How Can I PUMP UP My Marketing Without Spending A Lot Of Money?
Congratulations for finding “84 Proven Ways To Pump Up Your Marketing”. It’s a practical, no-nonsense answer to the age old question, “How Can I PUMP UP My Marketing Without Spending A Lot Of Money? The list is quite extensive and although not every tip is applicable to every business, we trust you’ll find enough gems to help your business attract, acquire, and retain more customers – and keep a bunch of dollars in the bank.
We believe wholeheartedly that small, entrepreneurial businesses face completely different sets of challenges than do larger businesses in that every dollar spent on marketing needs to generate a return. We, as small business owners cannot afford spend money on marketing and advertising just to create awareness – we need to create dollars.
This guide will help you do just that.
“84 Proven Ways” Contains Three Sections Of Suggestions
- Marketing Strategies & Practices – The art and science of creating and articulating your unique message.
- Marketing Tactics – The various means used to communicate your message to prospects and customers.
- Prepare Yourself – A little self-improvement goes a long way.
These 84 quick-hit suggestions are designed to stimulate your imagination and marketing brainpower. I elaborate on many of the strategies in my four books and over 100 recent articles.
Marketing Strategies & Practices
1. Be different from your competitors in at least one meaningful way.
2. If you aren’t different – innovate until you are.
3. Before you start to create any marketing piece answer this question: “Why should I buy from you, when I can buy cheaper from Joe down the street?”
4. Understand the true definition of marketing – “Everything you do that touches or impacts you customers and prospects”.
5. Continually educate your customer and prospects.
6. Don’t try to be cute, funny, poetic, or edgy when creating advertisements and marketing pieces. Focus on the benefits you bring to your customers.
7. Don’t be a cheapskate – invest in professional talent to create and design yourcollateral and sales material when appropriate.
8. Craft a compelling message and stick with it.
9. Ask your customers these two questions: “Why do you buy from us?” and “How likely is it that you would refer us to a friend or relative?” Take their answers to heart.
10. Marketing is critical to your success. Don’t hire idiots or newbies to do it.
11. It is quite possible to betoo creative; try heard to avoid this.
12. Stop ignoring 94% of your prospects – those who aren’t ready to buy now – and develop offers just for them.
13. Reach out to your customers and prospects with useful information – not sales talk.
14. Get real testimonials from real customers.
15. Never call solely to ask, “Are you ready to buy yet?”
16. Improve your website. Over 77% of websites are ineffective or just plain stink.
17. Create and perfect a 5 to 10 second “Better Elevator Pitch”.
18. Don’t be afraid of long copy. You must tell your whole story. Just do it in as few words as possible.
19. Don’t have ten different messages – it only confuses your audience. Find your best unique selling proposition and articulate it well and consistently.
20. Know your competition: what they’re doing and what they’re saying.
21. Don’t make empty claims almost no one believes.
22. Beware of the “False Alarm” headline – always be relevant.
23. Make your employees aware that every person and every facet of your business affects marketing – and profits.
24. Develop a simple, effective marketing plan and stick to it.
25. If you’re an expert, offer free advice.
26. Develop attractive, motivating offers that don’t include discounts.
27. Hire a pro to critique and edit your marketing materials and business plan.
28. Leave your ego at the door when creating marketing material.
29. Back up your claims with actual evidence.
30. Avoid using “non-credible” numbers in your marketing. Replace “50%”, “ten times faster”, and “double the selection” with exact numbers like 53%, 10.7 times faster, and 2.3 times the selection.
31. Assess your marketing and advertising coldly and objectively.
32. Work with an experienced advisor/consultant. It’s generally cheaper in the long run.
33. Understand the “Decision Spectrum” of Now Buyers and Future Buyers.
34. Learn to nurture your Future Buyers with useful information.
35. Don’t do it yourself just to save money; you’re probably not qualified. Hire someone competent or get educated on copywriting.
36. Identify the three most important questions to ask before buying your or a competitor’s product – then tell them to your customers and prospects.
37. Give people a strong reason to buy from you other than price.
38. Do not bad-mouth your competition.
39. Understand whether your product better lends itself to an emotional approach or intellectual approach.
40. It is important to test your ads – even if you simply ask your friends and family for their opinions. But be careful…some people think if they’re not negative, they haven’t answered your question.
41. Design the layout of your brochures, flyers, ads and websites to sell – not to confuse or amaze.
42. Never write marketing communications to impress your old English teacher. Write using simple words and short sentences that your customers will find easy and pleasant to read or hear.
43. Never use words that have foggy meanings. Be precise in your language.
44. Don’t let some cutting-edge art directors talk you into an artsy ad layout. K.I.S.S. and stick with classic layouts. They get read!
45. Find ways to make it easier to buy from you.
46. Make it easier to return a purchase to you.
47. Find ways to reduce the risk of buying from you.
48. Don’t trust advertising sales rep that offers to create your ads “free”. They are worth exactly what you pay.
49. Beware ad agencies/consultants that flaunt their creative awards, but don’t mention the results those ads generated.
50. Write like your customers speak.
51. Make sure you stress benefits and solutions, not just features.
52. It is not sufficient to merely be a great business; you must also create that perception in the minds of your customers.
Marketing Tactics
53. If you don’t have a website or blog, get one. Now!
54. Optimize your website for mobile devices.
55. Be an effective and sincere networker.
56. Don’t overlook the back of your business card.
57. Set a reasonable marketing budget. Under-budgeting can mean slow death.
58. Have fewer “Sales”.
59. Buy better lists.
60. Better yet, collect e-mails from as many of your customers as possible and build your own list.
61. Communicate with your customers and prospects regularly.
62. Re-consider the humble postcard.
63. Create portable signage to place on your job sites.
64. Carry your business card at all times.
65. Try to see what the homeowner sees when your crew arrives – and then improve on it.
66. Start a Referral or Loyalty Program.
67. In your radio ad say your name, website, and/or phone number at least four to five times in sixty seconds.
68. Don’t ignore the free billboard space on your building. It’s quite valuable.
69. Track responses with Marketing Extension Lines and Google Analytics.
Prepare Yourself
70. Learn to use powerful selling words without being obnoxious.
71. Learn to use social media like blogs, Face Book, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
72. Learn how to do basic market research virtually free.
73. Learn how people read advertisements, brochures, etc. Design yours accordingly.
74. Learn how (and when) to design a business card that sells.
75. Learn to write headlines that interrupt and grab your attention.
76. Learn what crossheads are and use them liberally in longer copy.
77. Learn how to turn all your employees into marketers.
78. Learn the techniques of direct-response advertising.
79. Learn why you have less than four seconds to interrupt a person with your message.
80. Learn the basics of radio advertising.
81. Learn how to lead your prospect down the “Slippery Slide” to a sale.
82. Learn which of the things you’ve been saying are of absolutely no importance to your customer.
83. Learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) web advertising.
84. Learn the Secrets of the World’s Best Copywriters with my new multi-media course, Write Like A Madman and Make Money Like Crazy.
The Genesis of this Article
I originally (2021) put this list together for a client with a small, family owned home services business. I was trying to answer the question she asked, in essence, “How Can I Pump Up My Marketing Without Spending A Lot Of Money?”
The first list I showed her had only 33 suggestions, but through our conversations, we realized that if we broadened the list to include bricks and mortar businesses, home-based businesses, and companies that depended on their online presence to get customers – we could help two of her friends and a heck of a lot of others.
So, 84 items…but even if you find ONE that applies to your business, and it works, look how far ahead of the game you’ll be.
Learn and Prosper, my friends.