33 Profitable "Small Business" & "Start Up" Marketing Strategies
Ranked #4,070 in Business, #98,077 overall
33 Genuinely Useful, Free & Low Cost Small Business Marketing Strategies That Really Work
One page packed with smashingly profitable ways to win customers with practically no money down.
Know Your Customers Inside Out
Get really absolutely and definitely clear about who is your target market. The more you know about them, the better you can come up with clever ideas about how to target them precisely, intelligently, creatively and profitably.
Write fabulous, engaging, linkable content.
Starting is not enough. Keep writing your blog. Many people start a blog, but few people keep doing it. Make a commitment to use your blog to position yourself as an expert and a guide in your chosen field. Keep it subject specific, and write articles that play to the search terms your customers use the most. Write the kind of subject specific content you think your customers will love to bookmark and squirrel away.
Call everybody you know.
Call your friends, family and acquaintances. Call for a catch up, and when the conversation turns to what you're doing - tell them about your business and what you're doing. And if they know anybody who could do with your service, suggest that they pass on your name and number.
Don't pressure sell, just get the word out. And if your friends want to do business with you, quote your full price. Why? You do have to make a living don't you?
Business is business, and discounts don't make for better referrals later on.
You'll have more respect for yourself and so will your friends.
Don't pressure sell, just get the word out. And if your friends want to do business with you, quote your full price. Why? You do have to make a living don't you?
Business is business, and discounts don't make for better referrals later on.
You'll have more respect for yourself and so will your friends.
Network FOR REAL.
Join a local networking meeting/club. I know, I know. I feel uncomfortable about it too. But it's an important and worthwhile tactic to get yourself known.
Joining a networking club or meeting isn't about selling to everyone in the room. It's about expanding your social network and getting word out about yourself. It's about being known as the "go to" guy or girl for whatever you do in your locality.
A lot of business happens by recommendation and word of mouth - so have a great 30 second sales pitch selling you, be a good connector (i.e. connecting the people you meet with business opportunities whenever you can) and expand your social network.
Networking isn't just limited to professional activity. You can network at practically any social group or event too. So you can do fun stuff too (join a sports team, a fitness class a social club etc.)
Joining a networking club or meeting isn't about selling to everyone in the room. It's about expanding your social network and getting word out about yourself. It's about being known as the "go to" guy or girl for whatever you do in your locality.
A lot of business happens by recommendation and word of mouth - so have a great 30 second sales pitch selling you, be a good connector (i.e. connecting the people you meet with business opportunities whenever you can) and expand your social network.
Networking isn't just limited to professional activity. You can network at practically any social group or event too. So you can do fun stuff too (join a sports team, a fitness class a social club etc.)
Stop Advertising.
Stop advertising that clearly isn't producing sales for you.
If it's not working, you need to re-think. Save your cash, work out what you can improve and go at it again.
Every single small business I know has tried dozens of things that don't work. That's fine, don't beat yourself up.
Save your energy to look for the right way to connect with your customers.
And while we're at it - let's never think of anything we do ever again is advertising. It's all just communicating, okay?
If it's not working, you need to re-think. Save your cash, work out what you can improve and go at it again.
Every single small business I know has tried dozens of things that don't work. That's fine, don't beat yourself up.
Save your energy to look for the right way to connect with your customers.
And while we're at it - let's never think of anything we do ever again is advertising. It's all just communicating, okay?
WWWHWW = All the right info
Look at your advertising. Have you got all the information to make a great advert?
Who? What? When? How? Where? Why?
- Who you are
- What you can offer
- Where can they get in contact
- When (i.e. date of an event)
- Why they will benefit from buying your product
The most important of these is why. Give your customer enough emotionally motivating reasons to buy from you and you'll make more.
Work out the "why" and you have cracked half the marketing challenge.
Who? What? When? How? Where? Why?
- Who you are
- What you can offer
- Where can they get in contact
- When (i.e. date of an event)
- Why they will benefit from buying your product
The most important of these is why. Give your customer enough emotionally motivating reasons to buy from you and you'll make more.
Work out the "why" and you have cracked half the marketing challenge.
Stand out. Be Remarkable.
Don't be afraid of standing out. Seth Godin advises business owners and companies to become remarkable. Stand out - in a good way - for your customers.
Watch this.
Seth Godin at the TED Talks: Ideas That Spread Win
Watch this.
Seth Godin at the TED Talks: Ideas That Spread Win
Simple, Focused Identity
Logo and brand advice? Create an identity and stick to it.
Don't spend money which you haven't got on an expensive logo design. Save it for getting customers with better marketing.
Or investing in the right marketing information to give you the edge.
The London Olympics 2012 cost an exorbitant £400,000 (over $650,000). It looks awful.
