Running a small business with a small budget is no walk in the park. First of all, with today’s interconnectivity of the world, everyone is exposed and able to reach the biggest names in pretty much every industry they are interested in. Local businesses as such can no longer rely on customers who will be their customers simply because they have no other choice. What you need as a small business owner with a limited budget are ways in which to attract people even with limited means.
Do customer service right
One thing where the big names of any industry will never be quite able to compete with smaller, local businesses is the customer service. Huge companies with thousands of branches will never be able to dedicate as much time to their customers as a business who is concentrated on a single market will. This means that you have to make every customer not just a returning customer but someone who will tell their friends about you. Make sure your staff goes out of their way to help each and every customer as if it was their only one.
Be creative with your promotional items
Promotional items have been a part of business from day one. You can almost imagine the first person who sharpened the spears of their fellow tribesmen giving out promotional flints and arrow heads with their mark scratched into them. Promotional items can be personal and they can be eye-catching without having to be too expensive. There are now places where you can order boutique corporate gifts even as well as all kinds of exciting and one-of-a-kind promotional items that will make your clients remember you and your potential clients notice you.
Go local with your marketing
When we are talking about going local with your marketing, we are not just talking about putting up posters with your company logo in your neighbourhood. We are talking about local talents who can turn out to be better at doing promotional materials and marketing for you than companies that you have to pay thousands of dollars to. There is a web designer on every block; there is a graphic designer on every block; there is a musician on every block. Hire them, tell them what you need and pay them reasonably. Before you know it, you will have a great web site/poster design, theme song for your business and you will have saved a lot of money.
Get in touch with local media
People are still in touch with local media, no matter how global we have all gone. A lot of people watch local TV stations, read to local radio stations and read local papers. Become someone that local media turns to when they need an opinion or advice on a certain industry/subject. Approach them without any marketing pretentions and after a while, they will be quoting you left and right and you will become known as the local expert on this-or-that.
