In the current economy everyone is looking to save some money, but the marketing budget is one of the worst things a business can cut in a downturn. It’s tough to spend on advertising though when other bills are getting harder to pay. Well here are four ways you can market your business for cheap or free, so save some bucks while reaching as many potential customers as possible!
1) Have A Contest
Everybody loves a contest and they’re a great way to gain visibility. Give away a product or a service of your own, or partner with another business that complements yours. This is a great way to come up with an even better prize package without blowing your own budget, plus you get more help spreading the word.
2) Help Your Customers Save
Most everyone is concerned about saving money these days. Promote your most inexpensive products, or find a way to repackage some of your best selling products or services so that perhaps they don’t include as many bells and whistles, but you can afford to sell them for less.
3) Provide A Guarantee
It’s especially important these days when so many people are watching their money so carefully to help your customers feel more comfortable about buying from you. Give them a satisfaction guarantee or warranty of some sort so your customers will know that you stand behind your products. Keep in mind that although there are some folks out there that might try to take advantage of extended money back guarantees, it could be even more harmful (and costly) for you if an angry customer went online and started bad mouthing you in chat rooms, forums and online reviews. So why not do what you can in advance to keep your customers happy?
4) Be Sociable
Popular sites like Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed are good for more than just socializing with your friends and family. These sites can help you reach millions of potential customers for free! Use these tools along with other social media like blogs to provide tips and information of use to your target market to help expand the reach of your business. You don’t have to spend all of your time tweeting or blogging, but be sure to be consistent. Don’t tweet 10 times one day and then skip a couple. Update your blog or Facebook page at least once a week, and if you decide to Twitter as well, then plan to tweet at least once a day.
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