The easiest company name and brand logo to adopt is your own name.
Forget fancy pictures, have a simple text logo - then focus on delivering a great service and a well-crafted message which will win you fans and customers who will champion and recommend you.
Don't spend money which you haven't got on an expensive logo design. Save it for getting customers with better marketing.
Or investing in the right marketing information to give you the edge.
The London Olympics 2012 cost an exorbitant £400,000 (over $650,000). It looks awful.
The easiest company name and brand logo to adopt is your own name.
Forget fancy pictures, have a simple text logo - then focus on delivering a great service and a well-crafted message which will win you fans and customers who will champion and recommend you.
Can You Repeat That?
Repetition works to make sales.
Single adverts rarely create an overwhelming response.
Therefore aim to reduce the cost of your individual marketing efforts so you can increase the frequency of your exposure.
Single adverts rarely create an overwhelming response.
Therefore aim to reduce the cost of your individual marketing efforts so you can increase the frequency of your exposure.
You ought to build an email list.
Build your email list and market to it cheaply.
Not just of prospects you want to buy from you, but also existing customers you can encourage to return and do business with you.
Email marketing with companies like Aweber email marketing software is much cheaper than going with a marketing agency or a bespoke system.
You get tons of support, tutorials, ability to create segments, blog broadcast and autoresponder capabilities. I use the service for my own mailing list and can highly recommend it.
Try a 30 day trial for $1.
Not just of prospects you want to buy from you, but also existing customers you can encourage to return and do business with you.
Email marketing with companies like Aweber email marketing software is much cheaper than going with a marketing agency or a bespoke system.
You get tons of support, tutorials, ability to create segments, blog broadcast and autoresponder capabilities. I use the service for my own mailing list and can highly recommend it.
Try a 30 day trial for $1.
Spread your information.
Business cards and leaflets. They do no good sitting in a box.
Give them out liberally.
Set yourself a challenge to get rid of as many as possible each week to whomever will take them from you. Keep score.
And give yourself a reward when you set a new personal record.
Give them out liberally.
Set yourself a challenge to get rid of as many as possible each week to whomever will take them from you. Keep score.
And give yourself a reward when you set a new personal record.
Expect Referrals
Tell your new customers that you are starting out and you want to make them so happy that they will go out and tell all their friends about you.
This shows them your commitment, but it also sets an expectation that they will recommend you when actually do make them really happy.
This has generated thousands of pounds of business for me in 2009.
This shows them your commitment, but it also sets an expectation that they will recommend you when actually do make them really happy.
This has generated thousands of pounds of business for me in 2009.
Courtesy Costs Nothing
Courtesy makes sales.
Say please. Say thank you.
Make eye contact and smile often.
People buy from people they like.
You don't have to be obseqious or sycophantic to make sales (I bet they lose a lot of sales).
Just be courteous.
Say please. Say thank you.
Make eye contact and smile often.
People buy from people they like.
You don't have to be obseqious or sycophantic to make sales (I bet they lose a lot of sales).
Just be courteous.
Get Into Your Role For Confidence
Act your part fully, knowing it's a role (it's really just playing in an engaged way at whatever you're doing).
Often small business owners and start up entrepreneurs don't feel confident to begin with, especially with face to face conversations.
Visualise yourself acting the part of the perfect [whatever it is you do]. Study the role. Create a script and practise it religiously.
Then when you do it, make it seem and feel like you're saying it for the very first time, like it's just occurred to you right now, and it's all happening naturally and spontaneously.
In business you can be genuinely yourself and play a role - there is nothing contradictory about that. An actor never stops being himself when he's acting...
Often small business owners and start up entrepreneurs don't feel confident to begin with, especially with face to face conversations.
Visualise yourself acting the part of the perfect [whatever it is you do]. Study the role. Create a script and practise it religiously.
Then when you do it, make it seem and feel like you're saying it for the very first time, like it's just occurred to you right now, and it's all happening naturally and spontaneously.
In business you can be genuinely yourself and play a role - there is nothing contradictory about that. An actor never stops being himself when he's acting...
Joint Venture
Joint venture. Who can you team up in a similar (but not the same) industry to share customers, databases and referrals.
I have a local joint venture with a web designer. I take my clients to him, because I know he's the best in town. He sends business my way for the marketing I specialise in.
The result? Huge savings in marketing costs.
We both win and look a lot more professional as a result.
Joint ventures don't have to be complex formal agreements, or merging companies. They are really just win-win situations that arise out of mutual cooperation.
I have a local joint venture with a web designer. I take my clients to him, because I know he's the best in town. He sends business my way for the marketing I specialise in.
The result? Huge savings in marketing costs.
