Nibletz Staff
When you think about the marketing efforts of a startup, the costs of those efforts are most likely to be one of the first things that pop into your mind. There’s no denying that it costs money to print and send flyers, to get a great website, develop content, and more. But it doesn’t have to bankrupt the business. Here, we’ll look at ways to stick to a smarter budget that won’t deprive the business.
Pinpoint your targets
There are a lot of reasons to get a much better knowledge of your customers. Track your analytics, talk to them about what they want, and find out why they might choose you over your competitor. For one, you’ll get a better idea of what sites they visit, what they look for, and what social media channels they use. Meaning you can put your marketing in just the right place rather than paying to get your message featured where none of the relevant people are going to read it. But it also helps you identify the aspects of the brand and your product or services that most appeal to them. It helps you hone down your message so it attracts a greater share of the market.
Shift the scales
There are a few changes you need to make if you want marketing to be cheaper but just as effective. For instance, you might not want to abandon physical marketing completely, but there’s no doubt that switching to digital allows you to reach more people for less money. But moving to organic methods instead of interruptive, to an SEO company instead of a video marketing company, can be a greater investment in certain situations, too. PPC advertising and other outbound methods are great for seeing a much higher initial boost in clicks and conversions if you’re launching a new product or event. However, search engine optimization, content creation, social media and other inbound methods allow you to build more visibility and prestige for the brand, which can convert much better in the long-term.
Focus on what you got
It’s six times more expensive to get a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. Don’t forget to make use of the contact details of the customers you already have, to focus on customer service and make sure they’re happy with their experience. For one, you’re not throwing away the future revenue they might provide. But you’re also making it much more likely they’ll engage in positive word-of-mouth, giving you another way to convert new leads. Some of that marketing budget might go on incentivizing referrals, too, to give them much more reason to help you out.
Use those leftovers
Developing brand new marketing content can be highly expensive, so think about being more frugal with how you use it. For instance, if you’re preparing a press release, then make the bare bones of it first by paying for a written abstract. Think about how you can then adapt it to other formats, such as social media posts, blog content, and infographics rather than having to create new ones. If you have an event, launch, or campaign going, don’t take on the effort of marketing it all yourself, either. Connect it to an opportunity for free PR to give your company more visibility for absolutely nothing.
Know your customers, know the different methods, and know how to capitalize on what you already have. Expanding this knowledge can make it a lot easier to make sure that marketing isn’t only more effective but more cost-effective, too.
