Chances are you’ve read articles talking about bootstrap marketing strategies or marketing strategies for small businesses. Many make recommendations on how to use organic social media traffic or how to do your own PR. Most people find this concept overwhelming or believe it’s too costly, so they never even try.
What Is Bootstrap Marketing?
Bootstrap Marketing is when you have a minimal budget and put the work in yourself to reach your target audience. You provide them with a message they connect with, causing them to purchase your products. In other words, bootstrapping marketing for small businesses is achievable!
Setting Yourself Apart
See what your competitors are doing and figure out how to make yourself stand out from them.
Utilize PR
Public relations is an excellent way to promote your business. Use social media to market your business and your products, creating excitement among your ideal customer.
Grow Your Email List
The more of your customer’s emails you have, the easier it is to connect with them and let them know when you’re having sales or launching new products.
10 highly effective bootstrap marketing strategies for SMEs you can use include:
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when a business or retailer pays you a commission for the traffic or sales it generates from your referrals. Affiliate marketing is one of the most valuable and lucrative ideas of marketing for small businesses since no investment is needed, and you only pay a commission fee when a sale takes place. There are two types of affiliate marketing for small businesses you can use, selling affiliate products or using affiliate marketing to promote your own products. When you sell affiliate products, you make a commission from each sale; when you use affiliate marketing as a way of promotion, you pay another person commission for selling your product.
Thousands of small businesses use this tool to help generate revenue. Here are a few tips to get the most out of affiliate marketing and begin seeing a steady flow of income.
- Make sure you pick affiliates whose followers or content relates to your products and audience.
- Cultivate a relationship with the affiliate. The more they know you and genuinely enjoy your products or services, the more authentic their content, marketing, and promotions will be.
- Calculate your margins for promotions before approaching the affiliate you want to work with. Share your current sales and if you are working with other affiliates to give them an idea of how much they can expect to make from working with you.
- Add bonuses for affiliates that reach your sales goals for the month to incentivize them and keep them engaged.
Also Read: Creating iconic headings and simple CTAs can improve your overall content. Here are some tips for creating marketable content.
2. Utilize Bottom of the Funnel Blog Posts
When you are marketing for small businesses, writing bottom-of-the-funnel blog posts puts you in consideration in the eyes of your target audience. Blog posts are a great way to compare your products or services to your competitors and highlight how they solve your target customer’s dilemmas. You can also utilize keywords that include V/S, comparison, etc., to help you rank higher on google.
If you’re struggling to find ideas, run a quick market research to see what problems customers have with your competitor’s products or services, or you could ask your marketing or salesperson to find out what are some of the most common questions that arise. If you write your blog posts well, your keywords will begin ranking, and you’ll start seeing organic traffic on your website. These potential customers are already at the consideration stage and are ready to convert!
3. Invest In Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are one of the last remaining areas on the platform that has maintained a decent amount of organic reach. Spending time in the groups where your audience resides is excellent marketing for small businesses.
4. Webinars Or Workshops
Depending on your market niche, you can host a webinar or workshop to help answer common questions customers may have. It also allows you to develop relationships with your customer base, show your expertise, and let them know how your product solves their problem. In addition, they help build trust, which is essential to driving sales. Try one or all of the tips below to get the most out of your webinar or workshop.
- Offer a timed discount for your product for those attending the session. They’re already engaged and interested, so help nudge them in the right direction and finalize the conversion!
- When you consistently host webinars or workshops, it will continually show your expertise and drive traffic to your website.
- Offer a free product to one or two people who stay for the entire session.
5. Invest in a lead magnet
Lead magnets are an effective strategy for marketing for small businesses since they help “lead” customers to your site. You can create any piece of content, a quiz, checklist, e-book, etc., that solves your ideal customer’s problem and share it in exchange for their email. Your lead magnetic drives traffic, and then you use the collected emails to nurture these leads and build a relationship with potential customers.
6. Strategic Partnership With A Complimentary Business
Entering into a strategic partnership with a complimentary business is an excellent way to symbiotically drive traffic to each company and increase sales. Finding a company that is farther along and has a larger customer base puts you in a position for exponential growth. Here are a few tips you can use to choose the perfect business partner:
- Find a business owner with whom you connect personally with a similar work ethic.
- Choose a business you would want to shop at.
- See where your ideal customer likes to shop and partner with a business they already enjoy.
7. Hire A VA To Do Social Media Content
A VA or virtual assistant can help you increase your social media presence by posting content to various platforms. They are knowledgeable about your ideal customer base and can create posts that draw your customers in and increase engagement. Companies like Skill Surfing offer excellent resources on marketing for small businesses in the age of social media. It can be hard to find the right marketing person to work with you so asking relevant interview questions will help you establish a connection and find the right person to work with you.
8. Utilize Instagram Guides
Instagram guides make posting content to Instagram fast and easy. They encourage influencer partnerships since you can use them to list all of your related products. A few ways you can get the most out of your Instagram Guides include:
- Sharing your brand story
- Providing instructions for your products
- Promoting others in your niche
- Collaborating with an influencer or creator
- Creating a gift guide using your products
Also Read: Learn how to reach a worldwide audience and provide your business with the stepping stones it requires to flourish and expand.
9. Hire A Commission-Based Sales Representative
Depending on the products you sell, you can hire a sales representative to research and approach potential customers. This tactic works for B2B products and services and allows the rep to utilize platforms like LinkedIn, which is a suitable platform to utilize in marketing for small businesses, to access a wide range of customers. If you choose this route, make sure you equip your sales team with everything they need to do their job well, including:
- A script and sales funnel they can follow
- A list of FAQs to answer all potential questions
- The flexibility to use LinkedIn to book Video calls to make sales
10. Build A Referral Program
A referral program is an excellent way to encourage your existing customers to bring new sales right to your door, which is an ideal strategy to do marketing for small businesses. It also works to create a loyal customer base that purchases your products or services for years to come.
A well-made referral program gives both parties a discount, increasing your chances that the referred customer will make a purchase.
Before offering this program, ensure you consider the percentage cut you’re willing to lose and split between both parties.
Putting It All Together
Now that you have the tools to use marketing to produce sales for your business, it’s time to put it all together. Our course shows you even more in-depth how to define, reach, and convert your ideal customer to produce the sales you’ve always dreamed of having. It also gives you the chance to develop marketing strategies and content for each level of your funnel, so you can create the most effective marketing for small businesses to drive growth.
What sets us apart from the rest?
- A highly specific curriculum custom-made to fit your needs
- Grow in yourself as you build and expand your business
- Limited class sizes mean you get focused, real-time support
- A unique learning approach guaranteed to help you get the most out of our curriculum
- At the end of the course, you’ll have a clear roadmap on how to get your ideal customer!
You don’t have to wonder how to do marketing for small businesses or use bootstrap marketing strategies to grow your sales any longer. With our course, you’ll have all the tools you need to make your business a success! So, what are you waiting for? Capture your success today!