Most entrepreneurs have a secret that most larger organizations have sadly forgotten: Cut your costs and you’ll make more money. And in no other area is this more true than in the area of marketing. Why is this?
1) Momentum of the past: If traditional advertising and promotion have always worked, then doing more of the same means more of the same success. In other words, why bother changing?
2) Ignorance of the present: Many people see cutting marketing spending as a zero sum game: less advertising means fewer enquiries and lower sales. Very few consider using alternative web channels where the cost is zero, or close to it.
3) Self-serving advice from agencies: If you were an agency that was paid commission from ad sales, why would you recommend a campaign with zero commission?
We are not advocating a significant cut in ad spending, or that traditional advertising and promotion shouldn’t be an important part of the marketing mix, but rather that there is value in exploring non-traditional channels. Especially if your target audiences can be found there. And especially since cost savings flow directly to the bottom line.
So where are these non-traditional channels? Here are several:
- Craigstlist: Free Online classifieds. Make sure that you
- Kijiji: Free Online classifieds
- Facebook: Find local or special-interest “for sale” pages.
- Local event listings: Every city has numerous online venues for events to be listed. Google “Events” and your city name to find them.
- Eventbrite: Free event management and registration site.
- Your website: Too often we forget that an enhanced site will do better on Google (and once users are there, there is no competition.)
- Google Places business listings: “Claim” your business to be found on Google maps searches. (And consider adding a discount offer.)
- Bing Places: “Claim” your business to be found on Bing searches.
