Getting your business the attention it needs to thrive can be a daunting task. With the current economic climate, marketing budgets are typically tighter than ever. It may sound like the last thing a business should do during a cost of living crisis when people are reluctant to spend money and need a greater incentive to buy, right? Well, it is just the case that when businesses need to be able to reduce their budgets in certain areas, marketing is always one of the first to go.
But that doesn’t mean you need to give up all hope for getting people interested in your company. There are plenty of ways to get your startup or small business noticed without breaking the bank! This article will outline some of the best strategies for giving your startup a fighting chance of attention this year on a tighter marketing budget.
But first…
Why having a smaller marketing budget doesn’t necessarily mean less impact
Having a smaller marketing budget doesn’t necessarily mean that your startup or small business cannot have an impact. In fact, with careful planning and creative strategies, it is entirely possible to get the attention you need for growth on even a modest budget. It all comes down to understanding which tactics are most effective for reaching your target audience and utilising digital tools to maximise the reach of your message. Then you can get the most out of your marketing efforts on a limited budget.
In fact, I’m willing to make the claim that you have probably wasted quite a lot on of your marketing budget to date. But don’t worry this post will help you put a stop to that right away.
The areas most startups waste marketing budget on
Before you start investing in marketing activities and setting up campaigns, it’s important to ensure that your budget is being used effectively. Many entrepreneurs waste marketing budget on activities that don’t generate any return or bring any benefit to the business. Examples of this include buying expensive ads with no real strategy behind them or promoting their products/services without properly defining their target audience.
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your budget and that every penny counts, it is essential to focus on activities that will generate genuine results. Here are some key areas in which startups often waste money:
-
Paying for ads targeting a broad demographic (without knowing who their target audience is).
-
Over-investing in Facebook and Google Ads without testing or tracking results.
-
Purchasing irrelevant content (e.g. promotional posts on Twitter).
-
Investing in poor quality web design that fails to engage visitors.
Where to cut back
To make the most of a smaller marketing budget, it is important to focus on activities that will generate genuine results. Here are some of the tools, platforms and activities that are not worth your time or money as a startup or small business:
-
Expensive print advertising
-
Buying followers on social media
-
Investing in expensive apps or software without properly researching their value-add to the business.
-
Focusing too much energy on SEO without developing a comprehensive content strategy.
-
Wasting money on ineffective influencer campaigns.
So I’ve told you the areas that can be a waste of marketing budget and effort but what are the right things to do?
What you should do
The first step is to get solid marketing foundations in place. By this I mean looking at your target audience and really investing some time to understand them a lot better than you currently do. You can do this by creating buyer personas.
The second part is putting together a new way of talking about your business or improving the way that you talk about your business so that it aligns with what your target audiences need and want. This can be achieved by investing in your brand messaging.
What result does having this understanding of your target audience and changing the way you talk about yourselves so that it’s far more relevant to your customers make? Simply, it makes the marketing process and the sales process far easier. Here’s why:
-
You know where to find your target audience so you can focus your attention on those specific channels and forget everything else.
-
You'll know what forms of communication they appreciate and you'll focus on those.
-
You'll connect with them first time and therefore end the need to create five different forms of communication just to get their attention.
For example, you could find out that even though you’ve been exhausting all of your energy and budget on social media ads, your target audience doesn’t use social media at all. In fact, they are entirely influenced by word of mouth. If that’s the case, then you need to be going after a few influencers first, and they will be the ones that will then create this word of mouth or create all these recommendations.
So, in short, invest a little time and budget on buyer personas and brand messaging now and you’ll save a LOAD of time and money in the long term.
We’ve outlined the first step but what’s next?
Tactics for getting your startup noticed on a small budget
Now that you’ve set your foundations, the other marketing activity becomes easier.
Content
From now on, you can focus on creating content that is valuable to your target audience. Consider the challenges that you’ve identified they face, their goals and the obstacles that stand in the way of them achieving those goals. This is the kind of content that will not only engage your target audience but also build trust with them.
SEO
Leverage free or low-cost advertising opportunities such as online directories and local listings. This is a great way to get your business more visible and start driving organic traffic.
Social media
Focus on creating quality social content that resonates with your target audience. As you’ve done the groundwork, you should now be able to identify which channels and platforms are the most appropriate for engaging with your customers. Invest time in developing relationships with your social audience and also look out for free or low-cost promotional opportunities.
Influencers
Look for micro influencers who are passionate about the same topics that you cover on your blog or website. They may be willing to share your content in exchange for a product sample, an introduction to their network or just the recognition of being associated with your brand.
These are just a few ideas on how you can use small, targeted efforts to build relationships and get noticed in the marketplace. With careful planning and execution, you’ll be able to make the most of your limited budget!
Event-based marketing
Network with local businesses, sponsorships and events. This kind of marketing is a great way to get your brand in front of new people – especially if you’re targeting a local market. For example, sponsoring a local event such as a 5K race or charity walk can help raise awareness for your business and build relationships with customers.
Finally, don’t forget to measure your efforts. Track which activities are driving the most engagement and leads so that you can adjust your strategy to get even better results.
Of course, the effectiveness of these will all depend on the findings of your buyer persona work. When making your plans, keep referring back to your notes and if something isn’t going to bre relevant, don’t do it!
That, of course, is easier said than done and without years of marketing experience mistakes can be made. To get around this, it might make sense to hire some help.
Get ad hoc expert marketing support
The other key way to reduce your marketing spend and not your impact is to bring on board expert support in the form of a marketing consultant or coach. This might seem like an odd suggestion – as again it’s a cost – but the marketing coach will help you overcome the overwhelm and wastage of trying to manage too many different channels without a strategy.
I’m not suggesting you hire a marketing director or additional senior person to your team – that will cost thousands of pounds every month. Instead, it is possible to secure the assistance of a marketing coach to audit your efforts, set messaging and build a strategy you can then execute in as little as a few hours a month. Choose the right person and they’ll be able to look at what you’re doing and direct you towards what you should be doing next for your marketing efforts.
You don’t have to use them to deliver on that marketing. You can just use their guidance.
Conclusion
Getting your startup noticed on a smaller marketing budget is entirely possible with the right strategies and tools. By leveraging the power of relationships, creating valuable content and making the most of free or low-cost options, you can start to build visibility with your target audience without breaking the bank.
Don’t be afraid to get help when needed – expert advice can go a long way in helping you reduce wasteful activities and focusing on what matters. With careful planning and execution, you’ll be able to get the most out of your limited budget!
How about a quick chat to get you started? Click here for a 30 minute consultation.
