Ingenious techniques to market your startup business – For free!
You’ve spent months or even years of investing your time, resources, and energy on your business idea. Your Startup business is finally up and running, yet, you have close to no customers and your costs seem to be swallowing you up faster than a shark in a summer thriller. Don’t raise your white flag just yet. Try these ingenious marketing techniques and see how fast you can grow your Startup business.
1. Word of Mouth is the Oldest and Most Powerful Marketing Tool Out There
Superior Customer Experience Will Get People Talking
Whether you have one client or a million, you should always give your customers the outmost importance. Many new entrepreneurs believe this means spending countless hours working for “free” in order to woo their very short client list. However, this could not be further from the truth!
Offering superior customer experience simply means fulfilling your clients’ expectations. This means doing what no new entrepreneur likes to do: research. Research what your prospective customers are really looking for and provide it to them. This also means being clear, from the very beginning of the transaction, on the services and products you can and will provide. For example, when customers enter a retail chain store like Dollarama, they expect to find cheap everyday consumer products. No one goes to Dollarama for quality or luxury. A dollar store’s promise is to sell cheap stuff. So long as customers will find dollar items in a Dollarama, their expectations will be met. On the contrary, purchasing an item at Dollarama, then finding it elsewhere for less than a dollar, will result in customer frustration.
Give your clients what you originally promised to give them, plus a little extra, and you’ve just made yourself some free promotors of your business.
Talk is Cheap: Telling People About Your Business Costs Nothing and Opens Doors
Small businesses are managed by 2 types of entrepreneurs: the ones who talk too much, or the ones who talk too little. Unless you are in the business of selling top-secret intel, talk about your business as much as you can and to as many people as you can. However, be careful not to bore everyone in the process. People in you meet every day can become customers or, even better, advocators of your business.
If you want people to get interested in your business, you need to talk about what you do in a clear, precise, engaging, and inspiring way. Because we are not all natural-born speakers, it is imperative to develop and practice delivering a “mini” business pitch. What is your business all about? What services or products do you provide? What are your aspirations? Answering these questions in a simple and clear way, without jargon, is a good place to start.
2. Experts Sell: Become an Authoritative Voice in Your Industry and People Will Pick You Over the Competition
If you were living in the Greater Toronto Area and needed home inspection services, wouldn’t you be inclined to select Mike Holmes Inspections over the competition? Why? Because the name Mike Holmes is the symbol of trustworthy home inspection and renovation.
Many small business owners make a name for themselves in their field of expertise by becoming a recognized expert at what they do. If you are operating in a specific industry, then educate others, and, in turn, they will also discover your company. Provide your services as a guest speaker at local associations or trade shows, connect with networking groups in your industry, set up a blog or write field related articles, or create educational videos about your trade.
Most of these activities do not cost much but your time and know-how. And, although to some, they might feel like a waste of time, they are the most effective way to present your company to your target market. Building a strong reputation is the best way to generate growth, longevity, and a solid brand for your business.
3. Being Generous is Profitable
Monetary donations might be impossible for you now, but there are hundreds of inventive ways to give back. Donating your time or products to local events is a great way to build brand awareness.CSA Balloons owner Csaba Laviolette is living proof that getting involved in your community and social causes is the fastest and most effective way to build a loyal and devoted clientele. In its humble beginnings, CSA Balloons would provide free custom balloons to local events and associations. Fifteen years later, CSA Balloons is now the leading custom balloon printer in North-America, with offices all over Canada and the USA.
Marketing your Startup business in might feel impossibly expensive, but with a little ingenuity, Canadian entrepreneurs are finding new ways to set their businesses apart from the competition for free! What are your marketing methods? Share your experience below!
