A Cheap Marketing Strategy
Marketing can be one of the most important -- and most expensive -- aspects of running a business. It is most important if your business is just getting started, but it can be the most expensive at that time as well. No two business' marketing strategies are the same, so no one can outline a cheap marketing strategy that applies to all businesses, but several key marketing methods may prove to be very effective for most businesses today.
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Pay-Per-Click Advertising
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The big search engines and social media hubs are the rulers of the Internet, and they offer an unprecedented amount of potential exposure for your company. One way by which they do this is through pay-per-click advertising, which allows you to appeal to your target market on the grounds of geographic location, personal information, Internet habits and key search words. Another advantage of pay-per-click advertising is that it is quickly and easily scalable: you can easily see how effective various advertising methods are, which allows you to maximize your advertising dollars by spending them on the most effective demographics and search words, and you can spend as much or as little as you like.
Bundling
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One way of quickly broadening your market base is by partnering with another company that already has one. Bundle your products with those of a company selling related products, and your sales will shoot up overnight. Bundling usually means selling your product at a discount, but it is a low-cost method of marketing that can prove very beneficial. Partner firms may require you to bundle their products with yours as well when you sell through your own marketing channels, but this is usually no more detrimental for you than it is for them.
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Promotions
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An effective way to quickly bring traffic and attention to your business is by offering promotions. The simplest way of doing this is by putting banners out in front of your place of business proclaiming discounts for various products. A newer promotional method that has proven very effective is to go through deal-of-the-day websites. Such websites advertise a certain number of promotional coupons for you, selling them directly to customers and keeping a certain percentage of what they get. As customers are purchasing your product or service at a promotional price to begin with, after the website takes its cut, you may be losing money on your promotional sales. However, the purpose of the promotion is to get people into your place of business and draw attention to what you offer. In this way, such promotions can drive business tremendously. Promotions are only effective if you expect repeat business, however.
Guerrilla Marketing
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Guerrilla marketing is a type of marketing that involves high levels of ingenuity and time and low levels of cash. Guerrilla marketing comes in many forms, and entrepreneurs do it in real-world settings as well as on the Internet. Some common methods include posting links to your website in comments made on other websites, putting up signs in public places and utilizing high-traffic events to gain exposure without actually paying to do so.
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