For large businesses and organizations that have big advertising and marketing budgets, it is no big deal to spend a hundred or few hundred dollars on some campaign. It is only a small dent in their monthly marketing budget. In contrast, every dollar counts where a small business or entrepreneur is concerned. They have to be careful about where they invest and these investments need to give them immediate and real returns. The question is whether it is possible for a small business to execute its marketing strategy within $100. Can it be done? Yes, it is possible to have a comprehensive and effective marketing plan within a mere $100. How can it be done? Let’s take a look at six ways to accomplish it:
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- Do market research
This first strategy is going to cost you nothing and its purpose is to help you in identifying your target market. In this way, you will be able to identify the characteristics that describe your ideal customer. How is this useful? With this information, you can focus your marketing efforts on the right group and you will also be able to hone your marketing message to engage and attract any potential buyers. Moreover, it is not just about developing your own game plan, but also checking out what your competitors are up to as this can help you find out ways to defeat them.
If you go head to head with a competitor in any area where they are well-established or stronger, it will result in a loss for you. On the other hand, if you use some time to look for any gaps in the marketplace or the weakness of your competitors, it will help you in discovering opportunities where you can expand and grow your business.
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- Take advantage of email marketing
This particular strategy can cost you anywhere between $20 and $50 per month. It is one of the best strategies for startups and small businesses because it can give great results. No matter what the size of the organization or industry, it is a tactic that can give you the highest ROI for the money you invest. Studies have shown that email is the preferred channel for communicating even in the eyes of consumers.
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- Don’t forget to boost your speed
You only need to spend more or less $9 every month on this particular trick. It is a fact that the faster you can engage, intrigue, interest and convert your audience, the better it would be for your business and bottom line. In the world of the internet, most people begin their search for a particular product or service online. As a matter of fact, the traditional buyer cycle has been replaced by online research to such an extent that when buyers do get in touch with a salesperson, they are almost done with the buying journey.
Therefore, it has become a priority for every business, regardless of their size, to ensure that all those potential customers that visit your website are easily and quickly able to access the information they need. When their desired information is readily available, they will be more likely to convert from visitors to buyers. In order to make it happen, your website should have the capability of detecting what device is being used by them. Nowadays, it takes only a few minutes for a business to create a semi-customized mobile version of their site and you only have to spend a couple of dollars every month for doing so. This investment is going to pay off repeatedly in the form of increased conversions and engagements.
- Appeal to the crowd
Here again, you don’t need to spend a dime to do your marketing. You will come across many small business owners who claim that the best marketing is none other than word of mouth. While this might be true in the case of small purchases, it doesn’t really apply to big ones. Today’s consumers are very smart and before they head out to spend their money, they take some time in doing research and getting the information they need for making a good decision. Even in the case of a small-ticket item, consumers don’t just blindly make a purchase.
They have access to the internet through multiple devices, such as the desktop, smartphone, tablet, and laptop, and they take advantage of these for doing their own research. As a matter of fact, statistics show that 55% of searches conducted on mobile end up in conversions. It doesn’t matter whether your products would be considered affordable or big purchases; every small business should focus on keyword research and follow the best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices for building out their websites. They will get the reward in the form of favorable rankings in search engine results.
Put simply, they will see an increase in website traffic as their business website will appear directly in the path of prospective buyers who are searching for their offerings or who are looking for an online business.
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- Don’t forget social media
Depending on how much budget you have left, this particular strategy can cost you anywhere between $40 and $70. If you invest this money in sponsored posts on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, you will essentially put your products and services and your brand in front of thousands of people who are part of your target market. You can get hundreds of new followers on social media with minimal investment in the social media market. This can create brand awareness, increase website traffic and the engagement eventually leads to an increase in profits.
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have worked wonders for small businesses. They give them the freedom of limiting the amount they wish to spend on sponsored posts. In addition, they are also equipped with tools that can come in handy for digging deep into demographics. This can help in ensuring that you are putting your posts and ads directly in front of prospects who are in accordance with your criteria of the ideal buyer.
- Work on your team
Last, but certainly not the least, this strategy doesn’t require you to spend anything at all but is big in terms of pay off. What is it about? It involves establishing informal partnerships with other businesses, not necessarily in your industry. It can be extremely helpful in cross-promoting and can actually provide greater exposure to the business. When you market cooperatively, you will be able to work on developing and expanding your contact databases. This is definitely useful when you are a small business that has just started out.
You can identify businesses where there is an overlap in the target market and you can share contacts with them and enter into partnerships for creating brand awareness. In this way, you will be able to grow and expand your organization a lot quicker than you would do on your own.
