Marketing on a tight budget

Nobody likes spending money at the best of times … but when times are tough it’s even harder to bring yourself to fork out on new promotional materials, your website and other marketing activities.  What if you don’t get a good return from it?  What if you end up out of pocket? 

Valid concerns, but if you don’t promote yourself, how will people know about your business?  Don’t worry! A bit of creative thinking goes a long way…

Firstly, consider the following: 

• What does your business need?
• What you want to achieve?
• Who is interested in your product or service?

Then write down everything you would do if you had an unlimited budget (allow yourself to go crazy here – it’s only on paper!)

Then, take a look at your ideas and see if you could adapt them. For example, if you said you’d have a fleet of taxis carrying your company brand, scale it down a bit.  How about getting some magnetic panels produced that you can put on your car?  Or even cheaper, a promotional flyer in your back windscreen (where garages normally put their details).

Instead of a full page advert in the local paper, how about some free editorial?  See my blog for tips on writing a press release.

Rather than an expensive direct mail campaign, consider email marketing.

Do a joint newsletter with somebody else – then you can combine databases and increase your audience.

Team up with complementary businesses to share the cost of advertising or promotions.

Network and tell people what you’re doing, and what you’re looking for.

Search around for good print deals on leaflets and printed flyers.  For example, www.printing.com often have promotions on some of their products.

Take advantage of the free listings you can get on the online directories such as www.yell.com – there are lots out there. To find them, do an online search for your business type and see what comes up.

If you’re clever and apply a bit of thought, you CAN come up with cost-effective ways to get yourself seen and heard on a budget.  Just Do It (and if you need some help, get in touch)