Start-ups are hard. At an early age, you give up your time and leave your friends. Most importantly, family, you give less time to them. You may have to quit your job for success in entrepreneurship. You may have to invest all your savings and experience to build a company for your prosperous future.
Every startup’s success is based upon its “Marketing Strategy”. A little over half of surveyed SME’s in the US reported having a formal marketing strategy in their businesses. Most budgets were invested in social media promotions, followed by public relations and displaying ads.
Here are 5 “Low-Budget” marketing tactics that will boost your start-up sales and result in a high Return on Investment.
Referral Engine
We all love it when people work for us and we sit back and relax. Guess what, we can do it in marketing as well. Create such a system that encourages your customers to do marketing for your business. Even in these high-tech times, we trust our friends and family more than any other thing. This powerful technique generally is knows as Word of mouth
It doesn’t cost much. It all depends on how you structure your system. Giving discounts, cash rewards, product trails, or special treatment at your business place. All weigh-in for this engine to develop. In a survey in 2020, out of total respondents about 81% showed their willingness to receive discounts. Encouraging Signs!
Social Media Campaign
The reach and frequency of social media is way more than the traditional marketing mediums. You can’t just casually conduct a social media campaign. But its totally free. You can start by building profiles on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other available platforms. Reach your audience, flesh out your content, and stay connected. Study in 2015, highlighted importance of social media practices in SME.
Personal Branding
You’re the face of your start-up. Brand yourself in the marketplace. It’s just like corporate branding. Build your brand in the market. Advertise yourself and promote your product/services across all available sources of advertisement.
Among the 7 P’s of marketing, People is an important one. People trust the person behind operations. People involved in providing services have a major/significant influence towards the aceptance of the service bt customer.
Content Marketing
Content marketing doesn’t requrie significant amount of investment. It takes many forms. An on-site blog is its simplest form. Add content and information on weekly basis to keep your target market interested and updated. Updating and optimizing your site will attract prospects in the long run. Videos, podcast all are part of content marketing. It all helps your brand to grow and multiple your customers.
Promotional Ads
Abit of traditional marketing tools can help promote your brand. Give out brocuhers in your local community. Standees and banners in rushy areas to attract customer and enhance your brand’s recall ability. Ads in local radio stations and Local TV stations will be a great help as well if you have sufficient funds. A study revealed that higher the advertisement, higher the sales volume.
Conclusion
For attaining best possible results, you need to focus on what works for your business. There are different ways to achieve your desired objectives. You, as an entrepreneur must make a combination of impactful and cost effective tactics. Remember, your marketing activities are as good as your goals. “We are choices. Build yourself a great story.” Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.
