Marketing Strategy: The Complete Guide For Small Businesses

Focus on Word of Mouth

Many don’t think of “word of mouth” as a marketing channel, but they should. Time and time again, word of mouth shows up at the top when customers are surveyed about how they learn about and choose products and services to purchase.

Why don’t we focus on word of mouth more? Maybe it’s because it doesn’t feel like “marketing” the way Facebook ads or renting a billboard does. Maybe it’s because we don’t feel like word of mouth is predictable.

However, if your competitors are trapped in the more predictable and easier forms of marketing, then that is your advantage. While they are chasing less effective forms of marketing, you’ll be winning the game by focusing on what the data says you should.

One way to get started is to talk directly to your customers and ask them if they would refer your company to their friends and family. If yes, ask them how to make it easy for them. If no, ask them how you can make your business more referable. Either way, you win.

Josh Steimle, Founder, Canvas PR

Leverage YouTube for Marketing

YouTube is a fantastic marketing channel for a small business with a low budget. 

You can create a YouTube channel and use it to post videos that educate your target audience about your product or service. You can also use it to answer questions that your target audience might have about your product or service. 

Using paid advertising can get more eyes on your videos and drive more traffic to your website. You can also use free methods such as subscribing to other channels in your industry, leaving comments on other videos, and getting your videos to go viral.

Matthew Ramirez, CEO, Paraphrase Tool

Invest in Blog Content

In my experience, one of the best ways for a small business with a low budget to see results from marketing is to invest in blog content for their website.

This is for several reasons. First, creating blog content for a new section of your business’ website gives you a steady stream of content to promote on social media. For example, you can publish a “how-to” guide or informational post that helps your customers and then share that content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social platforms. This can bring in more visitors to your website who want to learn more about your industry or products and services, and, hopefully, some of them convert to customers.

Second, blog content can rank on search engines like Google and bring in visitors for years to come. Once again, these are qualified leads who are looking for the solutions you offer.

Finally, blog content doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can find talented writers on websites like Fiverr or do it in-house.

Tom Blake, Founder, This Online World

Try Email Marketing

Email marketing continues to be a fruitful, dependable marketing channel for businesses operating on a small budget. It can be especially helpful if you’ve been focusing on it for a while and have really built up an extensive list of emails!

With email marketing, you can create your messaging and schedule strategies depending on your needs. You have total control over the design, format, and more.

With the rise of social media and smartphones, many people questioned if email would continue to be as popular as it was and time has proven that it is. Now, people just do it on their phones and, in many cases, check their emails even more than before, which makes email marketing a viable strategy.

It’s also an affordable option because it can be done easily enough by staff members with the use of free tools like HubSpot. There’s no large overhead, and it isn’t overly complicated—but it’s effective.

Tim Woda, Founder, White Peak

Embrace Co-Marketing Partnerships

The best marketing channel for a small business with a low budget is one that is often overlooked: co-marketing.

Co-marketing can often be done with almost a zero budget, requiring mostly just some time.

What is co-marketing? Co-marketing is a partnership between two or more businesses that collaborate on a marketing campaign, pooling their resources and audiences to achieve greater reach and impact while sharing the costs and benefits.

Think about the difference when hosting a social media giveaway. When you do it on your own, it’s just a prize from your products shared with your audience, but when you do it with one or more brands, your brand gets exposed to a much wider audience. The prize will also be bigger and drive more engagement.

The same thing goes if you’re in the professional services business and you want to host an event. If you partner with complementary firms, you’ll get a larger attendance, share the costs of venue hire, and gain far more exposure.

Sven Radavics, Founder and CEO, intribe

Publish Social Media Content

One of the best marketing channels for small businesses is content creation on social media channels. Creating and sharing high-quality and relevant content on social media channels is a specific marketing channel that can be effective for small businesses with low budgets. By consistently sharing valuable content, small businesses can engage their target audience, build brand awareness, and promote their products or services at little to no cost.

Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter provide an opportunity to create and share a variety of content formats, including text, images, and videos, to attract and retain customers.

By identifying their target audience and their interests, small businesses can create content that resonates with their audience and encourages them to engage with their brand.

Irina Poddubnaia, CEO and Founder, TrackMage

Utilize LinkedIn for Visibility

While social media platforms are a goldmine for younger audiences, LinkedIn is your golden ticket to successful marketing campaigns at a low cost but with exceptional results. The professional character of the channel attracts industry experts and leading companies to check their news feeds frequently for the latest news. 

Consequently, LinkedIn has become the most suitable tool for small businesses to attract visibility with outstanding and captivating content. And the best part is that it costs nothing.

Marco Genaro Palma, Co-founder, TechNews180