I don’t agree that the saying “you get what you pay for” applies to advertising. Some advertising is ridiculously expensive and is not all that helpful. It is important to get all you can out of what you spend. Sometimes it will take some work as well. You can pay people to do a lot of things but you have to do some things on your own.
If yours is a big business and you have little time and money that you can easily shovel away, then these are definitely some marketing strategies that you can use. However, if you are just beginning in your own business or are a small business person with limited resources to spend on marketing your business then you need to think of ways to pump up your business without pumping out the money. The following are some great advertising ideas that don’t have to cost you a fortune.
A referral can be very good for marketing. You have someone who knows your business and is happy with the way things are run. They could bring new people in to try you out. This works great for a gym type of place. If a paying customer brings in a friend to try the place out then they could get a percentage off of their monthly enrollment fee. If that person signs up then they could get a bigger discount or have the chance to get one of your services for free, like a pedicure or spa treatment. This would be very motivational.
Name recognition goes a long way in reaching people too. To do this you have to put your name out in the world. A sign for your business is important. I remember seeing interstate highway signs for businesses that turned out to be surprisingly small compared to the number of signs they put out. I know of a place that traded pizza for the ability to place a sign in a persons yard at a busy crossroads. Don’t forget using giveaways. Have some shirts and hats or even mugs made up for your business. Give one to every person that spends money with you.
Try an open House: Invite members of the community to come into your business during off hours. Serve refreshments, they attract people whether coffee and cakes or a BBQ dinner. You can even offer free giveaways or promotions. Flyers are an inexpensive way to get peoples attention without paying a fortune. You can get someone from your business or a local teen to place the flyers on vehicles or to hang them on doors in the town surrounding your business. Even paying someone to do this will cost much less than a bulk mailing will.
If you want promotional gifts to give to customers, that is thoughtful business. A favorite is custom shirts with whatever awesome design that you like.