How can I market my business with a small budget?

1) Business cards
Very simple and low cost. Give them out to everyone who is interested in your business. Make sure your card doesn’t try and say too much – but does include all your contact information.

2) Getting in the news
Get writing: a well-written press release can attract the attention of journalists who can, in turn, write about your business and put you in the paper or on local TV. Writing your own press release is free. Think about newsworthy messages - for example, have you moved premises, expanded your products or services, celebrated your 1,000th customer or done something different to help your local community? Target your local newspaper or any relevant trade press, and once you have sent in your press release, give them a call to see whether you can provide any more information.

3) Local Press Advertising
If you contact your local newspaper with a press release, you are likely to get a call offering to sell you some advertising space in the newspaper. Think carefully about the readership and how well it matches your target customers? How much you would want to spend on an advert – and how many people would need to respond in order to pay for it.

 If you do decide to place an advert, then this can usually be drawn up by the newspaper or you can get it done professionally elsewhere. Remember to give people enough information so they know what you do, where to find you and how to contact you.

If you are looking for immediate responses rather than simply awareness of your business a promotion or special offer may help. But make sure the advert is simple, clear and doesn’t have too many words. Have a look through the newspaper or publication to see what other advertisers do. See what attracts your attention and what doesn’t. And remember, less is more!

4) Leafleting
A leaflet or flyer can let people know what your business has to offer. They could be distributed door to door, or with the local newspaper. It is a good idea to include a special offer to get people to try your products or services – but remember the offer needs to be appropriate for what your customers want; include an end date to it – and consider how many people might take up the offer. A special offer also has a cost to your business so give careful consideration to how it impacts your bottom line.

5) Direct Mail
Approached carefully, direct mail (sending letters) can be a cost effective way of marketing. Think carefully about simple messages – why will the recipients come to buy from you and how do you want them to respond; by phone, online, face to face? You can also have more than one version of the letter or message so you can target the message to whom you are writing. This makes it easier to target different groups rather than using a ‘one size fits all’ message. You can produce the mailings yourself if you have a good quality printer and can ‘mail merge’ using a software programme which keeps the cost low.

You will need to remember that under the Data Protection Act (DPA) requirements, you need to have people’s permission to market your products to them. If you buy a list from a 3rd party, ensure that they have screened the list for you.

Mailings can be a more expensive way of targeting customers. The key here is to only send the letter to those people whom you believe are most likely to respond.

A Barclays Business Manager can introduce you to a local marketing expert for a free marketing consultation to help you develop a plan on how you can get to know your customers. The Finding and Keeping Customers training package from our online e-learning programme with Mindleaders includes courses and videos to help you make the most of opportunities.