Marketing Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank – Low Cost Marketing Ideas

The great thing about marketing today is that it’s no longer about how much you spend.  It’s more about clever ideas that can help you to stand out amongst your competitors.  Often the best ideas come from the smallest budgets because you’re forced to think beyond the norm.

Large and small businesses alike, the cost-of-living crisis is likely to have had an effect on your decision making. Whether that’s cutting marketing costs altogether or reassessing where your budget is going to generate the most positive return on investment.  Even if you’ve had to strip back your costs to the bare bones, we would encourage you to keep going with marketing activity in some form because it’s integral to your future growth.  If you don’t have much budget, the one thing you will need is time.

In this blog we wanted to share some of our ideas to help you create an impact in your marketplace at a relatively low cost.  

Partnership Marketing

We love nothing more than seeing complementary businesses come together in meaningful campaigns.  Whatever business you are in, there will always be other businesses that share your audience and your values, whilst offering a product or service that aligns with yours – without being in direct competition. 

These businesses already have a loyal customer base and established marketing channels, so why not work with them?  As an example, a catalogue-based business that sells outdoor plants could partner with a gardening brand that offers ancillary products like gardening tools.  They’re both targeting the same people, and a third- party endorsement to each of these loyal audiences will be invaluable. The partnership could involve joint product ranges, exclusive discounts and added value offers, a PR initiative, co-branded seasonal campaigns…The options are endless and are only limited by your imagination.  Marketing budgets can be as much as halved to achieve the same or greater results.

Public relations (PR)

PR is a huge opportunity to make an impact at little or no cost.  If you’re doing something innovative or have an exciting story to tell then the press can be your best friend, whether that’s locally or nationally.  

Even if you haven’t got a great story to tell now, you can build a campaign that will be of interest to the media.  Whether that’s creating a white paper with meaningful insights for your industry and distributing it to your industry press or doing a publicity ‘stunt’ that creates a buzz in your local area.  Whatever you do, you just need to ensure that it aligns with your business and your values.  As an example, if your business sells smoke alarms, you could partner with your local fire station to host a fire safety day for the local community.  

Don’t just send a press release and hope for the best, it’s always better to follow up with a phone call to build relationships with journalists.  

If you’re running a local event, you could even ask a local newspaper to get involved as the exclusive media partner.  PR can also include smaller community campaigns that don’t necessarily involve the media directly but can create a viral buzz.  If you are a florist you could leave small bunches of flowers in key places around your town, inviting local people to take them home and enjoy them.  If you run a bakery you could cakes to the doctors and nurses at your local hospital as a thank you for their service.

PR is all about building relationships with journalists and the public to get positive coverage for your business. This can be a great way to reach a large audience without spending a lot of money.

Social media

Social media is another great low-cost marketing tool. If you’re not doing it already, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the ideal way to connect with potential customers, share your content, and promote your products or services.  Join relevant online groups and get involved in the conversation.

When using social media for marketing, it’s important to be consistent and to post high-quality content. It’s also imperative that you interact with your followers and respond to their comments and questions.

Google My Business

An underutilised but invaluable tool is Google My Business.  Instead of just leaving your profile there to gather dust, use it in the same way you would any other social media platform – particularly as it’s completely free.  Encourage your customers to leave reviews, post your social media content in the updates, list all of your products and services…

Google use Google My Business as a way to identify active businesses so the more active you are, the more likely you are to rank higher in google searches.

Networking

Networking is a great way to meet potential customers and partners, and to learn about new business opportunities. There are plenty of free and low-cost networking events available, such as industry meetups, trade shows, and chamber of commerce meetings.

When you go networking turn up as yourself – genuine, friendly, approachable… People work with people they like and if they like you and need your product or service, they’re more likely to engage your services.

Recommendations

Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your business. When happy customers recommend your business to their friends and family, you’re more likely to close the sale.

Excellent customer service is a given when you’re looking for recommendations. You should make it easy for customers to leave reviews on your website and social media pages and you could also think about offering loyalty rewards and referral incentives.

This obviously isn’t an exhaustive list of marketing ideas as it would make a very long blog, but hopefully it’s enough to inspire some ideas and to make you realise that it isn’t about how much you spend, it’s about how you spend it.  

Whether you’re looking for new marketing ideas or support with implementation give us a call on 01737 428169 or email hello@wearerethink.uk.