We both win and look a lot more professional as a result.
Joint ventures don't have to be complex formal agreements, or merging companies. They are really just win-win situations that arise out of mutual cooperation.
Get Out Of The Way
Remove every possible obstacle that makes it harder for your customers to buy.
Make the pricing easy to understand.
Make it easy to understand what they get and how they can pay.
Try not to get them to fill in forms, and when they have to, keep them as short as possible.
Almost anything you can do to make the purchase decision easier is likely to increase sales.
Make the pricing easy to understand.
Make it easy to understand what they get and how they can pay.
Try not to get them to fill in forms, and when they have to, keep them as short as possible.
Almost anything you can do to make the purchase decision easier is likely to increase sales.
Where Did They Come From?
The most important tool you have at your disposal is being able to ask your customers how they found out about you.
This tells you which marketing is working and which isn't.
Stop what isn't working and do more of what is working.
This tells you which marketing is working and which isn't.
Stop what isn't working and do more of what is working.
Money Is Time Too
Time is also a scarce resource - cost that into your marketing efforts too.
For example, don't use Twitter unless you integrate it fully into your marketing process and it's an effective use of your time for getting customers.
Small and start up companies are not just cash but also time poor. Ask yourself - does something like Twitter really target the kind of customers I want to reach? How much time will it cost me?
And would my time be more profitably spent doing something else? (Tip: it would)
Every marketing decision must also be made in the context of the time you have available to give to it and how much money it can bring you back.
For example, don't use Twitter unless you integrate it fully into your marketing process and it's an effective use of your time for getting customers.
Small and start up companies are not just cash but also time poor. Ask yourself - does something like Twitter really target the kind of customers I want to reach? How much time will it cost me?
And would my time be more profitably spent doing something else? (Tip: it would)
Every marketing decision must also be made in the context of the time you have available to give to it and how much money it can bring you back.
Small Steps
Instead of asking your customers to make one giant leap into a purchase decision, make your sales process a series of baby steps that prospects can take to qualify themselves and find out a little bit more about you without any risk.
In this context, risk also includes the risk of being subjected to high pressure sales tactics. Go gently (but not too gently), and you won't freak your customers out.
Consistent contact over time generates familiarity and trust - vital ingredients of a sale.
In this context, risk also includes the risk of being subjected to high pressure sales tactics. Go gently (but not too gently), and you won't freak your customers out.
Consistent contact over time generates familiarity and trust - vital ingredients of a sale.
Goal!
Set goals.
- What does success look like for you?
- How will you know you've got there?
- How can you measure it?
- When do you want to achieve it by?
The brain is a goal seeking mechanism and aims at what you give it. So set positive and realistic goals.
Break them down into chunks and start taking little action steps to get there.
- What does success look like for you?
- How will you know you've got there?
- How can you measure it?
- When do you want to achieve it by?
The brain is a goal seeking mechanism and aims at what you give it. So set positive and realistic goals.
Break them down into chunks and start taking little action steps to get there.
Your biggest liability or asset: your mindset
Tackle your mental obstacles. Weed them out ruthlessly.
De-motivation. Paralysis. Fear. Procrastination. Pessimism.
Fight back with bags of Faith, Hope, Optimism, Persistence, Patience, Courage and Sheer Bloody-Mindedness (i.e. a tenacious unwillingness to yield to defeat).
Need inspiration on that? Try listening to a rousing Winston Churchill speech and you'll know what I mean.
[I've recorded a whole disc on mental obstacles and how to overcome them. Find out more at the end of the article.]
De-motivation. Paralysis. Fear. Procrastination. Pessimism.
Fight back with bags of Faith, Hope, Optimism, Persistence, Patience, Courage and Sheer Bloody-Mindedness (i.e. a tenacious unwillingness to yield to defeat).
Need inspiration on that? Try listening to a rousing Winston Churchill speech and you'll know what I mean.
[I've recorded a whole disc on mental obstacles and how to overcome them. Find out more at the end of the article.]
What's Next?
Keep a "What Next?" master list.
Write down all your marketing ideas safe in one place, and keep expanding on that master list every time something occurs to you.
When you need to do something new, review the list, select the most promising (and affordable) idea and that's what you should do next.
Write down all your marketing ideas safe in one place, and keep expanding on that master list every time something occurs to you.
When you need to do something new, review the list, select the most promising (and affordable) idea and that's what you should do next.
Get your story right.
Get your story right.
The right marketing story will open doors, create sales, profits and translate smoothly across every single channel (online and offline).
What is your story? Write it down. And read All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin if you want to explore it in depth.
A compelling story in black and white beats a hopeless and flat story in full colour.
The right marketing story will open doors, create sales, profits and translate smoothly across every single channel (online and offline).
