14 Simple Ways of Low-Budget Company Promotion (Part-1)

Low-budget marketing! Dream of any business owner, and still "dream" - if thus also recognition of the company (product) would grow in a geometrical progression ... And the curve of sales from day to day would bend all more abruptly upwards.

But the reality is that the budgets for marketing (advertising, PR - it is necessary to emphasize) are made up according to the laws known only to the "coder" (read - to the marketer, advertiser) And, with rare exceptions, are a weak reflection of reality and the company's need for contacts with the target audience.

They say that the real professionalism of a marketer is to bring the company (product) to the market without a budget ... Well, or with the minimum necessary cash injections.

I do not know whether this statement is true or controversial - I hardly imagine Coca-Cola, Mars and Adidas on the market without budgets but still. The fact remains, and the realities of the market are such that not everyone has budgets to pay for "multi-layered" advertising campaigns. In addition, because of the prevailing mentality of Russian business owners who are skeptical and distrustful of their own marketing services, small and medium businesses are not yet ready to part with money for advertising and other marketing communications (for there is no clear understanding of "how It will all come back to us").

So, what are the low-budget ways to promote a company or product to the market you use?

I can offer you the tools that I used quite often in my practice, which are tested by the market and have shown their effectiveness and which have helped me more than once.

Here they are:

1. Barter:

Many do not like this word especially in accounting. I do not really like it myself. But, I must admit that such a scheme of cooperation is quite common in the Russian business segment, even among large and respected players (for example, such as Rosinter). Of course, if you have something to offer your potential partner. And, obviously, the value of your proposal for a partner should be no less than what you expect (ask) from him.

2. Exhibitions:  

Yes, your industry exhibitions are a good opportunity to promote yourself in your own market among your partners and target audience. And no - it is not necessary to buy expensive space and mount the stand. Be creative - push the boundaries of your imagination. There are many other ways to express yourself at the exhibition, to make your contacts as short as possible and to sort out the ones you need.

Carefully study the offer of the exhibition organizer, the site where the exhibition will be held - look for opportunities for a low-budget "performance."

It can simply be placing in the exhibition catalog, posting on the site, renting 2-3 sq. Meters at the entrance to the exhibition, putting the girl / boy with the distribution of samples (or just some "goodies" -positions with your contacts), investing in a package Participant, the organization of the photographer with instant printing of photos against the background of press-wall with your logos, and so on - think up! (By the way, such participation can also be closed by barter)

3. Internal events: 

It means - your personal events for your target audience, for your potential customers. Create some useful event for your customers - what is their problem? What is their critical question, for which they usually pay money?

Give them this answer for free! Perhaps in the form of a mini seminar or micro-training for up to 4 hours, maybe together with a representative of an authoritative opinion (for example, if it is medicine, then it can be the head doctor of a serious clinic if the trade is a large network manager, tax chief, top Bank manager, etc.).

About holding such a seminar you can negotiate with the owner of the premises, which is also interested in the audience that crosses with you, but not a competitor to you for services. For example, it could be a cafe, club or restaurant, which is simply interested in visitors and sales of the kitchen and bar. In addition, in your pre-PR campaign for recruiting students for your event, you will be pirated by them, as well as in post-releases and reports on the fact of holding the seminar. Do not forget to mention this in the negotiations with the site owner.

4. External activities:

Many people forget about useful semi-informal parties or, conversely, professional "meetings" of their decision-makers (persons who decide to cooperate) in the form of various chambers, clubs, and communities and so on.

Look for - certainly in your city there is the Chamber of Commerce, which periodically arranges parties for general or financial directors. Look for different fashionable chips, such as a game club for the mafia for HR directors. For accountants, these can be seminars conducted by the local IFNS. Ask where the marketing directors in your region are hanging out (if you, for example, offer printing, design or advertising ...). Find out where the logistics director lives (if you are a courier service or a transport company).

If you are completely bored in the city and poor IDFs go stupid after work home - see the point above: come up yourself! Their activities finally, create your club of players in the mafia for ____ (insert the post you need)! Your costs are buying or ordering printing special cards, eye patches and beautiful rules on A4 sheets!

Any restaurant in the city will be happy to lend you a room in the evenings of the environment for such a topic. In addition, it is not necessary to make such evenings free. Freebie relaxes. A club mafia owners require discipline (read the rules in the net). Therefore, take from the players to 100-500 rubles. For the evening (the amount should be such that it was placed painlessly, and the value received in return would at times cover up such a "loss" from the wallet).

5. Press releases: 

Take for the habit of every Tuesday to issue press releases about your company's activities. Releases should not be large and voluminous - make text on half a printed sheet plus a couple of key proposals about the company.

Look for the whole week inside the company! Set up a system for collecting and processing news and, in general, everything that happens in the company. Any sneeze - should flock to you in the department. And you already decide - to release it on the air or not (together with the owner of the business, of course).

And distribute regularly your press releases on the network and on all the communication channels available to you: a website, a corporate newspaper for clients, newsletters, a notice board in the sales room or the reception area ... Register your press releases in the free press release catalogs ( they are easily located In any search engine ). Send your news to the relevant publications in your region - both in print and online magazines and online media.

6. Publications: 

The same goes for more capacious publications in the press - provide free content to journalists and the media. It can be an interview for your market, for some problem of your customers, analytical reports and slices, statistical data ( many media like different statistical collections ), just interesting publications "in the subject". Invite the leading publisher in your region to organize and maintain some special interesting rubric - and deliver up-to-date and up-to-date information to your column weekly.

Everyone needs interesting and useful content! Ask, in the end, your customers or potential customers - that IM is interesting in your topic, what do they want to know about?

7. Cases: 

 Case study or success-story. The nature is slightly different, but the point, in principle, in one thing is to show your target segments by the example of solving their problems. Write stories on the formula "Problem - Solution - Result," "how bad it was before - and how wonderful it was after," the principle, I think, is understandable. The stories in this vein are very attracting and disposing.

Just do not write them with the language of "robot" and dry text. Humanize your texts. Write in a simple normal language, as if telling a friend. And do not make such "success stories" yourself to sell your specific services, and you have quite a noble impulse - just to share information that others "have won how you managed with the same situation, and you still suffer ...". And all - you do not impose anything. Simply communicate the information. We have the same age of information progress, after all. Everyone shares information with each other.

(If you want to see Part-2 Click here)

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