Tip For A New Small Business …. Free (or Low Cost) Marketing Ideas

I don’t believe it is impossible to succeed in business without an advertising and marketing budget. How much you need to spend will depend on your business and your industry. If you are a retail shop then a certain amount of advertising will be necessary, perhaps. If you are a service business, you may need to spend some money on marketing.

In the construction industry, for example, you are likely to know people in the industry before you start your own business, and a few telephone calls to a few acquaintances may be all that is necessary to get the ball rolling. After that maintaining contact with as many industry people as possible could get you all you the business you want.

In fact, I would encourage a small business, regardless of the amount of money they have available, to leverage their friends, family and acquaintances. Make a list of everyone you know (or, more importantly, who knows you), call these people and ask for their help – tell them briefly about your business (in no more than 20 seconds) and ask them who they know who could help you get started or expand. Ask your friend to speak to their friend and tell them something about you, then call your friend’s friend and ask *them* if they know someone who could help you.

As long as you are asking for help, you are likely to get help. Start selling and trying to get an order and people clam up. That sort of thing makes it a cold call and people don’t like cold calls these days. But ask for their help and people are less likely to blow you off. If they can help you, they wll pass you on. If they want what you have to offerf, they will tell you, “Hey! I need some of that. Come and see me!”

I guess you could call it networking – I call it leveraging.

Here’s some other simple ideas ……….

* Good Base Materials (business cards, brochures, flyers, website) are the first thing I would invest in.

* Then Public Relations (Press Releases & Other Media Marketing, local Chamber of Commerce, community events/activities)

* Establishing great lead generation (special reports, listbuilding, customer referral programs)

For most small businesses these activities can be done for relatively low cost …. and can create enough of a return to start costlier marketing efforts.

For example ……

1. Business Cards – To get 250 or 500 business cards, even if they are just black and white with your name and address and business details, should cost less then $50. Give them to everyone you meet. If you think that someone you meet may know someone who needs your services …. then give them two and ask that they pass it on to someone else who they think may need your services.

2. Flyers – If this seems like a suitable means of advertising for your business it can be done for very little. Copies can be had for about 6cents a page or less, in black and white. So for 500 A4 flyers this is $30. Or do A5 and get twice as many for half the price. Getting them into mailboxes or hung on doors is another thing. But sometimes you need to invest a little time to get some return. Later on it may be smarter to pay someone else to drop them off. But if you are really scrapping for dollars …. doing it yourself is low cost.

3. Public Notice boards – Many shopping center’s have public notice boards. Some require that you use provided cards to write your message on. Others allow whatever to be put up. While sometimes they start to look messy, it can be a way to get your name out a little more.

4. Classifieds – Often it can be quite expensive to buy display ad space in newspapers. However placing a classified add can be relatively cheap. Most papers have a section that has business categories, and you can advertise in the most relevant category. It is lower cost, and you may be advertising alongside other people in the same type of business, but I think the response to a lot of classifieds are pot luck mostly anyway.

5. Adwords – While many people do send hundreds or thousands of dollars per day on adwords marketing, It is by far the lowest cost way to get into search results (admittedly to the side and not always at the top) and take advnatage of online markets. But if you have a fairly low competition market, spending $1 per day at 9cents a click is hardly going to kill you. That is just $30 per month, assuming that you use the full $1 budget each day.

6. Joint Ventures (partnering) – A small business could also partner with other small businesses. For example, a retail store could partner with two of their business neighbors. They could promote a special event together in the local newspaper. Say a 1/4 page ad costs $300 and they want to run the ad for three days prior to the big event. If one business were to do this it would cost them $900 but by partnering with the other two businesses it only costs each business $300. This would get them three days worth of ads at the cost of just one day …. and their event becomes even bigger by being part of a multi-store event potentially drawing in the other stores customers as well as their own.

7. Creative Marketing – Take full advantage of YouTube and start your own very free and very noticeable viral marketing campaign. All you need is the default Windows Movie Maker, perhaps a few sound clips of yourself (or video clips) talking about your business and images that give the viewer a proper and clear visual as to what you are trying to sell, promote, etc. Having a few of your blogging friends add your logo or banner to their website wouldn’t hurt, either, that way two or three keywords pertaining to your business could be added to their site header making their blog show up in more results, meaning your ad would be given a wider audience. Everyone wins. Search the web for radio stations that only broadcast online, and check out how much they charge for advertising plugs on-air.

