Not everyone will have a vast sum of money to call on when they launch a business, and many entrepreneurs are finding that they have to start with virtually nothing if they are going to start at all. If you feel like this and you don’t want to borrow money right from the outset, and neither do you want to wait until you have raised enough capital to begin because you’re excited to start, the following ideas might help you when it comes to marketing because, after all, this is something you will certainly need to do.
Have an Elevator Pitch Ready
An ‘elevator pitch’ is a quick – perhaps 30 seconds or so – snippet of information about your company that you can use to tell people about it whenever the situation presents itself. It’s called an elevator pitch because you should be able to present it when riding in an elevator with someone who might be able to invest in your business or point you in the right direction; it has to be quick, concise, and engaging.
Spend some time honing your pitch so that it is exactly how you want it, and then learn it well. You might not get the chance to use it that often, but it’s a good idea to have it just in case; you never know when it might come in handy, and it could lead to big things.
Collaboration
Collaboration is all about working with another business – a non-competing business, of course – and by doing so, giving your customer more than you can do alone. This will increase your customer service’s potential to improve because you can be more flexible and have more time to help them, plus it means you can make more money because you are, effectively, selling more things.
Even if you don’t work directly with another company, cross-promotion efforts through internet advertising, flyers, direct mail advertising, and linking to one another through social media can help and be mutually beneficial without taking away any customers from one another.
For example, you might be a car valeting company that starts working with a mechanic to give your customer additional services. Or perhaps you clean windows, and you collaborate with a blind installer. There are hundreds of different ways this can work, and it won’t cost you much at all – if anything.
Sponsorship
Suppose you can sponsor a local sports team or put your name behind an upcoming charity event. In that case, you can raise a lot of awareness about your business in the local community for a relatively small sum of money. Not only that but because you are giving back to the community, people will look fondly at you and be more willing to use you when they need whatever it is you sell.
When you are thinking about going down this route, you will need to consider whether the team, event, or anything else you are putting your name to is going to improve your reputation and whether it is something your target market is going to be interested in or even notice.
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