You’re probably thinking that promoting your business requires tons of money. You’re probably right. But you know what? There are also simple but effective techniques to market your business without having to spend a chunk of your operating expenses. And here’s five of them. 

Talk to Your Clients

A lot of bigwig companies are totally missing this out. They don’t talk or listen to their clients. When they don’t, disgruntled clients are forced to make a decision: to go to the competitor. As you can see, the voice of your customers can be that powerful to drive change to your business for the better. And all you need to do is talk to them.

No, this doesn’t mean commissioning a focused research to get the output you want. This means simply approaching your clients and asking them simple questions that will yield important responses. Here are some of the things that you can build your questions from:

• Their problems or challenges
• The solutions they find in your business
• The importance of your business in solving their problems
• The most valuable aspect of your business for them
• What other products or services they wish your business has

If you’re not comfortable talking to your clients personally, you can turn to an unlikely platform: your website or social media through a poll, a Q & A, or something similar. Just remember that your goal is to make your business better by gathering as much output from your clients.

Consider Creative Packaging

First, what type of business are you? What products or services do you offer? What’s your unique value / selling proposition? How can you tell people about all of these?

One effective marketing strategy to promote your business lies on your packaging. So think outside the box. If you’re a newly opened restaurant, how about sending your prospects a mini-menu with a note saying that their next lunch is on you?

If you own a bar business, how about sending your prospect a cork with a note saying that their next pop is on you?

There’s a lot of ways you can be creative in your own space. The only thing you need to do is to think outside the box.

Take Advantage of Publicity

Instead of advertising, why don’t you consider charming the press? No, this doesn’t mean paying huge money to PR firms. It means learning the tricks on how to do it well. Now, when you do it, the key thing you need to remember is this: leverage. Communicate what value your company can offer the public.

Now, when you write your own PR, don’t expect it to catch on right away. What you can do is to publicize it on your own platforms. Create a news page on your website, distribute it on your social media channels, include it on your email campaigns, and distribute it through online directories.

If necessary, hire a Digital Marketer to help you with your efforts. Eventually, word gets around, and before you know it, your company might just be the next big thing.

Capitalize on Existing Relationships

Who are your present clients? How many are they? How can you capitalize on your relationship with them? The fact is, one person may know about 200 people. You can do the math with that, and imagine the potential that word of mouth can bring to your business.

To do this effectively, remember one key thing: educate. Don’t sell. People know when they’re being sold to, so focus on building and nurturing your relationship. It’s one way that you can build creativity and trust. When you educate, you’re prone to help people. In return, you’ll get back what you’ve given.

Don’t Ignore Email Marketing

There are four reasons why you should consider email marketing. First is its cost-effective. Second, it’s flexible. Third, its high impact. And fourth, it’s easy to measure. On top of that, email marketing allows you to reach a broad set of audience, to redirect traffic to your website, and to stay in constant contact with your customers.

The contents of your email also allows you to build credibility and to showcase your expertise in your niche. But there’s one rule that you should always follow: don’t spam. Time the intervals of your email. Sending your list a succession of emails in a given day will clog their inbox. As a result, they’ll turn away from you.

Finally, send emails only to those who opted to receive them. If someone wishes to be removed from your list, then do so right away.