8. Give-Aways – T-shirts, buttons, magnets, mugs, bumper stickers, car door magnets and anything that the average person uses daily is another great way to promote. Spend a small part of your budget on any of the above and hand them out for free. You’ll be remembered for it, and gain profits.

What’s the best free or low cost marketing approach (OK … in my opinion)?

The best and cheapest way to market a business is to use ones existing customers fully …. simply give them a “How’s things?” call every other month or two and you’ll be surprised at how much extra business this generates.

You should also ask all customers …. once you have fulfilled your promises to them …. for a couple of referrals. Ensure that they are good referrals and you’re closing average will be above average.

Here is a real world example of one small businnesses experience ……

My wife needed some work done on her car but didn’t want to pay the high price quoted at the local dealer or garage. She was out running some errands and happened to pick up one of those “Thrifty Nickle” weeklys at the mall. You know those publications that advertise local businesses.

She found an ad in there for “JB’s Auto Services”. She called him up and “JB” came right to the house and fixed her car … at a price she did somersaults over. JB has even found me broken down on the freeway and got me back on “my wheels”. He’s come to our house many times, found me on the freeway, gone to my daughter’s college campus, caught up with my son’s car in the parking lot at his work, and lots of other “going out of his way to take care of us”. I could tell you a ton of stories where JB saved the day. Service, service, service … caring about us and the situation. Doing whatever it takes to get things right … at a cost much less than what it was really worth (in both quality and customer service).

JB now has his own garage and still will come to wherever we are with his “mechanic on wheels van”. If he can’t fix it onsite … he now takes it to his very own garage. He gets the parts at best price, arranges for state inspections, works with insurance companies (if necessary … do you have kids? LOL), and basically does everything soup to nuts … at all hours of the day and night. Plus … with a smile, a chuckle, a hug, and a “God Bless”.

Needless to say we’ve referred probably 15-20 “new customers” to JB ourselves. Plus each of our friends has probably referred 5-10 apiece. That’s just us and our experience too.

So from that one little ad in the Thrifty Nickle (which we found out later JB ran for only 1 day) … we found our own personal “mechanic with a heart”. Now JB has his own shop and a ton of referal clients just from us and our friends. We also have a good friend who is more than just “our car guy”. He’s become very popular in our community and his business is booming. More than enough work to keep him VERY busy..

Moral of the story … from little acorns grow big trees. You can start small … and no telling what you’ll grow into.

About the Author

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications …. and author ofBroadband Nation. Michael also authors Small Business Resources Cafe with resources, tools, tips, & insights for small businesses. The Cafe is always open. So …. grab a cup of Joe & sit awhile!

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How to Use Tradeshow Gimmicks to Build your Business Big!

People attend industry tradeshows for numerous reasons. Whether you go and set up as an exhibitor or sign up to visit the vendors, everyone has their own motives for checking out the show. Interestingly enough, some individuals just want to get away from the office for a while and make it a “working†vacation! This is true for exhibitors as well as buyers, either way it becomes a business write off!!

I’ve attended industry shows as a buyer and as an exhibitor off and on over the last twenty years. In the beginning most of my focus was towards the Awards & Engraving arena. Through the years it became quite obvious that this was a rather small industry, as compared to some “sister†type industries such as; screen printing, apparel or sign business type shows. A great deal of my time over the last decade has been spent exhibiting in the larger arenas.

As an exhibitor, I’ve had several different outcomes in mind while at the show; including building from those experiences once back at the home office. Seems as if I’ve done it all at one time or another. Heck, one year I even dressed up as “Logo Man†(a take off of Batman), wore the cape and the whole nine yards! All this to stir up interest in our newest software release titled, LogoBahn. It was the hottest thing around and won first place that year for best technology development!

Now I’m not suggesting you need to dress up in some goofy outfit in order to have a successful tradeshow but I do encourage you to think outside the box. One year our company joined forces with four other well know businesses. We called ourselves the Texas Connection, appropriately named due to our companies were all located in the state of Texas. We placed advertisements in popular industry magazines, informing of our FREE GRAND PRIZE give away, at the next Las Vegas International Tradeshow. In addition to the space ads, each company sent out two post card mailings prior to the show date. We set up a “punch card†to be handed out to each registered individual as they entered the tradeshow exhibit hall.

