15 Low Cost Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

You’re excited to start your new business because, finally, you can start working on what you’ve been passionate about for as long as you can remember. However, you’re also worried. Because, after organizing everything, you just found out that you have way less budget for marketing than you originally planned.

Well, we have good news for you. Marketing isn’t as much about money as it is about creativity and the ability to convince people. You already have everything you need for the successful marketing of your small business. Apply the low cost marketing ideas for small businesses mentioned here and watch your business thrive.

15 low cost marketing ideas for small businesses

We’ve tried to cover all the low-cost marketing ideas here that can benefit small and medium businesses. You’ll find which marketing idea to apply in what scenario as well. Start with the comparatively easy ones that deliver quick results and move your way up from there.

1. Create a brand identity

Building a brand identity creates brand awareness. This is important because brand identity is how you’re known among your audience. It also helps you stand out in your niche. 

For this, you need brand values. Next, you need promises that you’ll deliver. Additionally, you do this by designing an eye-pleasing logo and a theme that goes with your business and audience. Order custom-built stationary, product packaging, apparel, etc. that reflect your brand.

Tagline

Create a tagline that you want your business to be known for. Keep it concise and interesting. Make sure it reflects your brand’s values. An intriguing tagline will drive customers and audiences toward your business.

Business cards

Make sure that your business card stands out. Because people who receive your cards have the first impression of your business from them. Keep it minimal, see that the card aligns with your brand design, and ensure it has high quality.

Car magnets for the company car

Look at it like this, utilizing every place available for advertising. Your company car can be a scope for mobile advertising for all the vehicles behind it to get curious about your business. So, why let it go to waste? 

Design a sticker or a car magnet that catches people’s eyes in a crowd but also reflects your brand design. All you have to do now is slap it on your cars, and the advertising will take care of itself.

2. Know your audience

Whatever business you may be in, you have to study your target audience intently. Be attentive to your audience and learn their demographics. You can do this by interviewing your customers and observing who your competitors are selling to. You need to constantly review as you gather new data on your customers. While you’re at it, you should also rule out who isn’t your audience, so your marketing resources aren’t wasted.

Keep an eye out for your customer’s age, gender, location, occupation, income, hobbies, pastimes, education level, etc. while you’re singling out your target audience. Also, watch who your competitors are targeting.

Use the power of Google Analytics

You can easily track data and analytics essential for your marketing strategy from Google Analytics. It lets you track information on your audience, acquisition, behavior, and conversion.

The analytics on audience help you explore who your customers are, their demographics, location, device technology, etc.

The acquisition helps you track which medium is delivering what percentage of your audience. You can compare which channel is paying off the most between organic traffic, emails, ads, different social media platforms, etc, and allocate more of your marketing resources there.

Behavior explains what those customers are doing on your website. Whether they’re spending time, browsing more pages, which pages they visit, and how long they stay on a page, etc. It also shows you the bounce rate.

Conversations show you what percentage of your customers are taking the action you want them to take. Whether they’re buying a product, accepting a free trial, or leaving your site, etc.

This information might prove helpful on your marketing journey. They provide you with the insight you require to decide whether to improve your strategy for an increased conversion rate.

3. Craft the perfect elevator pitch

Your audience will not spend time going through the details of your products or services unless they’re intrigued. They’ll probably read or listen for a few seconds before moving on. Therefore, you need to take advantage of those few seconds to change their mind and make them interested. That’s why you need the perfect elevator pitch.

Your elevator pitch should pique your audience’s interest. It should also contain your major selling points and make your audience feel comfortable and satisfied.

4. Create a marketing budget

Since you own a start-up or a small business, it’s very understandable if you’re on a tight budget. But marketing doesn’t always have to be costly. You can bring your business to your audience just as easily while staying within your budget. All you have to do is spend it wisely. 

And to make that happen, first, you need to know what amount you can spare for marketing. When you have your budget, you can allocate parts of it for different marketing campaigns and projects.

