Marketing on a budget

Sarah-Jane Freni
Account Director
13th April 2017

Success doesn't have to cost the earth

There are lots of agencies out there who are skilled in the promotion of businesses and have specialisms in social media, web, PR and marketing. That’s all very well if you have the money to spend, but some businesses don’t. If you’re a start-up or a sole trader, or you’re just thinking about becoming your own boss, then read on.

  1. Social media is your friend: Social media is probably the cheapest and easiest way of marketing your business on a budget. Immerse yourself and connect with people who’ll promote you or open up new opportunities for you. However, it’s not all about selling; it’s about building relationships too.
  2. Keep it fresh: Make sure your communications are frequent, consistent and relevant. Keep in mind what you sell, what your customers are looking for and why you’re in business.
  3. Use the internet: That’s what it’s there for! There’s a world of information at your fingertips, you’ve just got to know what you’re looking for. Which brings me on to my next point…
  4. Understand your objectives and don’t lose sight of them: Set your goals or objectives and make your plans around them. You’ve heard it time and time again, but ensure they’re SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. If they’re not, then you’re on the back foot from the very start.
  5. Speak to the people who know best: Get out there and meet the people you’re trying to contact or sell to. Understand what it is that makes them tick and what drives them to buy or change their behaviour – depending on what your business does.
  6. Research: There are thousands of white papers, blog posts, Twitter feeds and endless videos to watch on best practice, advising on how and what to do next. Know what you’re going to do, before you start doing it.
  7. Analyse everything: You might not be too hot on maths and your days at school may be a distant memory, but don’t worry! Nowadays there are tools, cheat sheets and software programmes that can analyse every inch of your campaign for you. Start with your website and take a look at the analytics for behind-the-scenes insight. It will show you bounce rates, where your visitors are coming from, how long they stay for, and even where they go next. It’s all there – you just have to know what you want to find out.

It can be easy to forget that using an external agency has added benefits. Yes, it might cost a little more than if you did the work in house but, be honest, do you have the time and resources to do this?

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