When you’re running a small business, you will be working with a limited budget. When things get a little too tight, the first expense you think about cutting is marketing. If you’re also thinking along the same lines, let me stop you right there, because there are a ton of tips and ideas for marketing small businesses that have been successfully employed over the years.

Traditional marketing methods can be expensive and difficult to measure, but with the advancement of technology, small businesses have a plethora of trackable and cost-effective marketing tools at their disposal. But with such an extensive range of digital tools, tips and ideas available, it creates another problem – how do you know where to start?

Small businesses don’t have the budget to go up against the bigwigs in their industry when it comes to marketing, but that is an accepted fact. To run a business successfully, irrespective of its size, you must market it properly, since marketing is the life support for any startup. Without it, the company will fail.

The following 10 best marketing tips and ideas will help any entrepreneur or small business looking for ideas and tips on marketing and provide effective solutions

1. Leverage your community

You should think locally when you’re marketing your small business, which means leveraging your community and engaging everyone in it. You can do that by sponsoring a 5K charity run/walk, or a Little League team. When you interact with the local community, you will get a good idea about your customers, and get a lot of opportunities to present your marketing message in front of customers.

2. Craft an elevator pitch

You need to be marketing all the time, which is why you will need to craft a compelling elevator pitch. Research has shown that the average attention span of an adult is somewhere around 6 to 8 seconds, so you must aim to engage customers successfully in that time. Once you have their attention, you only have about a minute to sell them your product or service.
So, take the time to create a captivating elevator pitch, so that you can market your brand on the go and reap amazing dividends in the form of business opportunities.

3. Network

There is nothing that can’t be accomplished through networking, which is one of the best ways to build a business and market it. That will require actively going to events, rubbing shoulders with the big players in your industry, getting to know all the different people, and shake hands.
You need a lot of commitment to be successful in networking, but once you have a strong network, it can prove to be the single greatest asset that your small business can have.

4. Create buzz

You don’t need a gigantic budget to successfully market your small business. All you need to do is create enough buzz around it to get people’s attention. Most small business owners manage to do a lot of things without hiring a professional firm, and that is the same when it comes to marketing.
Social media has allowed small businesses the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest brands in the world. You only need to generate enough buzz around your brand. Once you have the attention of your customers, you can sell them your product or services easily.

5. Offer coupons

One of the easiest ways to attract new business is to offer free coupons to the public. Research has shown that people with coupons will go out of their way to use them, which proves that this method is highly successful in expanding your clientele. The best thing about coupons is that they generate return visits as well, since customers will come back to the business for more coupons in the future.

6. Build relationships

You must focus on establishing strong relationships with your consumer base as a small business, and you do that through email marketing. Make sure that you are adding value to your customers. Don’t spam them with irrelevant news, since it will annoy them and that is the opposite of what you want.

7. Do a lot of giveaways

Entrepreneurs should always focus on giving out free samples or trials of their products and services, since it gives the customer a chance to experience what you are offering. Impress the customer and you have their business, since they will want to purchase more. People are also more inclined to purchase something they can experience first, so do a lot of free giveaways.

8. Collaborate

Small businesses tend to overlook the massive opportunity of collaborating with other businesses that are located nearby their operations. They miss out on key partnerships and cross-promotion, which can only be achieved by businesses that are open to collaborating. You can also use social media platforms, bundled promotions, reciprocal website links, fliers, or coupons. Collaborating with another business also helps expand your customer base, and gives you access to a new audience.

9. Ask for referrals

One of the best marketing techniques small businesses can use is to reward their existing customers whenever they share or recommend your brand to their friends, family, or colleagues. You shouldn’t be shy to ask for customer referrals, since people will provide you with a referral if you ask for them.

10. Give a speech

Another marketing technique small businesses and entrepreneurs can use is to become an expert in their community and become a guest speaker. You can give speeches to captive audiences, where you will find a lot of opportunities to market your products and services as well.

The above-mentioned 10 marketing tips and ideas for small businesses and entrepreneurs will help you build relationships, engage customers, and keep your brand visible. Marketing isn’t all about how much money you are spending, but about how much time and effort you are putting into it.

If your looking for support getting your small business of the ground, feel free to get in touch.