By: Brad Kartel
Submitted: 2010-09-20 09:51:21 | Word Count: 589
If you are new in the business industry, perhaps you’ll say that things don’t go as easily as what textbooks claim. Marketing campaigns don’t easily bring in customers, sales don’t rise quickly, and profit is not constant. Well, it’s time you understand that running a business is not as easy as what others claim. Ask any seasoned business owner and they would tell you that there is a lot to being the boss when running a business.
It’s especially difficult to get noticed in the market. This is why you need an exceptionally good marketing campaign to stay afloat in today’s competitive market. But a small or startup business doesn’t usually have the financial resources to launch a glitzy marketing campaign. If you have tried numerous marketing approaches such as posters, brochures or even billboards but still haven’t hit a successful campaign, you are not alone.
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Marketing is an exceptionally expensive endeavor. Sometimes, even with adequate budget, it is still difficult to come up with successful campaigns. And with businesses increasing in number each year, it becomes more difficult to attract people’s attention.
But there’s no reason to worry as there are cost effective approaches to marketing today that small businesses like you can use. You need to spend only a little amount of money, but there’s a catch. You need to invest time and a little creativity to develop such strategy. Here are some of these cost effective solution to expensive marketing:
- Freebies. There’s no arguing about it, people love to receive free items. Even if they have to pay a certain amount, they would still do it just to get the freebie. This technique has been proven effective in the cosmetics industry where people pay for a premium item and get a free item with it. This can also work with your business. It doesn’t matter what kind of free item you offer, as long as you make money with such technique.
- Privilege or frequent buyer card. This means that every repeat purchase in your store would obtain a free item or discount for the customer. For instance, for every ten coffee bought from you, customers would get a free customized planner. Customers simply have to present their privilege card every time they buy from your store. This would surely be an effective technique to build loyal customers.
- Giveaways. A lot less expensive than advertising, giveaways build goodwill with people. The giveaway need not be expensive, but it should be good enough for people to use so it doesn’t end up in the trash. You can consider creative balloons or other novelty items to entice people to visit your store.
- Discount coupons. You don’t need to have an elaborate brochure or poster printing to distribute coupons. You can hand them out in the street, tradeshows, or any where your target customers are. You can also consider giving away ‘next purchase’ coupons to your current buyers. Be sure to offer a generous discount to entice people to buy from you.
As much as it’s important to keep old customers interested in your business, the more important is to attract new customers. This is why aside from regular marketing campaigns; it pays to offer freebies, giveaway, and discounts to new customers. Even multinational companies offer freebies from time to time. So, why not do the same for your business.
Author Resource:-
Brad Kartel is a marketing executive whose passion is helping business owners build their campaign through poster printing. Learn how to create eye-catching posters.
