Are We Spending Too Little on Marketing?

For many small businesses, it’s hard to say what amount is best to spend on marketing.

Funds are probably tight, so letting them go for marketing can be difficult. But if you don’t market, how are you going to get the business you need to make money?

You do have to spend a little money sometimes to make money, but you can also be smart about your marketing and do it in a cost efficient way.

Utilize Free and Low Cost Marketing Techniques

Look around your community and see where you can get your name in. Maybe you can buy a spot in your church bulletin or your kid’s school directory. These venues are becoming more and more popular as you get a fundraiser for the organization and your business’s name in at the same time. People also like finding a business run by a community member whom they have a connection to and they may be more apt to use you.

Use Community Opportunities to Market Your Business

Think about local festivals and other community events where you could sponsor a booth or involve yourself in another capacity. Usually these are fairly low cost, though you will need to spend some money on brochures and/or information on your business. You may want to have some sort of freebie or giveaway with your name on it, too, from pencils to Frisbees to cups or balloons. It’s always beneficial to a business to get involved in the community, no matter what the business may be.

Check Your Digital Marketing

If you don’t have a good website, you may need to fork out some money and get a professional to help you with one. The lack of a helpful, easy to find, easy to navigate website could be hindering your small business. Think about it, you want to find a contractor and have an idea of the company’s name, but search though you might, you can’t find it online. Or you finally find it and the website is no help. You’ll probably go to someone else. You don’t want that happening to you and your business, so get yourself a good website, with links to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

While you are working on your website, make sure you don’t overlook sites like Yelp and Kudzu to help you with testimonials. When someone comes to your site, they’ll want to see what previous and current customers have to say about you. Don’t be shy to ask happy customers to write a testimonial for you where potential new customers can see it.

Also, keep a good Facebook page. You can add updates of pictures or expansions, offer deals and specials, and if nothing else, just interact with clients.

Because word of mouth is huge for small businesses, you want to keep happy customers while gaining new ones. Be a good community member and market there, as well as digitally. Remember, don’t be afraid to spend a little on marketing – if done right, you’ll see some positive results.