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Innovative Marketing Methods Your Business Should Try
Promoting your business is absolutely crucial, but it doesn’t have to wipe out your entire wipe out your entire marketing budget. Think your way around the problem of how to get the word out and you’ll soon find that you can free up cash for more specialised methods, such as text marketing from GlobalMessaging, that really don’t break the bank.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Twitter is a two-way street
Look at any company, regardless of size, and it’s highly probable it will have some sort of presence on Twitter. Its reach and instantaneous nature mean it’s the perfect place to host impromptu giveaways.
Ask your followers a question about your product or service, then give the first 10, 20 or even 50 people to answer correctly a freebie. Then, encourage the winners to tweet about your company upon receipt of their prize so that they can be entered into a second giveaway. It’s a fun and interactive way of getting talked about.
Twitter is also a great way to listen to potential clients. You can get a detailed picture of the kind of expertise or product they’re after - and what displeases them about your competitors.
Be mobile
Social media is one thing but don’t forget the power of mobile. Text messages are feast and effective ways of getting messages out to your dedicated clients. Cheaper than a fistful of flyers and more likely to be read than an email – reaching a customer on their mobile is a great way of ‘going to them’ on their preferred method of contact. Keep messages snappy and, if you are confident with your tone, throw in humour.
Show the world you know your stuff
No matter what you specialise in, let people know you’re the specialist in it. The more your business’s name is seen in conjunction with solutions to particular problems, the more likely it is to become a go-to authority. Post articles demonstrating your unique insight on your own blog, in forums, on trade association websites, in journals or local newspapers.
Make sure you reply to requests for advice with genuinely helpful replies - being careful not to give away too many secrets, of course. The more you do this, the more potential customers will see you as a trustworthy leader in your field, whether that’s plumbing or accounting.
Use your website as a knowledge resource
If you are a plumber or an accountant, post thoughtful articles on your site that (a) clearly demonstrate you know what you’re doing and (b) attract people with a problem to your specialist advice. You could talk about three ways to prevent burst pipes in winter, or how to fill in your tax return in less than a day.
Be the link in a small chain
Combine reputation building with work that pays. Identify larger or much more established businesses in your field.
Arrange a drink or lunch with the business development manager there and suggest taking on business that they may not have the time or desire to handle. With every referral, make sure you send a thank you note and a little token of your appreciation, such as a coffee shop voucher.
Keep growing your network
Ask your most trusted contacts for five of the most influential people they think you should meet, and see if they’ll put you in touch. Even if you only get to meet one further person per initial contact, you’ll more than likely find they’ll offer you a perspective on how to grow your business that you hadn’t even thought of.
Need more pointers? Check out Forbes.com and Inc.com for exactly that.
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