What is your story? Write it down. And read All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin if you want to explore it in depth.
A compelling story in black and white beats a hopeless and flat story in full colour.
Popularity Creates Popularity
Create an air of popularity.
People flock just like sheep.
So they respond positively to signs which imply that you are popular.
Hard at the beginning for any start up absolutely, but after you crack it%u2026success.
A therapist I knew filled her diary with imaginary appointments so when her clients saw the diary, they felt she was very much in demand.
People flock just like sheep.
So they respond positively to signs which imply that you are popular.
Hard at the beginning for any start up absolutely, but after you crack it%u2026success.
A therapist I knew filled her diary with imaginary appointments so when her clients saw the diary, they felt she was very much in demand.
Testimonials
Collect testimonials religiously. Put them everywhere.
On your website, in marketing materials, on adverts - and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure they are specific and personal by getting your customers to say why they chose you and why they loved your service.
On your website, in marketing materials, on adverts - and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure they are specific and personal by getting your customers to say why they chose you and why they loved your service.
Controlled Spending & Costing = Profit
Work out every last one of your costs - both fixed and variable costs.
Unless you're in the business of giving away money, sales will only ever create profit when met with sensibly controlled costs.
That also includes giving discounts as a promotional tool. 2 for 1 means half the profit per transaction, and having to shift twice as many.
There are better ways to drum up customers.
Unless you're in the business of giving away money, sales will only ever create profit when met with sensibly controlled costs.
That also includes giving discounts as a promotional tool. 2 for 1 means half the profit per transaction, and having to shift twice as many.
There are better ways to drum up customers.
Reputation is everything.
Reputation is everything.
Look after your reputation in everything you do, and your reputation will look after you in return.
And before you go out and do tons of stuff - what do you want that reputation to be?
Decide on how you want people to see you, and how you must be in order to grow your business.
Look after your reputation in everything you do, and your reputation will look after you in return.
And before you go out and do tons of stuff - what do you want that reputation to be?
Decide on how you want people to see you, and how you must be in order to grow your business.
Just One More Step
Take another step. And another. And another.
Keep taking action, looking at what happens, then adjusting your strategy.
When, (when and not if) you fall over, dust yourself off, have a cup of tea, and get back in the roiling scramble for customers.
Keep taking action, looking at what happens, then adjusting your strategy.
When, (when and not if) you fall over, dust yourself off, have a cup of tea, and get back in the roiling scramble for customers.
The Right People.
Instead of just trying to speak to more people, aim to speak to more of the right people.
Introduce a qualifying process to work out who deserves your best marketing efforts. Introduce a permission based marketing ethic - by getting your customers to raise their hands for more information.
For more information read Seth Godin's Permission Based Marketing.
Introduce a qualifying process to work out who deserves your best marketing efforts. Introduce a permission based marketing ethic - by getting your customers to raise their hands for more information.
For more information read Seth Godin's Permission Based Marketing.
Measure it.
Measure your marketing.
Until you know how well its performing you don't know whether it's profitable or not.
Until you know what works and what doesn't you're just blindly feeling your way around in the dark.
Until you know how well its performing you don't know whether it's profitable or not.
Until you know what works and what doesn't you're just blindly feeling your way around in the dark.
Competitors
Your "enemies" can teach you a lot.
Study them closely.
Study them closely.
Keep Learning.
Make a commitment to seek out the best information (not just what's available for free - for it will rarely satisfy you, or produce profits) from the best experts, like I have.
Most of all - learn from the results of your actions. I know I've said this elsewhere, but it really is so important.
Knowing the information is not enough - doing it is everything.
Most of all - learn from the results of your actions. I know I've said this elsewhere, but it really is so important.
Knowing the information is not enough - doing it is everything.
Tell me you don't want more profit.
Rob Burns is a marketing consultant based in Exeter, Devon.
He has authored and recorded Profitable Small Business Marketing - a series of 15 audio seminars to help small business, home based workers and start up companies get to grips with the complexities of marketing and how to make more sales and profits.
To get more ideas, support, inspiration, a free email newsletter or download a copy of Profitable Small Business Marketing, visit Rob Burns Small Business Marketing
He has authored and recorded Profitable Small Business Marketing - a series of 15 audio seminars to help small business, home based workers and start up companies get to grips with the complexities of marketing and how to make more sales and profits.
To get more ideas, support, inspiration, a free email newsletter or download a copy of Profitable Small Business Marketing, visit Rob Burns Small Business Marketing
Further Reading
Done here? Learn more with these links...
- Ask Rob Burns YOUR small business marketing questions...
- Ask me YOUR marketing questions and follow my replies on Facebook and Twitter...
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