Making Life Easy with Low-Cost Marketing

One of largest expenses of running your business is promotion and advertising, especially for a new or small business. Making your business known in a community at the lowest possible cost can be tricky and time consuming. However, there are many ways a business can do this.

A pet breeder in a large city was struggling for several years-until he came up with a novel idea. He started giving away customized "birth certificates" for the pets he sold. Almost immediately, his sales rose more than 10 percent. Now you even see specialty stuffed animal stores offering "birth certificates" with the purchase of a lovable critter!

The owner of a new home cleaning service was trying to attract clients. She couldn't afford much advertising, so she began offering "home cleaning seminars" to civic groups. After two months of seminars, she was swamped with inquiries and clients. So what may have looked as though the seminar would detract from her business because of 'teaching others to do what she was doing", it did just the opposite!

Promotion often makes the critical difference between business success and failure. Customers or clients always want to know about a business or product line before they'll buy and they must have a reason or justify their emotional reaction to buy.

If you are trying to promote your business now, you can move in one of two directions: 1) You can take the conventional route to promotion and mount an elaborate media campaign, spending a considerable amount of money or 2) You can let your creative juices flow and mount a low-cost promotion effort, using a potpourri of attention-getting gimmicks to bring your message to the buying public.

Please remember, conventional advertising is valuable. If your business is large enough or if you're selling a large product line, you may find that a full-fledged media campaign is the most efficient and cost effective way to promote your business.

However, if money is tight or you're not sure you can afford the hefty cost of a media campaign over a period of time, here is a list of low-cost techniques you can try. (Caution: Do Not try to do them all...some are not appropriate for all types of businesses and it would be too costly to do them all. Find the ones that you think will work the best for you and give them a try.)

1. GIVEAWAYS: People love to receive "free" items, especially items they can use to gain knowledge or improve their lives. You can base an entire promotional campaign on this desire. For instance, if you're running a furniture repair business you could give away a furniture repair brochure, free furniture planning guides, or color swatches. Once you begin giving away authoritative information customers will begin to perceive you as an expert in your field.

2. NEWS CREATION: Want to get names and news from your business in the local newspaper? It may be easier that you think. If you don't have any news to report to the local media, create some. Maybe you've taken on a new associate. Or maybe you're selling an unusual product line. Or maybe you've opened a free advice center for the community. Or maybe you've received an award from a civic or professional group. Local Pennysavers and weekly are often quite interested in business news of this sort and can help you attract the attention of thousands of people.

Also, look what is happening in the news and run on the coat-tails of that. Such as, a new piece of jewelry you created would be perfect for the "grandma who has everything" for Mother's Day. Or say there was a terrible car accident that was caused by a teen who was texting on his cell phone and you invented a piece of software that parents can use to block cell and texting use in a moving car. It is certainly a tragedy, but your product would certainly be more "in demand" by parents!

Just keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities where your product /services could really help your customers. The best product is one that customers are in demand of "right now".

3. EVENTS: You may be able to attract the attention of the media or a crowd by staging a special promotional event. If you run a fitness classes, for instance, you could stage a celebrity instructor day. If you're promoting a new real estate business, you can offer tours of a model home in the area. If you're selling children's products and it's springtime, you can offer lunch with the Easter bunny. Get the idea?

4. CHARITY TIE-INS: Are you launching a new product? Trying to increase visibility among a particular segment of your community? Offer your product to one or more local charities as a raffle prize or for use at a fund raising event such as a silent auction. You'll receive lots of exposure among people who buy tickets or attend the event.

5. CONTESTS: Offer a desirable or unique item-or even several items-as contest prizes. First, find a contest theme that tiers into your business. A caterer might offer a quiche-eating contest. A photographer might offer a young model contest. A mail order craft firm might offer an "Early American" handicrafts contest. Invite contest submissions and offer prizes to the winners. Do contests attract attention? You bet. All it takes is a few signs, a small press announcement or two, and the word will spread throughout the community grapevine.

6. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Nothing brings you to the attention of the people faster-or more favorably-than community service. Ask yourself how your enterprise can be a "good neighbor" to your community. If you're running a lawn care and gardening service, perhaps you can offer one season's services at no charge to a needy charitable organization or nursing home in your area. Hundreds of people will hear about your work in the process. Volunteer for various community causes. If appropriate, you can step in during community emergency, offering products and services to help an organization or individuals in need.

