Business marketing on a small budget

Are you looking to increase your company's sales? To get in front of more people? To acquire new customers? At first glance, marketing can seem quite simple. You simply place a few advertisements, then sit back and wait for the sales to arrive, right? In truth, marketing can get fairly involved, fairly quickly. So we do recommend you take a little time to understand marketing theory and terminology first, as this will help you immensely and hopefully limit too much wastage in your hard-earned marketing budget.

The 4Ps Marketing Mix

First and foremost, understand your marketing mix. It’s what those in marketing might say is akin to a perfect recipe; it’s the marketing choices and blending that organisations make when bringing a product or service to market. The 4Ps marketing mix focuses on the four pillars of marketing strategy:

• Product - What is it you are selling? To whom? What is its USP?
• Price - How much are you charging for your product? In comparison to competitors?
• Place - Where are you selling your product? Retail, online, wholesale, internationally?
• Promotion - How will your customers find out about you? What will you say to them?

If you want to find out more about the 4Ps, or learn about the extended marketing mix (with 7Ps and 4Cs) then read more here. Once you’ve understood and perfected your marketing mix, it’s time to find customers and get pitching. Here’s some marketing tips that won’t break the bank.

Know Your Audience

It has never been more important to have an intimate understanding of your target audience. Remember first and foremost, customers are human! Especially in the world of business to business marketing (B2B), where several people may participate in the decision to buy the product or service you are selling. Think about who you are talking to? How do they make a decision? What is their underlying motivation for buying? What research can you do? Metaphorically speaking, you want to be spearfishing rather than casting out a trawler net. If you know your audience, your budget can be targeted more economically with a precision campaign.

Get Online

Getting your business online has never been more important, especially if you’re looking to grow or scale. Going online doesn’t have to cost a huge amount as there are plenty of free and low cost tools to use: Create a Google My Business Profile - This free listing from Google is a great place for you to share details like your address, services and products, and to help with your visibility. Customers often rely on Google to get information about businesses, so do take advantage of this free opportunity. Publish a website - You can find many affordable website options to build your brand’s presence. Wix offers competitive pricing and the opportunity to get your business online quickly. Wordpress is another popular and low-cost option. Build a Social Profile - Social channels are free tools to use. Take this opportunity to write a company blog and share it with professional social sites such as LinkedIn. You might be surprised at the traction you can make when publishing your own content. Google PPC and SEO - Learn about how the Google search engine works, and how you can climb up the listings using both organic natural search and paid-for advertising, called PPC - or Pay-Per-Click. By utilising these and other online tools at your disposal, you can market your business your way, in your voice, all at very low cost.

Start Communicating

In a B2B situation, your target audience should always be on the lookout for fresh content, industry news, product innovations and new players. Afterall, it’s part of their job to stay on the pulse. Your job is to position your marketing materials in front of your audience at the right time, with a compelling message. Make sure you keep up to date with industry news and events yourself, as communicating with reference to news and trends is a great way to boost your interaction with your audience on a more regular basis.

Direct vs. Brand Marketing

There is a key distinction between direct and brand marketing. Direct marketing is focused on generating immediate responses to your message. Whereas brand marketing focuses much more on the deeper brand story and connection and generating brand awareness over time. When on a small budget, always go for direct marketing. It's cheaper, more cost-effective and you’ll see immediate returns.

Networking

Never underestimate the importance of business networking. Networking takes all forms and sizes; it can be joining a local business group or simply getting out in the community. Those people with wider networks often find more opportunities and deeper industry knowledge than those with a narrower network. It’s common sense. Whilst networking, your personal profile and your business profile are entwined. Do think about your personal presentation as well as practising your company’s elevator pitch. Networking can be a force that propels your business growth at little or no cost; make sure you harness this powerful pathway.

Understand How To Sell

It is often said that Knowledge is Power. So having knowledge of selling principles will also mean more effective selling of your products and services. If you're out there selling, do sharpen up your selling skills. It will save time and produce better results. We would recommend reading a book such as ‘The Psychology of Selling’ by Brian Tracy, which focuses on methods and strategies to make sales faster and easier than ever before. Or if you're looking for a practical guide that teaches the key skills to more effective selling, look no further than ‘DK Essential Managers: Selling’.

Get started in B2B marketing today

Marketing on a smaller budget doesn’t need to cut corners. In fact, the more ‘No-Cost’ time you spend on planning and strategy, or research and understanding, the less budget you’ll waste on failed advertising campaigns and unread corporate brochures. Heard enough? With a highly direct and targeted marketing message to you right now, we’re asking you to Get Marketing today so you can start enjoying the benefits of more successful and more efficient B2B marketing.

This article was brought to you by Collaborate as part of our Better Working series. Collaborate is an independent business centre in central Woking, offering Serviced Offices, Coworking Desks, Meeting Rooms and Virtual Office services. If you’d like to provide some feedback or get in touch, feel free to contact us.