A Zero Budget Marketing Bible for Entrepreneurs in 2024 (Top 12 proven techniques detailed)
Author: ~ Kiru
Driven by Ambition. Powered By Ekommerce360
Many times entrepreneurs come up with an idea for a great product/service which leads them to launch their business in an enthusiastic way expecting abundant sales. However, many fail or are unable to move forward due to a lack of sufficient marketing budget and their dream project rarely sees the light. Even if it does, it is short-lived due to the low or zero marketing budget allocated. They are scared to invest money in their idea without proof of acceptance in the market and hence it goes no further.
Here is a list of the top 12 techniques to promote your business without spending a penny on your ad budget.
Google My Business (GMB) which is designed to help users identify local businesses is a wonderful platform for brands to start with if they are looking to market their product/service with a zero budget. GMB is not just a platform for local business vendors, it can even help other business firms in getting potential leads if used the right way. This can help new brands to reach a certain set of audiences within a given range and act as a source of local leads. In order to set this up, you just need to create a GMB account with a Gmail ID and enter your business details such as your business logo, business description, website, shop/office timings, Serviceable Areas, photographs (optional),..etc
Once this is done, your business will start appearing on local search results, this can further be improved or enhanced with additional photographs, information, service-related posts, and customer reviews.
2. SEO
When you talk about zero-cost promotion, Search Engine Optimization is something that comes on top of mind for most people. However, if you think SEO is related to Free Traffic, then you are in for a surprise.
Basic SEO such as indexing, and ranking can happen by itself. Just doing the right set of on-page setups during web development can help brands get a set of organic traffic. The traffic generated through SEO or other organic methods is usually of the highest standard which is usually seen in the conversion rate. This is totally free since the indexing happens once your website is ready and the webmaster tools are in place.
Advanced SEO tactics such as backlinks, Guest posting, Authority boosting,..etc require a SEO expert or manager which costs the brand indirectly (outside your marketing or ad budget) since you need to pay them a salary and sometimes pay for backlink creation or guest posting to a third party who does the backlinks.
3. Friends & Family
Trust me, your friends and family are your biggest promoters when you are starting your entrepreneurship journey. The references through your friends and family are so solid that they rarely don’t convert. This could help you find a select set of customers at a very early stage of your business even when you do not have a proof of concept or case studies, and that can help you survive the initial days and hone your skills in your area of expertise.
But wait, there is a trap.
Sometimes, we do fall into the trap of cost negotiation when we deal with personal contacts which can lower the fee that you get paid, but trust me it is still worth getting a client at this stage and proving your skills rather than not getting any.
Nonetheless, there is a hack to tackle this situation. For service offerings - go for a fixed plus variable approach, where the reduced fixed fee is paid upfront and the variable fee is paid based on targets achieved for your services. For product offerings - once your products satisfy the customers’ requirements in a positive way and they start realizing why yours is better than competitors, you will get the opportunity to increase the price.
About Ekommerce360:
Whether you’re an international skincare brand or a local organic store, in today's ecommerce landscape, you need more than just a website to succeed – you need a comprehensive, end-to-end ecommerce solution. From market research, branding, creating visually striking storefronts and putting cutting-edge marketing techniques into action - we manage all facets of your growth journey from a single touch point.
From startups breaking into the e-commerce space to established brands seeking growth, Ekommerce360 is your reliable partner at every stage!
Know more at https://ekommerce360.com
4. Whatsapp & Social Media Platforms (if you are a person with good contacts)
Update your status on WhatsApp regularly which talks about your product and service offerings. This helps in taking your message to a good chunk of people who already know you and you have the trust factor advantage already. This also reminds them that you sell a particular product or offer a list of services which can lead them to choose your brand when they are in need of it or can refer you to their circle who is looking for similar offerings. You may never know - an acquaintance you had many years back could give you the biggest business yet.
This can be extended to your personal Social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. where you have built your contact list but haven't used them to your advantage yet. Remember not to flood too many posts on your personal social media accounts. Too many posts on your personal account can be an overdose. Limit the frequency to 2 to 3 a month so that the personal charm of social media accounts is not affected. This frequency limit can be higher on LinkedIn of up to 2 a week, since LinkedIn is by itself a professional platform.