5. Start with a Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows small business owners and nonprofits to promote their business information on Google Search and Maps. You need this because you want to appear in the search results when people search for your niche in the area. This increases your reach and visibility among your customers. 

This is a very easy process and can be done in only a few steps. To completely utilize this opportunity, you can feature customer reviews along with interesting images of your products or services.

Local SEO

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a business’s visibility in local search results. To ensure this, you identify and use local keywords relevant to your business, optimize your Google business Profile, etc.

Google measures Google Maps’ ratings, the number of check-ins at that location, the number of shares on social media, the sentiment in the online reviews, keywords used in the Google business Profile, the location of the person searching for that information, etc to rank the local search results. And therefore, these are the factors you need to optimize to make your business appear in local searches. 

6. Email marketing

Email marketing has the highest return on investment of all forms of marketing. It’s a proven way to reach new customers and maintain relationships with existing ones. If you can do this right, you will achieve customer loyalty, and word of mouth will spread about your business. The outcome is measurable, and it also increases traffic to your website.

What you can do is create a permission-based email list where your audience confirms that they want to receive your emails. Next, you send emails at an interval that’s not overwhelming for them. The content needs to be helpful and presented in a scannable way using visuals.

Email signature

Use your unique email signature that aligns with your brand theme, use your logo, and make the email visually pleasing. It creates brand awareness and makes your emails unique and easily recognizable. A great email signature also piques your potential customer’s interest, and they visit your website for more.

Personal touch

To go the extra mile in email marketing, you have to add a personal touch to your emails. No one likes receiving a generalized email or thinking that they are just another random customer. That’s why you need to make them feel special. And you can achieve this by adding a personal touch. 

You can address them by their name in the email. You can send them coupons on their birthdays or send them the features of an upcoming product that you think they might like. It should align with what your email recipient likes and finds helpful, but definitely not exceed your budget.

7. Build a smart online presence

Business these days is hardly offline. Even if you offer your services in person, your customers will more likely look for you online. Therefore, you need to make yourself available online. However, presence alone isn’t enough; you have to grow your business online if you want to stand out and want them to choose your business over your competitors.

Build interesting landing pages

Your landing pages need to be interesting because that is where most of the conversion occurs. If there’s distraction there, chances are most of your prospects will back away. You have to place the CTA (call to action) strategically on your landing page so that it’s in focus. 

Carefully designed landing pages are how you ensure a high conversion rate and make your customers feel comfortable doing business with you.

Respond to queries

You should always patiently respond to all your patient’s queries. Understandably, answering the same questions over and over might be frustrating, but you cannot show that frustration. Answer everyone’s queries politely, and make sure your replies provide value. 

Responding to queries isn’t limited to the queries you’re asked personally. Rather, look for queries in your field; they can be in a social media community or any other place. If you can provide them with helpful answers, they’ll start to trust you. Chances are, when they’re thinking about buying that product or service, they’ll consider you.

Publish top-notch content

Conduct keyword research related to your niche. Write on those topics; make sure they offer value and meet search intent. Cover a range of contents. That way, when a potential customer is looking for information and comes across your content, they will know about your knowledge and authority on the topic. When they know you have a good command over the things they need, they’re more likely to buy from you.

Don’t just write. Not everyone is comfortable with reading long posts or PDFs. Instead, repurpose your content and convert it into short and bite-size videos, infographics, etc. These are more likely to be shared, and, will ultimately increase your reach. 

Post images with your content. They can be product images or information you want to convey. Either way, make sure your images are not distracting but rather look professional, creative, and appealing. With eye-catching images, the chances of conversion are higher. 

Guest blog

Don’t just write for your site; look for sites related to your niche and reach out. You will find guest blog opportunities in the “Write for us” section on different sites. Send them an email describing your idea.

When you guest blog, you can skillfully advertise your product through other websites, and those are a great opportunity for leading traffic to your site and introducing them to your products. Simply make sure you’re keeping it subtle and not being too obvious with your advertising.