7. COUPONING: Americans are very coupon-conscious. Test the market... what level of coupons will increase the volume of various product or service lines? When you get some tentative answers, start distributing coupons that offer a discount on your services. Distribute them to area newspapers, on store counters, in door-to-door- mail packets (which can often be quite inexpensive), at the public library, at laundromats, at any location where people congregate.

8. BADGES AND NOVELTIES: You can easily and inexpensively produce badges, bumper stickers, book covers, and other novelty items for distribution in your area. You can imprint your business name and the first names of the customers on many of these products at little cost and distribute them for free. Or you can tie your novelty program into a contest: once a month, you can offer a prize to any individual whose car happens to carry one of your bumper stickers or badges with peel-off coupons, redeemable at your place of business.

9. CELEBRITY VISITS: With a bit of persistence, you may be able to arrange to have a local media celebrity, public official, or entertainment personally-even a fictitious cartoon character or clown-visit your service. The celebrity can sign autographs, read stories to children, perform cooking demonstrations, or perform any one of a hundred other traffic-building activities.10. CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS: You'll probably want to celebrate major public holidays with special sales. But celebrate some of theoffbeat holidays as well. Almost every business has a few little-known holidays. Ever hear of National Pickle Day, for instance? Or Cat Lovers Month? Once you find the "right" holiday, you can sponsor a special sale or special product arrange special media coverage of a holiday event.

11. GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE: Can you open sales information booths at community fairs and festivals? This promotional technique can work for gift retailers, craftspeople, and personal service firms. If you have the people and the time, can you handle regional fairs or even trade shows?

12. MAILING LISTS: Once you begin establishing a committed clientele, (perhaps you have an "opt-in" box on your site to collect names and emails) gather their names on a mailing list and start emailing! It is free and a great way to remind people of your services and products!) Plus, save the names from your mail orders and telephone inquiries. Eventually, you'll be able to send product circulars or even catalogs to the folks on your list and you'll be able to promise your products by mail. (** the best customer is one who has already purchased something from you!**)
13. SCAVENGER HUNTS: If you want people to buy NOW, offer them an unbeatable deal. If they bring an old product-a small appliance, a book, whatever-to you, you'll give them a worthwhile discount on a comparable new item. Or stage a general purpose scavenger hunt. Customers who bring in three canned goods for your community's food bank will receive a discount on products purchased that day.

14. PARTIES: Everyone loves a party. Why not celebrate the anniversary of your business or some special holiday by offering baked goods and beverages? If you're running a service business, perhaps you can offer an open house or obtain a small banquet room in your community. Besides refreshments, be sure the place is brightly decorated.

15. GREETING CARDS: Do you send out greeting cards to major customers or clients? Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries make nicegreeting card occasions. Greeting cards create enormous goodwill and keep your name in front of people and associated you with a positive event or good feelings.

16. SEMINARS: In this information hungry age, people love to receive advice, especially about their personal needs and hobbies. If you sell health foods or run fitness classes, perhaps you can offer "wellness" seminars during lunchtime to your area's business community. If you're an interior decorator, perhaps you can offer one-hour decorating workshops to any group of ten people who will gather in someone's home. If you're running a printing business, perhaps you can offer tours and layout seminars at your plant.17. TELESEMINARS: Do you know what can align you with the experts? Interviewing the experts! For very low cost, you can invite an expert in your field to to an interview and record it and then write articles, press releases, etc. Customers automatically align you with experts when you are recorded with them.

18. TESTIMONIES: Has anyone ever given you a testimonial without even asking? Or even if you have asked for feedback about your product or services what your customers say about your product is almost more important to your potential customers than what you have to say.

Testimonials provide social proof and authority to your services and products. If you are looking to increase your targeted traffic or your exposure, increase your publicity efforts.

Advertise in the media if you can or must. But don't neglect your greatest promotional asset-your mind! Ask yourself what products, services, and events you can offer the community and create a promotional strategy around them. You'll have to invest a bit of time and energy in the project, but the payoff will be worth it.

You'll save hundreds-or even thousands-of advertising dollars and, better yet, you'll travel a well-worn shortcut to profit.You know your products and services better than anyone! With a little effort you can make a big stir and start branding who you are and what your product/service stands for.