When opening a business, it is important to make sure that you spend time and money on marketing the business so that the business can reach more people. Some businesses that are at an enterprise level have resources to spend on marketing and this makes marketing easier and more fulfilling.

Many businesses have a marketing department that has money available to spend on campaigns and other great marketing avenues, but if your business has a small marketing budget and little time to devote to research and marketing, what does that say for promoting your business?

Instead of giving up and throwing in the towel, think about these 30 low budget marketing ideas that any business can use!

The Perfect Business Pitch

No matter where you are, your business always needs to be marketed. If you are at a function where there are people, then you are at a place to pitch your business idea. Nothing is better than someone hearing excitement in your voice as you tell what your business can do.

Even though talking about your business is important, it is also important to keep your business idea short and simple. Most people have an attention span of around 90 seconds, according to the serial entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor, Robert Herjavec. He believes that if you cannot give your business idea in 90 seconds or under that you are not going to impact your audience enough to make a difference. Herjavec also feels that there are other things such as being confident and showing expertise in your business that are even more important than facts and figures.

In order to pitch a perfect business idea, it is important to have a simple and interesting idea, turn your pitch into a story, be courageous, discuss social aspects of your idea, tell your story so that it is motivating to the audience, be ready to answer questions and expect certain questions to be asked and be ready with amazing answers.

Community Does Matter

People who market oftentimes think that marketing to a large group or forming a national campaign is the way to get your business off the ground, but nothing can stir an interest more than involving the community in your business matters.

Find things that the community loves such as hosting a 5K or supporting a community sporting event. Find a charity or a non-profit organization where you or your marketing team can volunteer or even organize a block party with other businesses that are looking to grow. Printing out material and handing it out to local businesses, libraries, hospitals and community businesses can go a long way.

Generate Business with Referrals

Referrals are an effective way to get new business. Sometimes, marketers, especially of new businesses, feel weird asking other businesses for referrals, but there are ways to ask for referrals in ways that will help you and other businesses to strive.

When asking for a referral, it is important to be direct and to ask for referrals through means that are easy to accept such as emails, in-person and online. Ask customers or clients that seem to be more about your business and focus on having a great referral instead of working to have more referrals. If your business can afford to, offering incentives like percent off services, gift cards or small gifts can help encourage customers to refer your business.

Make referring easy, add a link or a “recommend here” function to your site to make this an easy task. Remember, no one wants to spend more than a couple of minutes giving a referral. Get customers or clients to like your social media pages and to share them, join professional networking groups and be sure to pay the favor forward when a business asks you for a referral.

Networking Groups

Building a network is a must for any new businesses. With a network, your business can build relationships that can help you to grow your business. Joining face to face networking groups helps you to be involved in what is happening around your community. If your local Chamber of Commerce has a group, many people there are business minded, just like you. Use apps and newspapers and community bulletin boards to find out when events are happening around you.

If at all possible, become a member of a business networking organization. There are many of these around such as Young Entrepreneur’s Council, SCORE, and other networking organizations. Search in your community or online to find organizations that you can join. There are generally hundreds of business networking sites that a person can join easily.

Participation is the Key

Participating in local trade fairs and business mixers is a must. This allows you and your coworkers to pitch your business idea and to meet people that are business minded, just as you are. Try to find local organizations that are hosting fairs so that you can keep your business in the minds of local people, nothing is better than word of mouth. Be sure to add events to your calendar so that someone from your business can show up and make a difference.

Industry trade shows can be a great place to meet new people so look at community bulletins and newspapers or even online to find events and even considering putting your business ideas on display!

Business Awards

Generate more customers to your business by applying for business awards. There are many awards such as “Best Restaurant,” or “Best of the Best,” “Best Customer Service Award,” “Best Sales Award,” and more. This type of award can get your business talked about and can peak the interest in new customers. If your business wins, post your winnings on your social media sites or hang signs outside of your business to make sure people know.

Target Marketing Strategies

People are interested in businesses that they can trust. Finding ways to target your market is an important strategy, but finding the perfect way is important. Find ways to target your market audience so that many people can be reached but you should focus more on the quality of your targeting over the quantity. Marketers need to look for ways to reach a large following and it is important to try to reach people that are interested in the industry that you have chosen.

Once you have figured out how to target your audience, offer free products or services and encourage your followers to review your product or service. This type of target marketing is popular through Facebook and YouTube.

