As a small business, your budget for marketing might be less than that of larger corporations. This might have been an issue in the past when there were very few actionable avenues for advertising, but in today’s technologically-advanced world, things are different, and if you’re careful, a little money can go a long way. The key is to find the right ways to advertise your business, and the more unique they are, the better, as in that way, you’ll really stand out. With that in mind, here are a few ideas to get started with.
Use The Smartphone
In the third decade of the 21st century, there is hardly anyone who doesn’t go about with a smartphone in their pocket or bag. It’s how they do everything, from interacting with friends to making plans to paying for items bought in a store. With so many apps and so much functionality, in many cases, the smartphone is the only thing anyone ever has to take with them – they can even be programmed to start your car!
So, of course, if you want to get people’s attention, advertising on a device they are sure to have with them and interact with multiple times a day (even multiple times an hour) makes sense. One excellent idea is to utilize the power of social media, but perhaps even better because it will be delivered directly to your customer, is SMS alerts from Boomerang Messaging. Use two-way messaging for an even faster, more personal form of advertising.
Get Involved In The Community
Another unique idea to spread the message about what your business does and how it can solve people’s problems is to get involved in your local community. This could be by sponsoring an event or sports team, or perhaps hosting an event yourself. You could even volunteer when it comes to litter-picking or planting trees, and so on.
The more you can show that you’re interested in and investing in your local community, the more that community will grow to know who you are and feel positively about you. Since it’s usually best to start close and work outwards when it comes to finding new customers, this is an ideal way to do this and make the most of your position within the community.
Offer Free Shipping
Everyone will have had this experience; you find the item you want to buy online, and then, when you get to the checkout, you find the shipping cost is much higher than you expected, making you rethink your purchase. Many shopping baskets are abandoned at this point, and the business will have lost a potentially important sale.
To stop this from happening and to encourage people to use you more, why not offer free shipping? Even if your initial costs are a little higher to cover this, people would rather pay more for an item and get free shipping than pay less and have to pay to have it delivered. It’s a psychological quirk that you can truly take advantage of.
