their customers and promote their offers. For small businesses, social media is an ideal marketing channel, especially because it doesn't demand a hefty investment. You can promote your business to your target audience, and build relationships with them on a more personal level.
However, don't spend funds on building your presence on multiple channels. Instead, make sure that you focus your efforts on a social media platform that is the most suited for your business. That way, you'll slowly build your reputation and grow your customer base. You can expand your reach to other networks as you scale your business, but focus only on those that will bring value to your company. Moreover, you can invest in paid advertisements, such as Facebook Ads, if you want to achieve more exposure.
Be Useful to the Local Community
Small businesses lack the funds for large-scale marketing campaigns. Still, you have to start promoting your business somewhere. The best place to start is your local community. Marketing your business to people in your vicinity won't hurt your budget and you'll be able to find customers who will help you grow your business further.
Try involving yourself in some community work or organize a local event. That way, you can engage with the local consumers and effectively promote your business. You can invest in promotional items which you'll hand out as gifts. After all, such items don't cost too much, but they're a great way to raise awareness about your small business. As a matter of fact, 79% of people are more likely to do business with you after receiving a gift.
Leverage Social Media Influencers
Building a social presence is very important for every modern business. However, this activity takes time and effort before it bears fruit. You can boost your awareness though, by getting a social media influencer to help you out. The main reason is that social media affects people's purchasing decisions in many ways. Furthermore, influencers on social media are able to affect purchasing decisions and opinions of their followers. In fact, word-of-mouth recommendations from influencers can encourage around 50% of purchases.
What's more, people are generally looking for reviews and recommendations from others before they decide to do business with a brand. Having an influencer on your side won't hurt your marketing budget and it will help you boost awareness, as well as your social presence. Just make sure you find an influencer who is best suited to promote your business. In addition, make sure you create an awesome outreach that will convince an influencer to help you out.
Email Marketing
Email is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. As a matter of fact, email is 40 times more effective at attracting new leads than Facebook and Twitter combined. Moreover, you don't have to spend a fortune to have an effective email marketing campaign. In addition, email provides the highest ROI for marketers. For every $1 spent on email you can generate $38 worth of ROI (return on investment).
You can leverage email for your small business to generate leads and convert them into customers. Even a simple "welcome" email for subscribers generates 320% more revenue per email sent, than other promotional emails. Furthermore, email marketing allows you to implement personalization and customization to your messages, which will help convince leads to make the desired action.
Small businesses don't need to overspend on an effective marketing strategy. If you choose the right channels, you can make the most of the budget you have and successfully promote your business.
A digital marketer from Sydney. Works as a blogger, Senior Editor for Bizzmark blog and a lecturer at Melbourne University. Tweets industry related articles.
