Your marketing strategy is, ultimately, what will make or break your business. If you market effectively and bring eyes to your product, the business will likely thrive. On the other hand, if you keep your company in the dark with limited promotion, it’s going to struggle to leave any kind of impression.
Sadly, an effective marketing strategy can be expensive. Large companies will often dedicate at least six figures into their annual publicity efforts. With that said, it’s possible to advertise your business successfully even with a modest marketing budget. All it takes is a plan to maximize your budget and get the most bang for your buck.
1. Strategize For Success
Before anything, you have to plot out a plan for your marketing efforts.
This is easier to do if you already have some sort of track record with your business. You can analyze your company’s past year and see what worked and didn’t work as far as promotion was concerned. Also look at your goals for the future. Do you want to aim for 50% growth with your business in the next year? If so, you’re going to require a large marketing budget — a few leaflets and business cards aren’t going to cut it.
2. Setting a Budget
Now that you know how your marketing goals align with your business goals, it’s time to take a closer look at your marketing budget. If you have no plans for significant growth and are simply looking to maintain the same market position, a lean marketing budget makes sense. If the plan is an ambitious one involving cutting-edge tools and multifaceted marketing strategies, the budget will need to be significantly bigger.
If you’re a startup that’s struggling to find any spare cash for marketing, don’t panic. There are methods for generating money immediately. You could use a reputable company like Cash Lady for online loans, for example. An online loan can supply you with a nice chunk of cash for marketing, and this minimal gamble could pay off massively if your business becomes a success.
3. Selecting the Best Marketing Strategies
Once you’ve decided on the amount of money to spend, the next step involves zeroing in on the marketing strategies you feel will work best for your business. Consider the following tactics:
- SEO
- Email marketing
- Blogging
- Paid advertising
- Social media
- Referral networks
- Press releases
- Traditional advertising
Oh, and that’s only scratching the surface. According to Splashcopywriters.com, there are many different promotional tactics available, so it can be tricky to decide which one deserves the most investment. For a helping hand, analyze the competition, see what they’re spending, and evaluate what is working best.
4. Implement Your Marketing Plan
When everything is decided and developed, there’s only one step left: implementing your marketing plan. For the best results, it is advisable to use specialists if the budget permits. This could be done by a professional marketing company, expert freelancers, or via an in-house team of employees who know their way around copywriting, SEO, design, coding, and so on.
Steve Conway is a content marketing professional and inbound marketing expert. Previously, Steve worked as a marketing manager for a tech software start-up. He is passionate about discovering new software that will that will advance his already well-honed digital marketing techniques.