Work with Other Businesses

Try to find other businesses that are related to your industry and introduce your business to a new audience. You can collaborate with other businesses online or offline through social media or events. Offer to leave business cards, flyers or brochures at other businesses and then offer to do the same for them.

Email Still Works

Emailing people still works and is the most cost-effective way of reaching out to someone. Email is free and all that it costs is your time. When doing this type of marketing, make sure that you reach out only to your target audience, that you are direct, that you have a great opening line but that you are not wasting their time, set up appointments, offer to answer questions or concerns about your product or service, always be kind, send a promotional item if available, be persistent and contact them on Thursday morning or afternoon, for the best response.

Let Others Market for You

Instead of having the stress of marketing your own product, find other affiliates and re-sellers. Having affiliates and re-sellers can help you to get your business leads and can help you make commission on sales.

Be Read to Speak

Offer to speak when you have the opportunity. People do not know what you are about unless you tell them. Go to your local community offices, libraries, business groups, community colleges and any other available venue and offer to tell about your services. Doing this will get your business recognition that you need.

Host Events

Plan an event or a class that can help get your business’ name in the community. Print out bulletins and flyers and place them around the community so that people know you exist.

Publish Business Content

Write blogs, publish articles in the newspaper and hand out information. None of these cost a lot of money but they are quick ways to get out information.

Industry Blog Writing

Find industry blogs that work towards your same industry and write blogs that accept new writers. Be sure to demonstrate your knowledge of your business and this can help you get noticed by larger groups.

Ad Promotion

Purchasing an ad campaign can be expensive but try to find coupons or discounts and go with cheaper routes of ad campaigning such as Facebook Ads or Google Ads. Check out local sites and web hosting services to see if you can get any type of advertising discounts.

In with the New

Make sure that your business idea is new and up to date. If you have old information, redo it and make sure that it fits with what is happening in the now. Do podcasts or videos to help spread your new information.

Offer Incentives

If you have a service or business, it is easy to bring loyal customers by offering coupons or other incentives. This type of advertising can also bring new customers in to try your product. We all like to try it before we buy it.

Online Contests

Giveaways and online promotional contests can be helpful in generating business. If your business has a product, offer it for free or a free service. Promote the promotion online through social media and announce the winner in style.

Free

Give away free stuff such as free trials or a free service. If people like your product or service, they will come back. People like to test something before they get fully committed.

Check Your Information

Be sure to make sure that all of your information is up to date online. Make sure that your Facebook, local directories and website have the correct addresses and phone numbers. Nothing is more frustrating than calling a business and getting a disconnect notice.

Newsletters

Sending out newsletters is encouraging to new customers. Find people to send newsletters to that will sign up to your social media accounts. Getting real mail is still fun and creating a newsletter can make your subscribers feel that they are important.

Market from Your Vehicle

Turn your vehicle into your marketing companion. Purchasing a magnetic sign is cheap and can have your business contact information on it. When you are driving around, people can know that your business exists. Try to get other people to dress their vehicles as well.

Business Cards

Having a great business card is important and catchy. Find a place to create a business card that is flashy and exciting and leave them with other businesses to leave out for you.

Live Stream Works

Go live when you are hosting an event or have a sale. People love to see what is happening on social media and going live with a new product is a great way to stir up excitement.

Podcasting

Podcasting is inexpensive and can help build business awareness. Showcase your brand and invite other businesses to join the podcast so that you can promote your own business and theirs too, someday you might need the favor returned.

Be Personal

When meeting new customers, make them feel like they are appreciated and loved. Write out thank you notes for new customers or give shout-outs on your podcast or live stream videos. Making your customers feel special is what it’s all about.

Email Signatures

Have your business team add a call-to-action in their email signatures shouting out to your business. This way, potential customers can receive a marketing message that is not pushy or overbearing.

Respond, Respond, Respond

Do not ever leave your customers waiting. If you receive an email, make sure that you take time to answer questions. Answering questions pertaining to your business shows your audience that you are serious and that you care about your business.

Use Online Platforms

Using Instagram and Pinterest are ways to tell your story. Having a brand story is important and using these platforms is free and easy. Publish photos that relate to your business, post pictures of your products, funny memes, hashtags, short business videos, customer testimonies and ask your customers to upload pictures to share to new and potential customers.

Be Creative

Use guerrilla marketing to express your business. Place stickers or graffiti find places to leave street art or even plan a flash mob. Do anything that is legal that will get your business noted. There are so many great ideas in guerrilla marketing, and this can be cheap and effective marketing!