7 Small Business Marketing Tips

Here are seven low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any small business find customers and generate sales quickly.

1. Don’t advertise like a big business

Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. A small business can’t afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales… now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising — and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.

2. Offer a cheaper version

Some prospective customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped-down version of your product or service at a lower price.

3. Offer a premium version

Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive product or service or by combining several products or services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.

4. Try some unusual marketing methods

Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

5. Trim your ads

Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that some of your short ads generate a better response than their longer versions.

6. Set up joint promotions with other small businesses 

Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. Cross-promotion usually produces a large number of sales for a very low cost.

7. Cater to your existing customers

Your customers already know and trust you. It’s easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Take advantage of this by creating some special deals just for your existing customers… and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Also, convert your customers into publicity agents for your business. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from clients is more effective than any amount of advertising — and it’s much cheaper.

Each of these seven marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for any small business to find customers and generate sales quickly.

Written by Bob Leduc

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.