20 Free Small Business Marketing Ideas To Get More Customers

How to market your small business to a wide audience –whether it’s a start-up or a retail store and also keep control of money spent on marketing.

 

1. Choose a customer referral program

As from old times, word-of-mouth is a very powerful method to market a business. That is why word-of-mouth stands first in the set of ideas about free or inexpensive business ventures.

The profound way to rise the impact of word-of-mouth is to introduce a customer referral program. Involve customers to participate in free sample products, complimentary service, and discounts for referring new customers. Always customers are very helpful in spreading the goodwill of a product or a service among friends to bring valuable dividends.

 

2. Mention a growth story in data and milestones

Recount the business achievements of your organization or similar companies with the help of solid data references and tell the customers the advantages of selecting your product or service.

Make the results public by displaying a signboard of the accomplished feats or publish the results online on the company website or social media platforms. If there is an academic study about the business field,  relate the present actions in making plans according to the study.

 

3. Use infographics

An infographic would look clear and rich but it is rather easy and inexpensive to make. It is visual, sensory pleasant, and easy to understand, and customers share among accomplices.  Infographics design does not need software or advanced design skills, thus need online services right in your browser.

You can pay for a freelancing designer to make a bunch of infographics for you—which would come in as a moderately priced marketing method.

 

4. Engage in one-to-one marketing

This technique is called 1:1 marketing, this is a customer relationship strategy to increase personalized interactions with customers. One example is handwritten postcards to regular customers. Employing good customer relationship management software can guide and automate the process

 

5. Hold an online contest

There is no need for extravagant gifts but some free products are enough to get potential customers to spend a few seconds on the contest.

These questionnaires are an important way to gather customer data and it impacts the spread of the word about the product or service.

 

6. Set up an industry partnership

Establish a symbiotic partnership with organizations of mutual benefit for a joint product. This can be done by organizing a joint special event. This partnership can be for a small duration or a lifetime. This method gives direct access to the customer base and vice versa.

 

7. Give a chance for guerrilla marketing

Using public spaces and sidewalks would gather familiarity in the targeted destination and make sure the spaces selected are well-trafficked with a lot of eyeballs. Stickers and graffiti provide a shade of colour that attracts a lot of customers to your business.

 

8. Host an event or a class

Making aware of the business presence to new customers by conducting classes about the industry invigorates the business. The event is its form of advertising and becomes the sole reason for customers to think about the product or service.

Print brochures and flyers and keep them on coffee tables or local institutions where pupils hang around. Most cafés won’t allow business promotions but they are liberal on educational events.

We love this free small business marketing idea because it provides great results for your business.

 

9. Create a business mascot to promote your brand

A mascot helps in better market visibility to your customer base and thus makes customers feel like they have live interaction with an actual person than a faceless being. A mascot is created according to the tone of the product and it is a welcome blessing for marketing a small business.

 

10. Take sides on a controversial industry topic

Politics and business go hand in hand and taking a side on an issue is paramount to increasing your customer base and a great method to invite attention.

If you set an anti-smoking signboard on your shop premises, it will get the attention of non-smokers.

If you are having a stand of environment, do write a post on your social media pages.

11. Create a blog

A company blog featured on the website connects with regular customers and new customers alike. A good blog handle can help small businesses to grow and get automated to higher pastures. The presence of a blog about the industry increases the authenticity of the firm.

 

12. Invest in YouTube videos

YouTube is the second largest search engine and creating content on YouTube is an inexpensive and direct method of promotion.

You can create a short video that explains the salient features of the organization. Your customers will be hunting for How-to videos and this is an opportunity for attention. Also, you can shoot content on smartphones and increase the marketing impact. The willingness to experiment with content increases the proximity of small businesses.

 

13. Interact with customers and partner with influencers

Once you have social media platforms that are fully functional, make sure it is put to good use. Using such platforms regularly increases customer reach and they will review your product or post comments on the posts. It gives a message to customers that you have a say and you care about their views too.

You can employ influencers on social media platforms to help elevate your presence. Send them a gift and this will make them feature your product on their post.

 

14. Attend local conferences

Conferences always have an entry fee. Anyway, smaller conferences can be inexpensive and cut the travel costs to metro cities. They are an important criterion and maintain a network with industry leaders. Gaining new customers will give your brand an introduction to more customer reach. As you build a brand name you are having a better chance to get invited to conferences to give insights into your marketing idea.

 

15. Invest in SEO

You can spend a lot of money on a perfect SEO strategy, but there are certain ways to sharpen the strategy to reduce unnecessary expenses.

Some finer things – like creating content that is a guide to readers, making well-defined headers, or optimizing your local listing—can excel towards getting an online presence.

 

16. Start a client appreciation program

Your next best customer is your last customer, which means you should make sure on giving value to existing customers.

Starting a customer appreciation program might encourage people to continue using your service.

 

17. Sponsor fundraisers and charities

Although it looks like an expensive marketing idea for small businesses, organizing fundraisers is a great method to attract customers as they are aware of commitment.

It becomes a new idea when you get visibility among local customers if you sponsor and give away gifts and merchandise to customers.

 

18. Apply for business awards

In the era of business awards, you can apply for and if you win, it will help to get publicity for your business house. The writeups in local magazines round up similar businesses are a great way to get the word out about your businesses. Be sure to know about the latest and relevant awards so that you can apply for the right awards.

 

19. Host a webinar

Hosting a webinar will attract new customers or other business organizations to know about you. It can be easy as going to Facebook Live and replying to questions on Instagram. This small business idea will earn you more customers into your business.

 

20. Publish distributed content

Maintaining an engagement in social media platforms—like Facebook and Twitter are designated tool for self-promotion. Now other marketing techniques cost a lot more and Business houses have taken refuge in social media to talk more about their products.

Consider LinkedIn—it has a much greater impact, by joining the groups, participating in industry conversations and you can get the audience that gives desired results. The small business idea does not cost a thing on social media platforms.