Marketing Tips For Business

Marketing is expensive. There’s no getting around that fact.

Undeniable fact number two: Marketing is also necessary.

If you would like your B2B business to grow, you absolutely got to invest in marketing it in how. Word of mouth is great, after all, but it’s often not enough on its own. Even if it might be eventually, you would like tons of momentum and tons of consumers for word of mouth to be significant enough to be sending you the amount of new customers that you need.

This poses a challenge for small businesses that are on a shoestring budget, which many are. It costs tons to work a business and since of the worth tags and therefore the overwhelming number of options that it involves, marketing is usually what finishes up getting skipped.

The good news is, we’ve got the solution, and in this post, we’re going to take a look at 8 different small business marketing tips to help you get the results you want without breaking the bank.

1. Always Carry Business Cards
Business cards offer you a fast thanks to exchange information and that they can lend some credibility and professionalism, too. You can meet potential clients, vendors, or maybe employees just about anywhere, so you would like to be prepared.

I can’t tell how many times I’ve been out somewhere and meet someone who needs a copywriter or content marketer, but I can tell you that my business cards have paid for themselves many times over. I always have a couple of stashed in my purse because I’m often introduced at get-togethers to people as “she ghostwrites books” or “she blogs for a living,” and lots of small business owners will find that the same will be true for them.

People ask about what I do, and about 10% of the time they’re in a position where they need a content marketer/copywriter/editor. I give them my card, and they get in touch within a few days.


2. Network
This ties during a lot with the card strategy, but it works online and face to face. Leverage your network for all it’s worth (without being obnoxious) and you’ll see far better results.

Your network already knows and hopefully trusts you. Reaching out and letting them know that your business is open and what you can do for them is all that’s needed. This can be effective albeit it’s one Facebook post letting your friends realize your goods and services.

People who know you most are going to be presumably to see it out and that they may even tag a number of their friends who need the services you offer. There’s an enormous audience out there who needs your services, after all, and a recommendation from a lover can assist you to find one another.

It’s also good to network within industry groups. I’m in a large number of groups for writers and there are groups like this for every industry. Make yourself known in them, albeit they’re online—participate, ask questions, and answer questions, too. People often refer work and clients to every other in these groups, so making yourself a standout and building relationships there are often invaluable.

3. Offer Incentives for Referrals
Notice that I don’t say “start a referral program.” It’s the same kind of idea, but my phrasing is intentional here. Most small businesses don’t have the money to set up an expensive online referral system with custom links and tracking and automatic payouts.

Instead, you can let your current clients know that if they send you a referral that turns into a customer, you’ll give them 10% off your next invoice. I offer this to my clients when I’m actively taking on new clients and I always make sure to send out email reminders of this perk if my schedule is looking a little slow. I even send the emails to past clients who haven’t hired me in a while and the discount (and just getting in touch) would often result in them hiring me for another project.

Referrals from clients will offer you warm, qualified leads. These leads will know what to expect from you and your clients won’t send them your way knowing they’d be a nightmare client or on too tight of a budget to be able to afford you.

4. Work With Other Small Businesses
Partnering up with other small businesses—officially or unofficially—is a great way to go. This could be a vendor, but it could even be other businesses in complementary industries that share an audience with you. For brick-and-mortar businesses, this would probably mean sticking to other businesses nearby.

5. Start Writing
Content marketing is mostly free (unless you outsource it) and it allows you to rank for more keywords, keep your site content fresh, establish expertise, and offer valuable information to your target audience. It also shows that your business is actively up and running to new customers—which is always a plus—and that you’re invested in them.

Your on-site blog should be updated consistently and regularly. Blog posts should have a goal in mind, like getting users to subscribe to your email list or get in touch with you to ask about a product or service mentioned in the post.

Conclusion
Marketing is important if you would like your business to survive, including growth, but that doesn’t mean it must break the bank. These small business marketing tips can help you to actively invest in your business so you can get the most out of any budget that you have available.

I’ve personally used each of these strategies to get my business off the ground when it was new and I was pretty much broke, so I can speak to their effectiveness. Back the following pointers up with great products or services and you’ll see growth before you recognize it.