Marketing your business is an ongoing effort, and there are many tools at your disposal for successfully gaining traction in a busy marketplace. But with a tight budget, how can you get the best offline marketing methods? Here are seven budget-friendly ideas…
#1 Posters
The power of the poster has not been diminished in the digital age. And this marketing hit comes at a competitive price too. But, as with all marketing tools, a poster campaign needs to be backed by a robust marketing strategy. You also need a robust design and high-quality cheap poster prints for this kind of campaign to pack a punch. As well as being displayed in the right place, if you use posters with other marketing tactics, such as an email campaign the return on investment can be significant.
#2 Networking events
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, networking events are an offline marketing method that can reap huge rewards, especially if you are a B2B business. There are all kinds of events hosted by businesses, banks, and local industry organizations. Sometimes, in business, it is who you know as much as it what you know and so, it may be worth to branch out and talking to people…and don’t forget to take your business cards with you so when you have dazzled fellow new contacts with your sparkling personality, you can leave them with your contact details as well as a great impression.
#3 Local media advertising
From local cable to radio to local newspapers, there are many exciting, low-cost advertising opportunities. Not only does this have the potential to put you in front of local customers, it is also a chance for your business to support the local community.
However, as great as this sounds, before placing advertising you need to be confident that you do get a return on your investment. Therefore;
- Does the local media touch base with your demographic?
- What is the reach of the local radio station, community newspaper or local cable stations?
#4 Attend business conferences, seminars and workshops
Similar to networking events, you may find that within the local business community there are various opportunities to attend business events for free or for a low cost.
For example, chambers of commerce and business associations such as the National Association of women business owners are often host workshops and conferences.
#5 Street team marketing
Sometimes, there is nothing more beneficial than placing a leaflet in someone’s hand and inviting them to come and check out your store.
Flyers are relatively cheap to both design and print but can yield a fantastic return for your business. And so, the next time there is a busy community event on or it is prime shopping time, such as black Friday, hire some young interns or temp staff and fan them out to distribute your flyers and leaflets to drive traffic into your retail business.
#6 Promotional giveaways
From printed t-shirts to baseball caps, logoed pens people love free stuff. Freebies and giveaways can be relatively cheap to produce, especially if you use a logo and contact details as the main design.
However, you need a suitable forum to give them away, so why not create an online contest or give the 50th customer of your product or a freebie? And don’t forget to milk this in terms of the promotional opportunities it offers for business. You can always offer giveaways in exchange tweets as blog posts too.
#7 Join the local chamber of commerce
Every local authority has a Chamber of Commerce and these organizations offer training and networking events that can help you improve your leadership and business skills and grow your customer base. They often offer discounted group health insurance and support services. They also host community events and offer sponsorship opportunities to expand your business brand without breaking the bank.
Which ever budget-friendly offline marketing ideas you try be sure to measure their success.
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