6 Ways To Improve Your Bottom-Line With Low-Cost Marketing

It’s a myth that Marketing needs to be overly expensive or needs to take up a lot of time or resources in your business to achieve real measurable results and add to your bottom line.

Most small business can implement some low-cost (or even better - no cost) Marketing activities effectively and easily.

Here are some key marketing practices that are easy to implement, cost-effective and will increase the number of leads and sales you receive.

1. Find out who your customers are and what turns them on!
   
   Many businesses think they know who their customers are and the reasons why they buy their product or services, most often though, they don’t really know.
   
   
2. Take a good, hard look at your marketing material!
   
   When was the last time you looked at the information you send to people to sell them your product or service? Maybe it’s time to take another look.
   
   
   • Do the key sales messages reflect what your customers say when you ask them why they’ve used your services?
     
     
   • Does your corporate image and identity reflect the essence of what you’re about?
     
     
   • Do you have short concise statement that accurately communicates to potential customers what it is that you do?
     
     
3. Talk to the people who pay you!
   
   Many organisations spend a lot of money trying to create awareness of their product or brand to new target markets. Why not start your marketing with your most precious, current customers?
   
   
   • Do you have a database and if so what state is it in? Is it accurate and up-to-date?
     
     
   • Do you have a system set-up to regularly communicate to your current customers to maximise up-sell and cross-sell opportunities?
     
     
4. Track and measure marketing performance
   
   
   • Are you tracking where all of your leads come from and comparing that to spend?
     
     
   • A simple tick-sheet used by your sales representatives or receptionist asking, “How did you find about our service?” will suffice as a way to track your marketing spend.
     
     
5. Are you throwing money away!
   
   
   • Are you allocating your budget in the right areas? Where do you get the most leads from and, do these result in real sales?
     
     
   • Do you get your best leads from your Yellow Pages Ad? Have a look and see if this money could be better spent elsewhere.
     
     
6. Are you doing enough bragging!
   
   
   • Are you too busy working in the business rather than on the business?
     
     
   • Are you attending events or looking at other opportunities, which allow you to communicate to people about your business?

Michelle Gamble, Marketing Angels. Marketing Angels understand small business and deliver marketing solutions that work. For more information visit the website: www.marketingangels.com.au
First published: 8 April 2004.
Last updated: 11 November 2004.