A business owner wears many hats. Looking for creative ways to market your business that won’t stress your budget? Put on your Marketing Hat and start here with Ten Tips I’ve put together to get you started.
Get online reviews to boost your business. Inside your Google My Business listing, you can capture a link and email it to your customers and ask them to post an online review.
Establish a free Google My Business listing. Learn more about this HERE.
Build an email list of your clients with the intention of retaining customers and encouraging referrals. Be sure to collect first and last names, business name, email, phone, and address, if possible.
Set up an eNewsletter to communicate with your clients. Add a sign-up form on your website. Develop a monthly email. If you have 2,000 or fewer emails, you can get a free MailChimp account. Constant Contact offers a free version only for non-profits. Compare features and pricing HERE.
Develop a survey to find out what your clients need. A Basic plan for SurveyMonkey is free. You can create and send surveys with up to 10 questions in a variety of formats.
Create a fun customer contest and reward the winner with your services, like a free meal, a haircut, products, services, or a gift card. Maybe it’s something as simple as having them post a funny, creative 15-second video testimonial on your Facebook page on one particular date or time. The one with the most “likes” is the winner. You could even run this weekly as “Wednesday Winner” or “Testimonial Tuesday” or “15 Minutes of Fame Friday.”
Partner with or sponsor a charity. Run a special event and donate half or more of the proceeds to that cause. The charitable organization will promote the event, too. It’s a great way to build community Good Will and get visibility in front of a new audience of buyers.
Create a short 30-second video introducing your business and post it to your social media site. Use your phone to record and edit it. Or, upload it to Canva for free to create a more professional promotional video.
Bring in an Intern to help you with these tactics. Have them manage your video, set up MailChimp, and establish your Google My Business listing. If you can’t pay them right away, you can offer a stipend at the end of the internship and/or give them free products or services. They’ll get a great portfolio of experience. As your business grows, consider paying them as a part-time outsourced marketer. It’s a win-win for you both.
Set up a “Business Idea Brainstorm: 30 Minutes, 30 Ideas” and invite your staff and outsiders (network and/or chamber group members) to participate in-person or via video call (which you will record). When you start the timer and kick it off, you will have them generate 30 ideas for contests, promotions, ways to grow your business and grow sales. They will play off each other’s ideas. Have 3 ideas already in your back pocket to kick it off, like a customer loyalty program, special services for kids, premium priced midnight urgent snack deliveries, etc. Have some fun with it to get the creative ideas flowing.
