No bucks? No problem!
Many small businesses shy away from marketing as they think it will cost big bucks – but you don’t always need to spend thousands on marketing to find clients.
If you have a smaller budget to play with or need to be smart with your money while you grow, here are some free or super low-cost marketing ideas you can implement right now…
1. The Collab – FREE!
Do you know other local businesses who share your ideal clients and are aligned with your values? Shout them coffee and brainstorm ways you can combine your services to provide even more value to clients. You could even find ways to get access to their clients, and vise-versa, that makes what you both offer even more amazing and accessible to your audience!
2. The Nurture – FREE!
Do you have a database? The most under-used marketing option is sending an offer or upsell to your past/existing customers. Have they just bought from you? Send them an offer or upgrade to another service that would be of benefit to them. They might not know you do it and it could really help them out – and all it takes is a short, sharp, targeted email!
3. Get Social – FREE!
Join 2-3 FB groups that are relevant to your industry or where your customers hang out and start to interact. In my hometown, we have ‘Perth Girlbosses’ and ‘Women in Business Perth’ – so just search Facebook for groups like these for your own target audience. If you are showing up in the group and offering value (don’t just sell!), people will slowly start to get to know, like and trust you, and that leads to sales!
4. Networking – FREE or cheap.
It might be scary and out of your comfort zone, but networking is an AMAZING way to meet collab partners, build your confidence and create relationships with potential customers. There are heaps of networking options around, such as BNI or more casual events on meetup.com. Or, if you’re feeling brave, organise something yourself through one of those FB groups you just joined!
5. The Meet-n-Greet – FREE!
Do you work from an office or have a physical premise? Get out and introduce yourself to the businesses around you – being neighbourly can lead to all kinds of opportunities. Even if you work from home, find some local businesses who look after your potential customers and walk in, introduce yourself and see if there could be a collaboration in your future. Remember to ask them about THEMselves, because that builds rapport 10 times faster than only talking about YOURself.
Building your business is all about being proactive and thinking outside the box – comment and share your own ideas or strategies you have used that worked for your biz!
