3 Ways to Marketing Your Small Business On A Budget
When you are a small business, start-up entrepreneur, or nonprofit, budgets are tight for marketing.
The options are endless when it comes to marketing your small business. From social media to maintaining your website to developing content for all platforms used, it’s no wonder that deciding which marketing tactic or tactics to focus on that contribute to growth can be daunting, especially when your budget is limited in the beginning phase of your business.
While traditional marketing advertisements are costly and difficult to measure, small businesses today have access to cost-effective and measurable marketing tools. Marketing your business online is complex, and many small businesses or start-ups are not utilizing the multitude of platforms online that can benefit their businesses.
With so many digital marketing tools, how do you know where to start? We are sharing three ways to market your small business on a budget.
Marketing Your Small Business On A Budget
As a small business, we rely heavily on word of mouth, but spending a little money to invest in your business is a great way to see growth and build a reputation among your local community.
With so many digital marketing tools, how do you know where to start? We are sharing three ways to market your small business on a budget.
Build Your Email List
If you have ever felt unsure about starting an email list or even been putting it off, now might be the time to start. There’s a reason why now is the time to start building your list: it’s the only digital marketing platform you have control over, it produces a high return on marketing dollars invested, and it works. Social media is a great and cost-effective tool. However, as a business owner, you don’t have control over the algorithms that can make or break your social media success. Hubspot’s Ultimate List of Email Marketing Stats for 2022 reported that marketers received an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
Cost: $0- $50 per month ( basic essentials and some automation) via email platforms such as Mailchimp, Flodesk, and Hubspot
Implementing a Social Media Strategy
They always say people buy from whom they like. You will see a bang for the effort when you create a strategy based on your ideal customers and the social media platforms they use. If you post and post consistently, with a strategy in mind, it builds credibility with your ideal customers. These platforms allow you to create connections and provide real-time value and education to your audience’s feed. As a result, you establish credibility, build relationships, and are allowed opportunities to convert your audience into signing up for that email list (Hey! Now you can own these followers and have more exposure to your audience outside of social) or make a purchase.
Cost: $0- $150 per month (sponsored posts add a cost to these platforms).
Ask for Referrals
Again, they say people buy from whom they like. It gets better! This is a sure-fire, cost-effective marketing tactic to implement. It can take many forms, from the classic verbal asking for customers to refer you to implementing email campaigns, social media strategy, and online reviews. You might be surprised how many people love to talk about who they’ve done business with lately, both good and bad.
It’s a great way to get in front of new customers and warm them up to doing business with you.
Cost: $0
How Much Should a Company Spend On Marketing?
You are ready to scale your marketing efforts. Or, you may have a small budget to invest in marketing. So, how much should you spend? Well, this depends on your annual revenue and can vary based on the industry. Here is an example of how to gauge what your marketing budget should be based on industry.
It’s time to create a marketing strategy and give digital marketing a spotlight for your business. Putting off a digital marketing plan is easy, but your digital efforts need your attention. People want to learn more about your business and follow along with you as you grow. If you need help with your digital marketing plan and efforts, fill out our quick contact form, and we’ll be in touch soon!