Write for industry publications

Look for publications based on your industry, and send your pieces that generate the most traffic. Industry enthusiasts read those journals regularly. If they find your writing intriguing, they’re more likely to discuss it. This way, you and your business get recognition in the industry.

8. Take full advantage of social media

Social media is the place people visit most frequently. And this is a great marketing opportunity. Focus on getting organic results from social media. And once a post performs well, you can consider boosting it.

Again, you need to be careful while choosing social media to post on. If you can’t post on all of them, you have to take into account which social media platforms your clients frequent. For example, most of the people who are on Reddit and Quora are not on TikTok or Instagram. Therefore, you again have to research your customer’s demographics and plan your social media posts accordingly.

Stick to a social media posting schedule

Posting at a regular interval creates consistency. It also increases your post’s reach. When customers are used to viewing your posts at a certain time, you meet their expectations by keeping it up. This also helps you schedule your posts for when most of your audience is online.

Utilize the power of hashtags

Hashtags make your posts appear in the search results for those tagwords. It’s a great technique to appear in the search results and, therefore, to be found. 

Use hashtags with shareable content on Twitter and Instagram. However, you still have to keep in mind that you can’t overuse it.

Target influencers

Get micro or nano influencers to promote your business. Choose influencers who agree with your brand value and are genuinely comfortable with your products and services. It also helps if you choose an influencer who is popular among your audience and has the capability to emotionally touch your target audience.

However, if you can’t get influencers to promote your business, simply mentioning them in your posts goes a long way.

Live stream workplace activities

Your audience wants to know that you’re the same person behind the curtains as your words describe you to be. Therefore, showing them your behind-the-scenes photos and videos earns you points. They like seeing that you have a cooperative workplace and a healthy work environment. This earns their trust, and they’re more likely to buy from you.

Jump on trending topics

Social media is so dynamic that people are always discussing something new. If you want to stay in the loop, you always have to stay ahead of others. This applies to both your niche and the outside. By staying trendy, you get noticed before others and generate more leads.

9. Build relationships

You want your customers to keep repeatedly purchasing from you. To achieve that, you need to build a relationship with them. Answer their questions patiently, and try to provide them with all sorts of assistance in matters regarding your expertise. And in return, they come to you because you can deliver what they need.

Reward your loyal customers

You can have a loyalty program where, for a certain number of purchases, you can offer them something. Or make a product or service free for the purchase of a certain number of items. You can also offer them coupons or discounts for their repeat purchases. 

The reward always doesn’t have to be products, it can also be something of interest to them. For example, occasionally you can gift your loyal customers with tickets to a match or a local concert, etc., whatever is within your budget.

Customer feedback

You need to take customer feedback on a regular basis and try to resolve the issues based on their priority and your convenience. You can also let the customers who raise issues know that those issues have been resolved. This way, they know that they’re valued and that their concerns have been acknowledged. Thus, they begin trusting you and become your dedicated customers.

10. Referral marketing

Referral marketing takes your business a long way. The reason is that customers are more likely to trust a review coming from their friends and family than from business owners. And you need to utilize that opportunity.

Limited-edition products or services

There’s a saying that quality products speak for themselves. If your products and services are better than the rest on the market, people will undoubtedly upsell them. If you can maintain and surpass your competitors in quality, customers will always seek you out.

Offer excellent customer service

If you have friendly and helpful customer service in addition to the best quality products, there’s no loop left in the way of you making your sales. Your customer service personnel need to be extremely patient with your customers and have to reply to all their queries politely while providing them with the information they find helpful. 

Excellent customer service paired with excellent products ensures you the word-of-mouth your business deserves. It also builds a foundation of trust around your business, which is helpful for your business in the long run. 

Get your family and friends to be advocates of your business

Where do you start with the word-of-mouth around your business? Easy. You start with your friends and family. Because they know firsthand how great your products are. Therefore, it’s easy for them to convince others to come to you with their needs. Hence, start there and take time to build trust among new customers.

