Only two-thirds of businesses end up making it past 2 years after setting up while only one-third of them survive 10 years. Now you wouldn’t want your business to face a bad fate.
At the same time, you need to keep an eye on your budget and make sure that you don’t run out of money while trying to sustain your business.
Every business needs marketing, be it a small one or a big one. Make note of one thing, your marketing skills are the key to making you go big from small.
According to research, while 627,000 business open up year, there are 595,000 of them that shut down. If you compare the numbers, the number of new businesses in the industry is still greater.
You know what this means? More competition.
To remain a significant part of the business market, you need to make yourself seen and heard. In short, you need a strong customer base.
Source: Blue Corona
As you can see, the main concern for majority of the businesses is to find customers. Without them, your businesses would just collapse!
Making this possible means you need to invest in marketing techniques. They don’t need to be a burden on your pocket necessarily but need to complete their job: attract customers!
Now you must think that good marketing requires a hefty budget but this is really not the case. You can keep it simple and cheap while targeting your audience.
You can start off with the basic marketing for business which will be plain and common but can be used to work your magic on the right audience.
Text message marketing
Bulk texting or mass text messages have become a pretty common marketing method in the business industry. So much so, even big businesses still tend to use this technique despite having the pockets for various other methods.
Text messages have a high opening rate of 98% and they are normally opened within a time span of 3 minutes by the recipients. These statistics make them a convenient option especially for those businesses that are on a budget constraint.
Sending out mass text messages to customers and potential clients turns out to be a cheaper option and is preferred by small and new businesses.
Moreover, the method is quick and effective as well. However, it is on you to develop the strategy to attract customers to your business.
With the help of a professional marketing team, you can use this method and gain attention in no time. All you require is a service provider and a number to start sending out mass text messages to market for your business.
Email Marketing Still Exists
To those who think that e-mails have been pushed out the limelight as a marketing technique, they are very much wrong.
For businesses who wish to keep a professional front with their customers, email marketing is the way to go.
Source: Oberlo
As the picture above shows, the number of people opting for emails is increasing rather than decreasing. This overrides the thought that people are growing out of emails and using other forms of communication.
Email marketing campaigns have been effective for businesses and tend to remain a cheap option for those that are new in the market.
The most important aspect that you can’t ignore about email marketing is that it is a far reaching method while being light on the pocket. It is similar to text message marketing but has a more professional touch to it along with a required connection to the internet.
You just need to draft an email and send it to the recipients. That is all the time and effort it requires from your end.
But if you are a business looking to standout while keeping your budget on the minimum, you can give your marketing emails a personal touch.
This means that you can address the customers by their name or attach personal content for them only that will make them feel unique. It is the special treatment after all that customers seek from businesses.
Source: LYFE Marketing
You can initiate subscriptions for your web page and business using this marketing strategy. Sending out newsletters and offers of subscriptions through emails have been a common way of getting people to subscribe.
Offers and promotions can also be sent to customers via emails. A constant reminder of such offers is bound to attract attention and give a boost to sales.
Start Publishing Blogs
Blog content has gained popularity especially in the younger generation. 57% of the businesses and companies who use blogging as a marketing technique claim that their customers increased because of it.
Blogging is a pretty simple marketing method which is inexpensive yet effective in its own way. A business looking for a way to increase brand awareness and targeting the audience should opt for this option.
The art of blogging is that it works on developing a relationship between you and your customers.
Through words and a light conversational tone, you can attract customers for your business while gaining their trust as well. All you need to do is initiate a blogging page and start writing.
Source: HostPapa Blog
Blog marketing is a part of influencer marketing and as you can see, the interest in influencer marketing has risen by more than 90 times. This means that people tend to look at blogs more and read up on businesses.
Your blog should have updated information that people can read easily and should have a tone that makes it sound more like a conversation rather than boring information.
You can start your blog on your own webpage to start getting attention. You just need great content and constant updates. After that, you’re good to go!
Increase Social Media Activity
You can’t possibly think of marketing without the use of social media these days. It is that one digital platform that is bound to get your business the attention it needs.
Currently, more than 50 million small businesses that use Facebook as a platform to market themselves. This number shows that businesses can target their audience effectively using this social media website.
Source: Smart Insights
The image above gives us a better view of how social media has impacted people globally. The penetration rate of social media is 42% and continues to grow as people continue to join social media sites.
Facebook is just one of these sites. Instagram and Twitter along with many others are also a great source of marketing for businesses.
Small and new businesses have the option for Facebook advertisements which have become a part of the marketing trend recently. Pop up advertisements on Facebook while scrolling down the newsfeed are the perfect way to get attention from users.
All you need to do is pay an amount to the website and start advertising yourself to the public. But make sure that your advertisements end up standing out from those of your competitors.
Get Customers to Give Referrals
Customer referrals play a very important role in marketing. If others see that your customers are satisfied and happy with your services, they are more likely to opt for your products.
Source: Referral Rock
The statistics above show that customers believe in referrals and their purchases rely on them significantly. If you heard bad reviews about a restaurant from your close friends, I doubt you’d end up going there.
The same case applies to businesses where people will ask around and see what people have to say about a certain brand or business.
You can ask your customers to leave their reviews on your website or page. To incentivize them, offer them special discounts if they refer more customers to you.
Printing brochures is not Old School
As weird as it sounds to print brochures for a business, it really hasn’t gotten that old yet. Brochures and notices are print media which means that they can visually and physically get the attention of people.
If you set up a new business and want people around you to know about it, then handing out brochures can really help.
It is a cheap and common form of marketing that has been getting attention from people. Many businesses continue to use this method along with others because of its cheap price and the support it provides to other marketing methods.
Brochures aren’t just cool for concerts and school plays but can really market your business if used smartly.
Start Your Own Website
Having a website for a business is now necessary since this is where people can really get to know about your business.
Source: Solutions Resource
Creating a website for your business is no big deal and can be done easily. You just need a creative marketing team and attractive content for your business and you will be good to go!
If you’re a business that wants to start online retail, you can initiate it from your website where people can directly place orders and you can get them delivered.
With the help of a website, you can also promote your Facebook page, your blogs and your overall business. Customers can leave their reviews on your website which have a very important role to play in marketing.
70% to 80% of customers end up researching a business before making a purchase which is why a website can be a real game changer for you. You can start showing up in Google search engine and other places if your website and business start doing really well.
This option is cheap but requires regular updating about information and content since people are always looking for something new around the corner. Invest in this marketing technique and see where it takes you.
Conclusion
Businesses always need to play smart especially when it comes to marketing for themselves. Many new businesses need to continue promoting until a solid number of customers have been gained.
A common belief that we all have is that the expensive stuff is better than the cheap stuff. This is just a myth.
It is up to you and how you choose to market yourself while remaining on a budget since technology has made it simple and quick for businesses to market themselves without attaching a hefty price tag.
With so many marketing options available in the market and a customer base that is accessible through all strategies, marketing for businesses has now become easier to do so.
If you want the basic stuff, you can start off from a Facebook page and text message marketing. However, the best marketing strategy comes when you mix and apply different methods.
You can’t rely on one marketing technique and expect your business to boom. You need to play smart and see what kind of strategies fit your business best and can target the right kind of audience for you.
Don’t let others tell you that marketing can’t be done while staying on a budget because these multiple options just proved to you that it very much can be!