The Art of No-Cost Marketing, Part 1 of 2

marketing essentials for entrepreneurs and business-folk, with Renzie Baluyut.

Marketing is something every single entrepreneur has to deal with. Particularly so if you're running the show all by yourself, and you have to wear all kinds of hats in the workplace.

The importance of marketing for small businesses and entrepreneurs? We talked about organic growth last week, the importance of building up and getting the most out of your customer base. Marketing helps you achieve just that. People need to know about your products and services, they need to try it out, and if they do like their experience with your brand, you'd definitely want them to keep coming back.

Usually, however, the challenge is this: most start-up companies and even small businesses have to deal with having a very limited marketing budget. Sometimes, with even no marketing budget at all.

Allow me to share with you some tips on how to come up with a modestly effective marketing campaign with hardly any money shelled out from your end.

The Art of No-Cost Marketing: Ten Tips To Jump Start your Cost-Effective Campaign.

For the first part of two on my no-cost marketing feature, let's focus on building and creating. Before you actually get the word out, you need to have a variety of marketing materials available for your target audience, should they decide to check you out to see if you're worth their while.

1. At the very least, start with a logo. Something that speaks about your company, or your products and services. Yes, you can have someone do this for you, but if you're handy enough with a PC, you can come up with a simple yet effective logo for yourself.

2. Have prepared written blurbs about your company, as well as whatever it is you're pushing at the moment. Write-ups about individual products or services are good, but also have something written up about the company. Take it a step further: figure out your mission, vision and philosophy, come up with a tagline, and even put together a short elevator pitch.

3. You will want business cards. Again, you can make some from home using a PC and a printer, and some board paper. Put your logo on it, the name of your brand, and most importantly, your contact details should potential customers want to reach you and do business with you.

4. Put up a simple website or a blog. These days, with so much free blogging services available online, you can come up with a simple, yet fully functional and interactive website for any customer to check out 24/7. In fact, these days, you simply *must* have a blog or a website. Put everything there: your logo and your blurbs, all the contact details you have, related news and updates, even pictures, video, and podcasts later on.

5. Create other useful things which visitors or potential customers can have for free: a free downloadable list of tips, or a guide to doing something better, a recipe booklet, essentially anything of value to your target market. Even better: produce useful and informative podcasts or videos. Maybe a sample of your product or your services. Get them to try you out and get into the habit of coming back for more.

6. Take pictures and video. You could have shots of your team in action, or you in an event- anything to highlight your products and services, and to show how other customers are having a positive experience with your brand.

7. Social media and social networks: go right ahead and put up your Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. Don't forget to fill these up with all kinds of useful things (see #5), so not only can your market try you out, they can even tell their friends about their experience with you. Take it a step further: go for Multiply as well, or a photo service such as Snapfish or Shutterfly, try out LinkedIn, or even touch base with potential fans of MySpace and Friendster.

8. Brochures and Flyers. Come up with handy print copies for your clientele. It could be a menu, or a list of products and services you could offer. Don't forget to put all your contact details, including your web address, and the URL's to all your social media services.

9. Come up with a media kit- this is most particularly useful for when you'll be doing all sorts of media placements or strategic partnerships and tie-ups later on. The point is to put everything you have about your company or your product/service line into one convenient kit for potential partners, sponsors, and even customers if you wish. Include samples, as well as your brochures and flyers, and pretty much anything else you'd feel putting in that kit.

10. Put together a database. Sure for now you can probably put together the emails of your more immediate friends and family, but in time as you gain more repeat business as well as more customers, you will find that having a customer database will help you with all kinds of marketing and promotional activities.

That's it for now. Part 2 of The Art of No-Cost Marketing Coming right up, as we talk about Getting The Word Around.

Photo courtesy of our friends over at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Cheers, everyone.