As a small business it can very hard to advertise in a cost effective manner.
I know for me it's impossible to have an advertising budget that includes TV ads, radio ads, newspaper ads, and whatever else running simultaneously.
So, here are a few things I have done that are cheap, yet effective ways of generating new business.
1.
Craigslist.
This may seem cheesy but it works.
Now, I don't spam Craigslist everyday with useless ads.
I think that is tacky and unprofessional.
If people see you doing that they might think the same thing and this could hurt your business.
So, how do I use Craigslist to effectively advertise? The answer is simple.
I use it in moderation and I use it to post things of value to the people searching the site.
When someone visits Craigslist they are typically looking to get something cheaper than they could elsewhere.
Therefore, I have found that when I am running sales at my store creating an ad on Craigslist to advertise the sale always brings new customers to the store.
Customers usually do not come flocking in simply by using Craigslist but I do typically gain a handful of new customers.
At that point it's time to retain those customers (customer retention will be discussed in a later article).
A handful of new customers may not seem like a lot but if you make a good impression hopefully word is mouth will then work its magic.
And guess what; obtaining those new customers was absolutely free.
You can use this tool for any type of business.
However, keep in mind that it seems to work best when offering a sale or discount of some sort.
2.
Network with other businesses in your area.
This is something that a lot of small business owners do not do or do not do very well.
A lot of my business comes from referrals from other businesses in my area, even some that sell the same products as I do! It is actually very easy to network with other businesses.
Take a little time each week to visit a couple businesses in your area and ask them if you can leave some business cards, fliers, or whatever else you may have with them.
The worst thing that can happen is they tell you no.
BIIIG DEAL.
It doesn't matter if they tell no! Don't be scared to ask and don't get discouraged just because someone told you that you couldn't place fliers at their store.
Just go to another business and ask them.
You may even want to revisit the businesses at a later date that have told you and try to build a relationship with them and who knows, they may eventually give in.
Now, this is a 2 way street.
In order for them to help you it's important to send business their way as well so you can keep a good relationship with other businesses and co continue to gain their referrals.
I mentioned above that I also get referrals from stores selling the same product as me.
How? Well I have found that the employees of larger companies out there are actually very willing to refer people to a locally owned small business if they can't quite suit their needs or if you offer something that they can't.
You are your own boss after all so you can set the rules and offer promotions and/or products that the big box stores don't mess with and this can help you gain referrals from these same big box stores in your area.
3.
Social Media.
Yes I know you have probably seen countless articles on this topic and I hate to beat the subject to death, but there is a reason you see it everywhere - it works.
Creating a Facebook or Twitter page and updating those pages on a regular basis can work wonders for your business, and it's completely free.
You can reach so many people this way.
Not only can you gain customers from it but using these social media outlets can help customer retention tremendously because you can offer promotions to your followers.
It also helps build a sense of community around your business and people love to be a part of something.
4.
Going old school and using the United States Postal Service This is a great way to reach potential customers while keeping your cost low.
Get some post cards, fliers, brochures or whatever printed with a description of your business as well as the contact info and mail them out to addresses in your surrounding area.
You can also go a step future and provide some sort of discount with whatever your mailing in order to not only let people know you exist but to entice people to come visit your business as well.
You can do this every couple months or once a year or whatever.
You might be surprised at its effectiveness, but remember just because you mail out 1,000 fliers definitely does not mean you are going to get 1,000 or even 100 new customers.
Even if you only get 20 new customers out of the process it is well worth it because again, word of mouth is powerful and is difficult and can be very expensive to gain those same customers that you just obtained in such a cost effective manner.
5.
Develop an incentive program for your existing customers to get you new customers.
This sounds complicated by its actually very simple.
Ask some of your regular customers if they would like to earn discounts on some of their future purchase.
Get them to tell all their friends about your business and in exchange give them a discount every time someone tells you they were referred by that person.
You can keep up with their discounts earned very easily by either writing it down or using something like Microsoft excel to keep track of each person's referrals.
Using this method your word of mouth advertising will increase at a much faster rate because people are getting something out of the deal.
This also makes your regular customers (The people getting the referrals for you) feel like they are a part of the store and this will keep them coming back as well.
These tips are a great way to generate a new customer base without spending your hard earned money on expensive radio or TV advertising campaigns.
However, in order for them to work YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION!