Carving a niche in the customer’s mind is increasingly becoming a competitive and fast-paced task for any progressive business or organization. The question however is how do we as marketers keep up, especially when there are limited resources to work with?
Designing an effective marketing strategy entails careful planning, which cannot be done without taking into consideration the budget available. A restricted budget however, is not a call to lower standards, but rather a test of how creative the marketer can be even when faced with limitations.
How exactly can just a little money be put to great use for the marketer?
- Employ social media
Social media, including twitter, Facebook, as well as Pinterest and Instagram for more image-oriented businesses is one of the smartest and easiest marketing ways to go, as they have become very powerful marketing tools over time, often with little cost to the marketer. Not forgetting the professional networking site, LinkedIn that has enhanced the face of networking in the marketing sector. It is all about getting the word out there via these social media accounts, and building a steady following till eventually your followers help you do the talking.
- Create something new out of something old
As a business, you may probably have run advertisements before, or put some unique ideas into action. In the face of a limited budget, these old adverts could easily be revamped by just adding a few new touches to it. This strategy not only saves cost, but refreshes the memory of already existing customers, whilst attracting new ones. As the Unilever product, Key Soap’s mantra says, “The tradition goes on.”
- Put up some sales promotions and contests
The usual promotions such as ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ could be made more exciting, depending on how involved your customers become. Customers could be motivated to bring new customers on board, through incentives like a discount voucher for a month, or a free product hamper for every ‘n’ number of customers they bring in. This gets the customers personally involved, and pushes your product at the same time, at little cost.
- Pair up with a fellow company
If your budget is tight, you could explore the option of pairing up with another business that is in your field of expertise, for a period of time. It could be a joint collaboration to host an event, a cost-sharing agreement, among others. This not only boosts your relationship with other companies, but also helps you to achieve much more than if you went “solo”.
- Get the youth involved
You could visit various campuses in the country, especially as the youth forms a huge chunk of our population. They could be motivated to be brand ambassadors of your business, helping you to spread the word at little or no cost. Dedicated participants could be rewarded with internships in your company as well as other stuff like recommendations and free stationery.
Though these steps involve minimum costs, they more often pay off in the long run! There are always great opportunities to market your brand, no matter the budget. Who knows, your creativity could even be harnessed as a result. Do not let your budget limit you!
Author: Nana Boatemaa Amoah,
Marketing Blogger
