Beginning a brand-new company is an exciting experience, full of goals and limitless opportunities. However, it takes a lot to get your business off the ground. So it makes sense that you would want to see your business take off and prosper as soon as possible.
To take off, you first need to do a lot of marketing in order to make your targeted customers aware of your products/services. The right marketing strategy engages consumers and helps them decide whether to purchase your products or services.
At the same time, the lack of financial sources is listed by HubSpot as the third biggest marketing issue facing businesses. For most businesses, the marketing budget is usually limited unless you are a startup with venture or angel money. So how would you grow your business with a limited budget if the former plan does not apply to you?
The good news is, you don’t really have to spend a huge budget on marketing activities to attract new clients. While there is no magic formula to get success in your business, if you implement the right plan, a smaller marketing budget can still yield good results. Let’s dig deeper into ‘HOW?’.
4 simple yet effective marketing techniques that will grow your small business on a shoestring:
1. Join online social media groups
As the study says, 9 out of 10 internet users spend an average of 2 hours and 29 minutes every day on social media. Therefore, promoting your brand on social media, whether organically or through paid ads, is the most budget-friendly and efficient approach to reaching a wider audience. So if you are engaging customers on social media effectively for your business. Great!
According to Sprout Social insights, 3.96 billion people used social media on all platforms as of January 2022. So, joining a social media group on different websites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Reddit, Quora, etc., is the best option if you want to target potential customers who are more likely to be interested in your product or service. These groups were established so that people with similar interests may collaborate without worrying about spending money. But it’s crucial to pick the right organizations that are both relevant and active. A group is pointless if it is quiet and no one communicates consistently. So always choose a group where members actively engage in dialogue by sharing content and commenting on each other’s posts when considering joining.
2. Create valuable content for internet users
Even if the majority of people spend time online browsing various content, especially on social media, you must admit that no one is drawn to boring content. Being leaders in the field of digital marketing and regarded as one of the Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Boston, we suggest you try out a few easy growth hacks for developing valuable content for your niche audience.
Blogging, hosting podcasts, generating infographics, and submitting articles to online authority sites are just a few of the various ways to promote content.
On the other hand, you would agree with us when we claim that today, mere words are not enough to communicate a message. “54% of consumers wished to see more video content from a brand or business they support,” according to a HubSpot survey from 2018. Therefore, make sure all of your marketing content initiatives, such as blog graphics, banners, ebook covers, social media postings, etc., constantly have attention-grabbing images.
You can also create short videos on entertainment-focused apps like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and similar ones where consumers spend more time. You can also run simple and visual-based Instagram Ads with to-the-point messages in order to reach potential customers and grow your business.
3. Email marketing as a budget-friendly strategy
According to a survey by Emarsys, an SAP company, 81% of SMBs (small-mid-sized businesses) still use email as a tool for attracting new clients and 80% for keeping existing ones. Email marketing opens several opportunities for budget-friendly business growth. Email marketing is a very efficient technique to accomplish a variety of goals, ranging from building long-lasting customer relationships and boosting revenues to connecting with your target audience in a tailored way.
You can use tools like MailChimp, Mailer Lite, and Active Campaign for email marketing. Once you’ve set up an email marketing service, you need to nurture your subscribers gradually until they’re prepared to convert to paying customers. One of the best ways to implement email marketing is to focus on providing educational information for your audience, including tips, instructions, etc.
Being an Award-Winning Digital Marketing Agency in Boston, we at CROSS Digital help small-mid-sized businesses to achieve big things with our best email marketing services. We not only work with you to develop an efficient email campaign strategy, but we also deliver the appropriate messages to your email list. Your ideas and our expertise make your email marketing campaign produce excellent results.
4. Ranking higher with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When we conduct a Google search, we frequently click the links that are displayed on the first page, organically, particularly those that are at the top of the results. Similar to this, you would like to come up first when consumers search for a relevant keyword for your business or product.
If your website appears higher on the search engine results page, there is a greater probability that more users will view it. Optimizing your website is one effective method to rank higher in search results. A solid SEO plan is crucial if you want to boost the quantity and quality of organic visitors to your website. Adding the appropriate keywords to your website can assist drive more visitors to your content.
CROSS Digital Marketing Agency in Boston specializes in providing the best and budget-friendly SEO services that help increase website traffic and organic visibility and as a result, sales and growth of your business.
5. Sponsoring local events
Sponsoring local events is one of the most effective and budget-friendly ways to build your brand and grow your business.
How do you sponsor a local event?
Start looking for reputable organizations and events to associate with for your business that will either appeal to your targeted customer or reach a similar but untapped market. Try a matching service like Sponsor My Event or do a search on the website of the Chamber of Commerce in your community. Keep in mind that becoming a sponsor doesn’t always require you to pay money. Think about the several causes you can help by providing products, services, etc.
So when running a small-mid sized business in the current economic scenario and containing a limited marketing budget, sponsoring a local event in your community is the best. It would help you get attention without spending a lot and increase exposure to your business.
What do you get out of sponsoring events?
There are various advantages to it such as:
- It will give you direct access to your potential customers which has a higher chance to create brand awareness through ‘Word of Mouth’.
- Such a gathering puts your product or service in the hands of event attendees. In this case, consider providing a free product sample or luring offers for services.
- You’ll likely be mentioned in every newspaper or radio update about a particular community event if your company is the major sponsor. Potential clients will hear positively about your company if you say “Brought to you by [your business]” at the local event.
- It also blocks competitors as event organizers are typically steer clear of securing sponsorships from businesses that compete directly with one another. As a result, if the event’s organizers contacted a specific business to sponsor the event, that company would now have exclusive access to the attendees.
- To sponsor an event requires getting to know the visitors closely, which means you will also receive mailing lists including names, email addresses, and phone numbers of potential customers. This can be further used to get fresh leads.
- You can share your marketing materials and gain further exposure, which can significantly improve your small business’s exposure.
6. Use customer reviews to expand your consumer base
Human nature dictates that when we don’t know something, we tend to believe what others have to say about it. We start looking out for credibility and social proof. Comparing brands with online reviews versus brands without, consumers are 63% more likely to believe the brands with reviews. We believe what others feel or have experienced about the same. Therefore, online customer reviews play a major role in marketing and communication. It lets your consumers do the marketing for you.
However, it sits somewhere between regular word-of-mouth and a viral kind of feedback that can influence customer perception. In the first place, understand what are the major factors of your business that customers would highlight with their reviews. It will assist you in better understanding your customer, which will enhance customer service.
Best ways to use customer reviews:
- Social media is a platform that keeps people engaged for almost 2 hours and 45 minutes on an average per day, according to a study. Sharing reviews through social media is an effective approach for capturing the interest of your fans and followers, attracting new customers, and affecting their buying choices.
- Have customer reviews on the homepage of your website.
- Video testimonials are great to use in social media promotion, website homepages, etc.
Final words:
Small-size or large-scale businesses, digital marketing is an essential part of your company as part of a growth strategy. Don’t worry if there is a lack of funds to launch flashy marketing campaigns with celebrity endorsements for your business. Even with a low-cost business concept, you can take your business off the ground.
Be it showcasing online reviews on your website, ranking higher through Search Engine Optimization, or looking for experts’ advice, CROSS Digital Marketing Agency is your ideal choice.
For more information on strategies to grow your business with a limited budget, speak to our experts at CROSS Digital Marketing Agency in Boston. You can contact us at 888 863 1150 or send us an email at digital@crossdma.com.