-
Your shopping cart is empty!
Your shopping cart is empty!
When budgets are tight, marketing might be the first expense you look to cut.
Let me stop you right there.
While traditional advertising methods are costly and hard to measure, small businesses and service based entrepreneurs have never had greater access to cost-effective, trackable marketing tools.
But with so many digital and non-digital tools available, how do you know where to start?
Email marketing is the tried and true digital marketing channel with an average return of 1000 FCFA for every 10 FCFA spent.
Email and social media marketing are just the start. Here are ten marketing strategies that can help you market your small business on a shoestring budget.
1. Craft an elevator pitch
You should be marketing all the time — wherever you are. Therefore, you need a compelling elevator pitch.
Research shows the average attention span of an adult is about six to eight seconds. That’s all the time you have to grab someone’s attention.
If you successfully engage them, then you only have a little over a minute to really sell them on your product or service. Invest the time to craft a killer elevator pitch. The return on your investment will pay huge dividends in terms of creating business opportunities.
2. Leverage your community
You don’t have to think big when it comes to your marketing efforts. Think locally. What’s going on in your community?
Yes we know that marketing for many around here is to print lot of stuff and paste them along the street but at Eko Market Hub, we are strongly advocating that this trend will be shifting in the future; we see more and more digital marketing taking place in Cameroon and more targeted ad, (we will get full article on this in the future)
Sponsor a Little social event. Print bookmarks and distribute them at major public places. Get to know your ideal customer and think about how and where they spend their time.
Then search for opportunities to get in front of your customer with your marketing message. In this regards, we encourage you to strongly think about SMS Marketing.
3. Collaborate
Put together a group of synergistic, non-competitive businesses in your area and agree to cross-promote. This is also known as joint-venture. The truth is that, most African are not open to sharing as they should and this is really sad… the benefit of Joint Venture are tremendous when well thought.
You can use coupons, fliers, reciprocal website links, bundled promotions or social media platforms. By collaborating with each other, you can expand your customer base because you’ll be reaching new people.
4. Network
We a huge fan of networking. W don’t think there is any better way to build a business than to get out there, shake some hands, and get to know people.
Networking requires a time commitment and it doesn’t provide instant gratification, but a strong network is one of the greatest assets any business person can have.
5. Give a speech
A lot of people hate public speaking. However, there are many organizations looking for qualified, subject-matter experts who can present to their groups.
Take a deep breath and volunteer. You don’t have to be a pro as long as the information you share is helpful to the audience. And the upside — the more you do it the easier it gets. Plus, it positions you as a credible authority in your field. Check back at www.ekomarkethub.com to see opportunities to volunteer in a public speaking event in Cameroon.
6. Create buzz
We started our corporate career in different field and the business has changed significantly because of technology.
Today, a small business owner can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm. Subscribe to our newsletter. We will direct you toward local media that can help your business to improve on visibility
7. Ask for referrals
Don’t be shy about asking for customer referrals. The majority of people say they are willing to provide a referral if asked, but very few take the initiative to do it on their own.
Referrals make it easier to get in the door with new customers. If you aren’t asking for them, you are missing opportunities.
8. Build relationships
It is a lot less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. That’s why establishing strong relationships with your customer base is crucial. One of the ways you can do that is by keeping in touch with people through email and SMS marketing. We think it’s worthwhile to mention that, you don’t need to sell something everytime.
Ask customers for their email address when they visit your store or website. Then, make your communications informative, helpful and professional — something your customers will look forward to receiving.
9. Offer coupons
Coupons are a good way for many businesses to attract new customers. Research shows that people will go out of their way to use a coupon, proving that this method is successful in expanding your customer base.
Coupons can also generate return visits. For example, if you give a customer a coupon for a discount to use on future business, there’s a high probability they’ll be back.
At www.ekomarkethub.com , we provide to our Gold and VIP members to directly send create coupons for their store. So if you are a Bronze or Silver member and believe this service could be relevant, upgrade your membership here.
10. Give it away
If someone has the opportunity to experience your product or service, chances are they will want to purchase more.
Don’t be afraid to give someone a free trial or a sample. In today’s economy, people are more comfortable purchasing something they have been able to experience first.
We highly value the concept of free at www.ekomarkethub.com . Look at Google, there are so much that they give for free and guess, what, we are always happy to pay for a service with Google because there are so much free that we have receive before.
These ten, inexpensive marketing strategies will help you engage customers, build relationships, and ultimately keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s not always about the money you have to spend on marketing, it’s about the time and effort you put into it and above all, the relevance it has for your customers.
So, Stop thinking that printing and pasting fliers in every corner of the street is marketing (and effective)
Visit www.ekomarkethub.com to see how our little team has built a solid, user friendly and easy to use market place in Cameroon.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2016 and has been updated for relevancy and accuracy.
2 Comment(s)
Not bad at all
yes, I agree!
Spot On!
What do you like about it?
Leave a Comment