5 Creative Ways To Stretch Your Marketing Dollar One of the most important things for any business, no matter what the size, is marketing. Without the right kind of marketing, how else are companies going to get the word out to the public about the products or services they are offering? The only problem with marketing is that it can get really costly. If you are operating a small business, you probably don't have the same kind of marketing budget as the bigger businesses do, so you need to be able to find ways to stretch your marketing budget as far as it will go. Here are five excellent tips you can use to make your marketing dollar go further.
- Word of mouth advertising is the best advertising you can get. So, take advantage of it. When you treat your customers right, and provide them with a product or service that they need at a reasonable price, they are going to tell others about what a great deal they got. This will give others the incentive to do business with you and it can cause a chain reaction. Remember the old shampoo commercials, "and they told two friends, and so on, and so on"? Well, that is exactly how it works. Look at how much advertising you can get this way, and you don't have to spend a single penny.
- Co-Op advertising benefits all involved. If you have a product or service that goes along with the product or service of another business, it only makes sense to team up and combine your advertising. This is going to benefit both sides, in more ways than one. You will both be advertising to your target audience, and by splitting the costs, you will be saving money too.
- Joint ventures are a great way to save money on marketing. When you team up with another business, you can advertise through them. This means that people who do business with these companies will also get a chance to learn about what you are offering. Just make sure to really do your homework, and pick partners who are going to be able to provide you with the right customer base, and remember... our relationships has to be win/win so make sure you are able to reciprocate your joint venture partner's offer in some way.
- Save money with wholesale media buying (at distressed rates). Advertising on television, radio and newspapers/magazines is very expensive, and if you decide to use these advertising avenues, you need to find ways to save as much money as possible. Purchasing advertising in bulk and at distressed rates (which means; not purchasing until the deadline for the media's advertising is almost due) are great ways to save money, as you will be getting a greatly reduced rate for buying so much advertising space at one time.
- Take full advantage of the Internet and mobile advertising. There are so many ways that you can use the Internet as a great marketing tool, and, there are many things you can do that won't cost you anything. Use social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook to get the word out to potentially millions of new customers. Publish blogs, and send out newsletters. Utilize your email to send out newsletters and other advertising to your clients. It may take a little bit of time to get yourself established on the Internet, but once you do, you will find that you are really saving costs on your business marketing.
Advertising is important, and saving money on your advertising is even more important. Use these tips, and ask others for advice. The more you know about effective marketing and where to save money, the more profits you are eventually going to see.
Andrew McCombe is the owner of Activate Your Business where they teach new and existing business owners to Start, Grow and / or Automate their business(es) with EASE, so they can live a life of EASE. For more information visit Activate Your Business
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