There are a lot of ways that you can finance your startup. But, after you’ve set up your company, marketing is everything. Is budget too low for implementing a proper marketing strategy? Worry not! In fact, having a tight budget is a great way of channelizing your creative side and coming up with innovative ideas to let the world know of your business.
Startup marketing strategies for businesses running on a low budget
Here are some creative marketing strategies for startups running a little low on the cash. These are some of my learnings from Marketing my bootstrapped startup, Kashmirica.
#1. Reinvent how you talk about your business
Every time you are asked what you do for a living, don’t simply answer that you are a business owner or an entrepreneur. Instead, use this opportunity to spread word of mouth about your company. Tell what is unique about your company and tell what it is that makes you stand apart from the crowd. Develop a back story about your startup and let them know what makes your company worth knowing about. Share it in a way that the listener will remember about it.
#2. Build a reputation for yourself within your niche
Let others know of your credibility in your niche. Try to give them as much insider’s knowledge on your field as you possibly can. Basically, you need to establish yourself as an expert for your niche. Write detailed blogs, conduct webinars and live sessions. Take every opportunity to speak to your audience on your niche. Participate in expos, talk at podcasts, offer your knowledge and expertise on forum websites. Reach out to the community as much as you possibly can. And if you think about it, there’s actually a lot that you can do here.
#3. Make your content discoverable
You may have a great idea behind your business and also some great content, but it’s of no use if your audience can’t discover you. Make your content discoverable. Implement a few digital marketing strategies for this. Write compelling titles for your website’s web pages. Use very specific keywords related to your niche for every post that you publish. Make use of hyper-targeted keywords for acquiring audience through social media. Share every post that you publish on all your social media accounts and use as many and as specific hashtags as you possibly can.
#4. Give out tempting coupons
Let’s be honest here. Who doesn’t love discount coupons? Research suggests that about 80% of consumers use coupons both online and also in offline stores. In fact, most people would also prefer a business/ company just because they offer coupons. So, this old-fashioned technique works great when you are trying to market your startup. You can send out these coupons by email. And in turn, you might also get new people subscribing to your email newsletter.
#5. Conduct contests and giveaways
When you are just starting out, it might get difficult to let the audience know of your company. Conducting contests and giveaways is a great way of letting people know about you. Offer a free sample of your product/ service in return for a review or shares on social media. Similarly, for contests, you can offer something for everyone who participates.
#6. Participate in events as a sponsor
You can co-sponsor in events that are within your niche. Almost every field/ industry in the world conducts events. There is no better way of connecting with like-minded people than at an event. This is a wonderful marketing opportunity for you. Your audience here can convert into your prospective customers. In fact, you can also ask the event organizers to let you speak about your company in return for the sponsorship.
Over to You
Startup marketing within a budget is all about coming up with new ideas. Here, I shared 6 ways of marketing for startups on a budget. How many more can you come up with? Let’s do some knowledge-sharing in the comments below.
P.S.- If you are running a tech startup, a few days back I had written an article on tips for tech startups amid COVID-19. You might find it valuable.
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