5. Email Marketing
In economics, there is nothing called a Free Lunch but in marketing, there is a Free Marketing Plan thanks to email service providers. A lot of email marketing platforms offer you a Free Plan when your database is low. It can be of great use when you are starting up your business and have limited resources. This helps you to reach out to a list of potential audiences in a database as long as you have the skill set to use the email’s drag-and-drop builder along with some domain configuration. Once you get used to these email functionality, when your business and database grows you would naturally go for the paid subscription. Why else do you think these platforms offer a Freemium model?
6. Complementary Products
Offer your product as a complement (for Free). When you are launching a new Premium Tea leaf powder, how does it not feel right to offer it for free to anyone who is buying an expensive teapot? In the case of services such as Tax consultation, how can you not offer it to a co-workspace where new entrepreneurs are going to jump in at the start of their journey without much knowledge of Tax and its future implications if not done right? This helps you to reach a set of audiences who could be your future potential customers. This way of promoting your product or service as Free for a limited time with an exciting offering also helps them relate your product to the actual product or service especially if it’s premium and you want to position yours in a similar manner.
领英推荐
7. Sample Tryouts
Offer samples of your product/service to the most relevant audience or to the innovators of your industry and collect their feedback. If they like the product, the Word of Mouth (WOM) is going to follow and bring in customers for your business. If you are doubtful about whether offering samples could get you customers, think of the last time you purchased a new sweet from a sweet shop after tasting a random sample sweet offered. This can be extended to our product or service too. Once your customers start liking your product or service, then there is no turning back.
This not only helps in getting your product in the hands of potential customers but also helps you get feedback for your product in a much earlier stage of your business. This can help you improvise, reiterate, change the way you feel about your product and increase your chance of success in the long run.
8. Referral/Affiliate Program
The power of referral programs is not just for established brands but also for new startups who are looking to get their product to the market without an initial upfront spend. Instead of offering an outright payment to a sales team, you can work on a commission basis with known people in your industry who are willing and can offer leads that convert. You can give them a simple personalized coupon code which helps you track the users that come through a particular referrer and offer the referrer a commission from the product/service sold.
Referral Marketing has always been a proven concept that is adopted by a lot of brands worldwide be it large or small.
9. Influencer promotion
Reach out to influencers in your industry who can help you promote your products for a commission on sale. With YouTube and Instagram influencers growing every day, they are a potential target for new brands to take their product to their audience.
Two risks to be aware of:
10. Business Directories
The Dinosaurs are extinct but the business directories are not! There are a lot of online directories that still show up your business when users try to search for a particular product/service/industry. These directories would often require you to sign up for an account using an email ID and then enter your business details. This page then gets published on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) which then becomes visible to users who search using potential search terms.
This is a slow process since it takes time for approval and indexing on the SERP. This can be combined with other SEO efforts or done as a stand-alone activity based on your preferred set of activities.
11. The Comments Section
Yes, you heard it right. Valid for B2B business, D2C brands and service industries - a lot of your potential customers are commenting on posts related to your industry. By offering your point of view on the topic and how your business has the potential to change things around for them or offer a solution to this problem, you can attract the right set of eyeballs to your brand. There are certain things to be taken care of here such as the post not being a sensitive one. Hence pitching your product in the middle of a sensitive comment section doesn't cause a backlash to your brand and also make sure that your offering or comment is actually relatable and makes sense with respect to the author’s post topic.
12. Referral clubs and communities
Clubs like Rotary, BNI, JCI..etc not only help you connect with the right set of people for a cause, but they also help you in getting customers for your business or help in getting referrals through their connections. Undoubtedly, there would be a cost of annual membership for those clubs, but the referrals you get are a byproduct of the other purposes of joining the club. Hence the membership cost doesn't have to be attributed to the Marketing budget.
For rising B2B brands there couldn't be a better way to reach established Entrepreneurs than through these clubs mentioned above. The benefit of joining such clubs doesn't just end with getting referrals and business, but also extends to knowledge sharing, potential tips to tackle issues and tons of practical exposure to real-time business challenges from seasoned Entrepreneurs.
End Note:
We repeat that this is a Zero Budget Marketing Technique and not a Zero Cost Marketing Technique since in any form of marketing practice there is going to be an indirect cost involved in terms of time, efforts, salary, paid subscriptions and resources which are non negotiable.
We believe that the above techniques can help you get the right set of clients at a very early stage of your business without spending any paid marketing budget and hence this is titled “A Zero Budget Marketing Bible for Entrepreneurs”.
Author: ~Kiru
Driven by Ambition. Powered By Ekommerce360