Throughout this economic downturn, "helpful" articles and "experts" are suggesting that now is the time to increase marketing and advertising spending because your competitors are quite likely pulling back. Yet, how can you increase marketing with constricting budgets, decreased cash flow and diminishing revenues? Welcome to the Catch-22 of business marketing.
Fortunately, there are ways to increase your marketing efforts and improve client acquisition techniques without necessarily increasing spending. Consider the seven marketing tricks that follow–any of which you can adopt immediately to boost your business during slow times.
Start a Blog
Yes, blogging consumes a good deal of time and takes commitment. But, it is also one
of the least expensive methods for establishing a professional "presence" on the Internet.
The good news is that once you have a blog that begins receiving a growing number of visitors, you have a “home base.” From there, you can leverage additional Internet marketing tactics, such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In. One of the most popular blogging platforms, WordPress, is completely free. You can create your blog instantly at http://www.wordpress.com.
Write in Other Blogs
Once you have a blog and a “voice” of your own, share your opinions in the "comments"
section of relevant blogs. By reading other blogs pertinent to your industry or topic,
you become more knowledgeable. In addition, sharing knowledge or insights with other blog
visitors further establishes your expertise. It also doesn’t hurt that you can include a
link back to your own blog within your signature.
Link to Industry Blogs
You can quickly enhance your business Web site with links to industry blogs. This step
(this article, actually) assumes you already have a Web site. If you don’t, you must get one.
Once potential customers start viewing your Web site as a hub from which they can get
information, they are much more likely to revisit your site often. That kind of loyalty and
trust is often punctuated with a purchase.
Write and Publish a Book
With self-publishing service providers, publishing a book is easier and faster than ever.
And, as a businessperson in your industry, you possess the knowledge and experience
to write and publish a non-fiction book relevant to your past, present and future
customers. A book of this nature, in its simplest form, consists basically of a rewrite
of your business model combined with a rewrite of your product/service manual. Not only
is a book a revenue channel in its own right, but a published book further establishes
your expertise with new customers and provides a low-cost entry to your business.
Offer Your Book Free
What’s better than being able to acquire profitable new clients through a $20 "loss leader"
like a book? Give it away for free to potential clients as an e-book. All you ask in
return is their email address. Customers get something of value in exchange for adding
their contact information to your email database.
Adopt Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Once you have a blog, a paperback and a free e-book available on your Web site, you
are prepared to successfully engage in high ROI (return on investment), pay-per-click
Internet advertising through Google and Yahoo. Services such as Google Analytics help
you identify your cost-per-lead, and your own business model should help you identify
an acceptable cost-per-lead. If the actual cost-per-lead is lower than your acceptable
cost-per-lead, you have a successful marketing campaign. Otherwise, it requires a
little refining.
Create Microsites
The next step entails categorizing your pay-per-click campaign into separate and
specific categories. Make sure people who click on specific keyword ads arrive at
specific microsites or “landing pages” designed around those keywords. Further enhance
your offerings by publishing multiple books (think around 100 pages) and offering multiple
e-books, each one specific to individual visitors and a related landing page.
Now that you know how to increase your marketing techniques, even during a recession, imagine what you will be able to do once the economy turns around! These simple and cost-effective marketing steps will help you improve your customer acquisition rates in addition to improving product sales and services. While your competitors will be cutting back and losing out on new clients, you can grow!
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