Marketing a new business can sometimes incur hefty costs, but there are a few things that you can do to market your business inexpensively. You can promote your business online and offline. The trick is figuring out what works and what doesn’t and build on that. Luckily, I’ve tried and tested a few to save you some time. Here are a few tips to get your business off the ground and improve it.
Touch base with your clients
Send an e-mail, or make some phone calls. Let your customers know that you are still around and haven’t gone out of business. If a customer has purchased before, odds are they will purchase again. So with that in mind, segment your list and create some promotions that can appeal to the ones that you are calling. Let them know that you appreciate their business and want them back. Offer an incentive to have them use your services again.
Offer a free promotion
Some of the top marketing experts will tell you that if you offer something for free you will more than likely get a paying customer at the end of it all. Offer something for free, with no strings attached. For example, if you own a hair salon offer a Free Moroccan hot oil treatment with your client’s next shampoo. You may think that that will cost you a lot, however, what if your client loves it. You already know that they like your haircuts because they visit you and purchase a haircut but what if the next time that client comes in, they want the hot oil treatment as well? Think about it, if you offer something that your client likes and can find a need for, they will probably purchase it the next visit or recommend it to someone else. Either way its a win-win. This could be a great promo and a great excuse to use to call your old customers and touch base. Best of all, its a fabulous way to get them back into your salon!
Send Out a Promotion Card
Don’t just tell your client about the promotion, send them a card with the voucher in it. It’s something physical and they won’t forget about it. This is the second way to follow up from your phone call, and also remind them. You’d be amazed at how many people will seem excited about the prospect of a free hot oil treatment, and totally forget about it when they hang up. Send a card with the promotion! This way they can’t forget and they can cut out the coupon if they wanted to.
Send Out a Monthly Newsletter
Need a good excuse to connect with a client and let them know what you’ve been up to? Send them a newsletter each month. And by that I don’t mean an e-newsletter – send them a REAL one! We all know how annoying e-mails can be. People enjoy getting ‘real’ mail and stuff that isn’t a bill. So send a nice, glossy & informative newsletter to give them the latest news and updates. To help cover your costs you can also sell some ad space on your newsletter depending on the size of your database. If you’d like a sample of one please email me and I’ll send one out to you for free.
Send Birthday Cards to Your Clients
When was the last time you received a birthday card from someone you did business with? Imagine how nice it would be to get something from them that wasn’t trying to sell you anything? Send a birthday card with no strings attached. Not a “happy birthday, get 10% off your next visit”. That’s not a genuine “I care about you”, rather it’s a pretend “I care for you, but really I want your money”. People aren’t stupid, they’ll know. Also, don’t send an annoying e-card. Again, it’s like spam to some people and can get deleted. Worst yet, they might remove themselves from your list and/or report you to your service provider. Sometimes people forget they have subscribed to an email list and can get upset when they receive mail that isn’t relevant to them.
Need some help with piecing together your ideas and coming up with a campaign to revamp your marketing? Send me an e-mail or give me a call. I’d be happy to give you some free advice, no strings attached! mala@cards-online.com.au or 0414927117