Each of us had a special die punch with different emblems. We utilized this punch card to indicate that an individual had physically stopped by our booth. Once a person had all five company marks punched, they would then drop it into a centrally located hopper (raffle bin). On the last day of the show just before the end of the day, we gathered around to draw out the winning attendee’s card. It was a smash hit, a true winner for all five of us as exhibiter’s in many different ways.

Our grand prize that year was a big screen TV costing around $1500. This was a small price to pay considering we shared in the purchase of the television set. We were at the forefront of peoples mind long after the show had ended and many asked what we were going to be giving away at the next event!

Here’s the real beauty of the whole deal. As I mentioned earlier there are several different outcomes each exhibitor has while attending an industry tradeshow. Too many in fact to cover in this one article but I want to share one of the better results we experienced as a company. It’s so cool and tailor made for anyone in sales to implement this concept in your business. Whether you are selling a product line or a service this gives you a great follow up plan, as well as a great lead in for your sales force.

Here it is! Remember the punch card each individual was required to have marked by the participating exhibitors? Well, once they approach your booth and ask for their card to be punched, hand them ANOTHER CARD to be filled in while they are getting their card marked by you. It’s a good idea to have another incentive to benefit the person filling out the additional card. Something small, keep it simple. We used an additional giveaway item of our own. A portable DVD player, at the time was only $40 and we shipped it to our winning visitor (or handed it to them if they were present). A mini raffle of our own!

This accomplishes two specific things:

1 – They are held “captive†in front of you to fill out their information, allowing you time to “pitch†your deal to them. Other wise, they will simply get their card punched and move on down the aisle!

2 – This “other card†will now become your personal LEAD CARD to return back to the home office. You can ask pertinent information on this lead card to enable your sales people to target the specific needs of each individual.

Example:

If your item is a software program, you may need to know certain “facts†before pitching your product. Facts such as, what type of computer is used, what version of operating system, email address, do you have a website, do you use any other type of drawing software, if so what kind, etc.

The options are truly endless and become a valuable source of knowledge for your sales team. Imagine this, now instead of waiting on the tradeshow organization to send you the show attendee’s list or print out the “standard†name, address, zip, phone, etc information. You now have specific FACT FINDING answers to your need to know questions without having to call and ask over the phone. Your sales people are truly armed with solid info that allows the to build rapport with their prospects. Making the “sales call†a much warmer, more friendly invitation to your newfound friend.

Remember, no one likes to be sold but we all like to buy. It’s been reported that people prefer to buy from a friend and NOT a stranger. These types of fact-finding questions create great lead-ins, enabling you to get from stranger to friend much faster. Let’s face it, when you call on a prospect and you all ready having working knowledge of who they are, what they are doing and how they may be doing it … it simply makes them feel more comfortable. Not your typical sales call!

We all know most people buy on emotion and later back it up with logic. Think about it, what about that last car you bought? Did you have to have the leather seats with the automatic windows and door locks? Not to mention the DVD player and the navigation system! Okay, Okay … I realize you’re the exception, that’s why I wrote … MOST PEOPLE.

I trust this article will benefit those of you who exhibit at tradeshows. The above ideas are just a few that we’ve experienced over the years and found to have successful results. I titled this article with the word “gimmicks†in it, not necessarily implying these are gimmicks but rather “nifty ideas†in order to create a more successful outcome from your next tradeshow.

About the Author

Aubrey Richardson is the founder of LogoFax one of the largest and fastest growing Logos & Clip Art sites online.

Additionally, Aubrey has created Internet-Based-Business-Opportunity Get this: Over $225,000 added to your bottom line and 4,120 people added to your downline in just 14 months is phenomenal! Moreover, this 25-yr old “unknown” rookie network marketer claims he can show any knuckle-head how to repeat his results and thousands already agree. Guess what? If *you* don’t agree that his SYSTEM is the quickest and laziest way to build your network marketing business, then you get double your money back!! Is this guy stupid or just plain brave? Find out for yourself, go here now => Aubrey Richardson

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