Score Big Marketing Wins Without Much Money
How Small Businesses Can Score Big Marketing Wins Without Much Money
By Frances Dodds
Entrepreneur
Originally Published: September 24, 2024
Just because you’re a mom and pop with a limited budget doesn’t mean you can’t make a splash.
When a business is short on money, their marketing budget is often the first thing to go. But when you’re a mom & pop, being short on money is the regular state of affairs. Still, there are plenty of low (or no( cost ways to get customers’ attention, and rally your community. We asked the businesses on our list of America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops® to share their most “viral” marketing moments, and selected some to inspire you next time you’re looking to make a splash.
1. Find unexpected (non-internet!) places to reach customers.
“We partnered with a neighborhood filmmaker to make an advertisement to play at our local independent movie theaters. He shot it on 35-millimeter film and it looks so cool. While we do a fair amount of digital and social media marketing, it’s nice to reach customers outside of their phones or computers.” — Michael McCrory and Lauren Crabbe, owners of Andytown Coffee Roasters in San Francisco
2. Hand out free swag. It’s great advertising.
“We’ve always offered our clients a free, high-quality T-shirt. I see most businesses charge for that, but I’ve never understood why. Getting our clients to share their fitness successes with friends, family, business clients, and patients is our No. 1 way to promote our business. I often see clients and friends wearing our swag around town, and I see it as free advertising. When a conversation about our studio is initiated, our clients offer the best advertising available.” — Jeff Eckhouse, owner of Back Cove Personal Fitness in Portland, Maine
3. Increase your visibility with giveaways.
“I make art, and in the late ’90s, I sold a piece for $5,000. Before that, I hadn’t sold any originals for over $2,000. I used this money to make prints of five of my best works. I brought them to all the local frame shops in the French Quarter, and gave them two each for free. I left my card saying, ‘My work sells well. So when these sell, call me so you can order more.’ About 25 frame shops ultimately carried my prints. My work was in every corner of the most touristy areas. I didn’t realize what I had done at the time, because I was just trying to bring in some extra income, but flooding the market tripled my household income…[MORE]
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To read the entire article by Frances Dodds at the Entrepreneur website, visit: How Small Businesses Can Score Big Marketing Wins Without Much Money