Start an affiliate program

If your budget allows, you can also start an affiliate program. An affiliate program is like an eternal cycle of customer promotion if your products are great. People who buy them are incredibly amazed by them; they want others to buy them as well, especially if they can earn a percentage from those sales.

11. Create a strong presence in your community

If you’re a small business owner, chances are high that your target customers live in the same region as your business. And if you want your business to be known to them, there’s no alternative to getting acquainted with them. They start trusting you when they come to know you as a person similar to them.

Attend local events

If you want to increase your familiarity, attending local events is your best bet. Talk to people and offer insights if the topic of your expertise arises. However, make sure you don’t come off as a salesperson or desperate. 

You need to genuinely offer value, and if they’re interested, they’ll learn more about you and come to you for business.

Offer to speak

Offer to speak at local events. You can talk about anything as long as it’s genuine and offers value. For example, you can offer an insightful opinion on an arising social issue, help the community find solutions, etc. You can even talk about how you established your business in a way that inspires others. Your words will have to have a strong effect; they will bring you authority and respect in the community.

Local press

Getting featured in the local press helps your cause a lot since everyone is interested in the local news. Make sure the piece contains your story, what motivated you, why you’re doing what you’re doing, what you want to achieve, your dreams, etc. Be genuine in your narration. A strong story helps your business in more ways than you can imagine. 

People want to connect emotionally. If they see hope in your cause, they’re more likely to stick with you.

Community sponsorships

Contribute whatever amount you can to community events. It can be a school event or a New Year’s event. People remember these helpful gestures, and that earns you their trust and loyalty.

Host or volunteer at an event

Offer to host community events. That will certainly make you a common face in your community. However, if you cannot host an event, you can easily volunteer at one. You and your teammates can volunteer at events wearing your brand’s clothes. It not only shows your dedication to your community but also shows you as a brand and makes people aware of your values.

Donate to fundraisers and charities

Donating to fundraisers and charities is another way of being known in your community. You can donate whatever amount you can spare without taking any financial pressure. It can be a cause you’re passionate about. 

People also start recognizing you based on your interest in a certain cause along with your brand. And that sentiment is really helpful for your business. Because, it shows your emotional side that you care about something, be it education, poverty, animals, or the environment.

If you can’t think of a cause, that’s fine as well. You can simply donate to a charity that anyone on your team is already connected with.

Advertise with your local chamber of commerce

Get your local chamber of commerce to promote your business. They’re a trusted organization in the community, and if they upsell your business, it creates a foundation for your business.

12. Network like your business depends on it

You should take your networking endeavors beyond your community and get familiar with other areas as well. Attend different seminars and webinars in your field. Prepare a speech for them and exchange ideas. People tend to go with popular products. And your far-reaching popularity works as a stronghold for your business.

13. Make an incredible unboxing experience

Get creative with your packaging. People love unwrapping their new possessions. Make that experience worthwhile. It gives them satisfaction, which can turn into a repeat purchase. Besides, if your packaging is appealing, your customers will even want to gift your products to their loved ones.

14. Apply for business awards

Business awards are recognition that your product is the best. If you win an award, there is almost no doubt regarding the quality of your products and services. And everyone wants the best products for themselves.

Therefore, to win customers and spread your brand name, you should apply for those business awards and try to win if you believe your products are amazing.

15. Guerilla marketing

Last but not least, you should get innovative with marketing. It will attract attention because it’s not conventional marketing. People always love original and ingenious ideas. You take advantage of that. Brainstorm ideas that don’t cost much yet are capable of turning heads. It helps if your new advertising endeavors can provoke emotion or inspiration.

Conclusion

Most of the low cost marketing ideas for small businesses discussed here are applicable to both B2B and B2C marketing. You need a combination that fits your business best and offers you the best return on your money. Start small and see what’s working best for your business. Then expand on the efforts that prove more promising.

Let us know which marketing idea you like most in the comments, and don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any queries.

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