Marketing can be costly and business owners often wonder what else they can do in order to get more business. I’ve put together a quick summary of what businesses can do without any costs in order to market their business.
Business Events
There are plenty of business events happening right around you that you may never hear about unless you search for them. Platforms like Meetup allow organisers to promote their business events in a particular area. The Meetup idea started after the September the 11th attacks, where people wanted to be able to catch up with their neighbors. Fast-forwarding to the present, it is now one of the biggest event platforms in the world. With Meetup, it’s easy to see if the event is a repeat one and how many people are registered.
Simply go to their website, select the Career & Business category and change your location settings to get information about upcoming events in your area.
Visiting BNI Chapters
Most businesses don’t know about BNI, which is the biggest networking organisation in the world. This is a structured networking meeting format that takes place weekly across numerous chapters. BNI is a great way to meet active networkers and find new business.
Finding a BNI chapter is easy using the search function on their website. You are allowed to visit chapters for free twice before they ask you to sign up. Most chapters would allow you to occasionally visit as a substitute (for this you need to get on subs list). Check out their website. You may be surprised how many chapters there are around you.
As a member of BNI, I can certainly personally recommend this approach. The key to success with business networking is clarity. You need to be super clear about who your ideal client is and the services you provide. This may sound strange, people don’t always understand what a business does.
Email Blasts
Sending an email blast to past clients could be the easiest and most powerful way of getting business. Generally, it is much easier to do repeat business as opposed to finding new clients. This is why sending an email to clients is a great way to start new conversations.
When it comes to email marketing, there are couple of things that need to be considered to make it work. Firstly, you genuinely need to have a good reason to email people. Some good reasons are seasonal greetings, business updates (eg. new staff, change in services) and news that are relevant. Secondly, plain emails usually work better than HTML styled ones. This is because they look more personal. Finally, make sure that your email has an attractive subject line and a call to action in the email. This way the email will have a better chance of getting open and actioned upon.
If you are looking for tools to do this, we recommend starting with something as simple as MailChimp and if you are into mass email blasts using something like Sendy.
Google Business
Having a Google Business profile that is property setup is one of the easiest ways to get noticed. The key is to have a complete profile setup that reflects your business and provides value to your potential clients. This means that a business listing must be correct and complete.
We’ve put together a free guide in terms of optimising your profile and getting the most exposure. You can download this guide here.
There are many other ways of marketing your businesses without a big budget. I’ve outlined some that we know definitely work. If you would like to share some ideas, please comment below.
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