We at our company love a good start-up and all aspects of entrepreneurship (after all, this is how we began!).. but we are only too aware of how little money there is in the beginning to help with marketing and self-promotion.
So we thought we would help new start-ups with some advice on promoting your business on a shoestring budget.
There are many ways you can get your business out there (and many ways you can waste a lot of cash), so firstly, you need to think about what you want to get out of promoting your business. Be sure to set clear achievable objectives and then look at the channels and methods that will most easily help you achieve those goals.
So here are our top tips on promoting a start-up on a shoestring:
Word of Mouth
This is the cheapest and easiest way to get your message out there. Tell everyone you contact about what you do and how it can help them. This isn’t a time to be shy. Get out there and make some noise!
Networking
This falls in with word of mouth. Join your local chamber of commerce, or related organisations or groups. Join discussions on LinkedIn – whenever you get a relevant opportunity to link back to your business – DO!
Website
A website is your customers’ first port of call, so make sure it has all the relevant information and is user-friendly. You don’t need to have expensive, fancy designs—there are many themes you can buy and adapt to your style and brand. Our favourite is Themeforest.
Press Releases
PR is one of the cheapest marketing channels to communicate your message. But remember that a press release cannot just be a sales message, there has to be a news angle and something relevant that your audience will find interesting.
So is your business offering something that is one-of-a-kind, revolutionary, and will change how people live their lives or run their business?
Or is your company doing something for charity – will your local hat you as a consumer/business owner would want to know when you read your newspapers/publications be interested?
It is also a good idea to set up media interviews with local or relevant journalists to discuss what you are doing as a business in more detail.
Printed Materials
So, ultimately, there will need to be some outlay costs.
Have some eye-catching and interesting business cards printed—something that people will remember. Business cards are becoming less important as technology drives communications, but having an interesting and different business card means people are more likely to keep it and look at it (and it’s great for your networking events).
If you intend to attend networking events or conferences, etc., it might be worth developing some small A5 flyers that are eye-catching and detail your business, which people can then take away – and don’t forget to add your contact information to them!
And don’t forget to think of your KPIs and be creative. The business market is so saturated nowadays that you need to think outside the box to be heard. When you think you have done enough, always think, ‘What else?’
