A big conglomerate can spend a hefty sum on an impressive commercial and an appealing slogan followed by a ubiquitous logo. But what about the “small fries”, the companies that are struggling to rise out of the sea of mediocrity? Every business, no matter how big it is now, began small and the decisive factor that helped them break through is smart spending.If you play your cards right, you can save money in marketing, for marketing, and by marketing. No matter how strange this sounds, we’ll show you what we’re talking about. With a few tricks up your sleeve, saving money by marketing is a two-way street and here are the essentials.
The piggyback concept
If you are resourceful enough, there are always ways to both have your cake and eat it – which is essentially the core definition of “piggyback” marketing. It is not a particularly tough concept to grasp – you “employ” your mailings (invoices are a good example) as “couriers” for your advertising material. By combining leaflets and promotional prints with these invoices, you will save a ton on postage and other costs.
Of course, this concept can be broadened to entire “neighboring” businesses. If a developing company is in the same position as you are, contact the CEO and propose a form of marketing symbiosis – by splitting the costs of promotions, blatantly sharing distribution channels and mailing lists, you will piggyback off each other.
Free software
One of the biggest advantages in the realm of marketing is the internet itself. This relatively new phenomenon (in a historical sense) opens a door to easier communication, transparency, and a greater probability to be seen. Social networks are an especially nifty, free way to shamelessly market yourself, and it can mostly be done for free.
On the other hand, there are a lot of freeware-software products for you to download and try out for yourself. Many of these programs are just as suited for organizing marketing campaign as their pay-to-play counterparts and there is a growing number of free, open-source content management systems around.
Promotional content can also be physical
You have to keep thinking outside the box – marketing through regular channels is necessary but you can take a step further and put your agenda out there in a much more concrete, physical way. If your company has a logo or a slogan, you can set aside a bit of money and use it to print them onto various accessories.
Most of the time, companies tend to print t-shirts and pens, but you can also create key chains in the shape of your logo, print on mugs, shoes and even cars, if transportation is an integral part of your business. In fact, you can carefully consider the type of business you are running and think of genuine and refreshing ways to create your own promotional materials. For example, if you are a green business, you can print your logo on flower pots or if you are a programming firm, you can create promotional USB drives.
The internet’s ripple effect
Finally, even though the internet offers a lot of advantages, the greatest marketing resource at your disposal is people. Each of them is connected with a lot of people over social media, and nearly all of them have an established rapport with you. There is no shame in asking them to help you out when it comes to raising awareness about your business or product.
In fact, understanding that you should not be ashamed to utilize such marketing advantage is the exact trait you need to cultivate if you are to run a successful, big company. Referrals and recommendations are music to the ears of potential customers.
Marketing is a tricky business and many striving entrepreneurs opt to delegate this area to another pair of hands. However, tackling this issue personally and deciding to apply various free methods of marketing to promote your own business might be the exact kick your company needs to launch into the stratosphere. This way, you will not only save some extra money you’d otherwise reserve for the marketing, you’ll also earn money by handling it yourself.
