In these hard economic times, many businesses are feeling the pinch and need extra clients to plug rising costs and falling revenue. Problematically, a decent marketing strategy to lure in these new clients costs money—meaning that businesses need to really examine how effective a marketing strategy will be and what the return on investment will be before committing.
With all that in mind, here are some pretty foolproof and unbeatable ways of drumming up business in this tough economy, all of which focus on keeping costs down and returns on investment high.
A PPC Campaign
A well-organised and pre-researched pay-per-click advertising campaign can be a relatively quick and targeted way to draw in new business via the internet, as the returns tend to be fast and of course—as the name implies—you only pay when people actually click on the advertisements. With a great deal of keyword research and a decent marketing company to find the best PPC spots for you, PPC can be a lucrative investment and a great way to drum up business in the short-term.
A thorough inbound marketing strategy
If you want to think more long-term with your goals, then there can be no better investment of your time, money and energy than inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is an umbrella term that describes any marketing practice that attempts to incidentally draw potential customers, usually by producing useful and relevant content via content marketing. Inbound as a strategy has become the mantra of the internet marketing community in the past year, and is an example of brains and logic actually dictating a market movement. Inbound isn't a get-rich-quick marketing strategy: it requires building a solid foundation and working from there. However, by using all the tools in the inbound toolbox such as SEO and social media marketing, you are almost guaranteed to build a steadier stream of customers over time.
An inventive print marketing campaign
Outbound marketing and traditional print marketing aren't dead, but they sure are tired. You can however make this work to your advantage. If you have a truly inventive and creative idea for a print marketing campaign that you think will draw in business, then go for it. Consumer expectations for the quality of adverts nowadays are so low that any amount of ingenuity can create a laugh and rise some interest. An added benefit is that prices of print campaigns are now cheaper than they used to be, giving extra incentive. So why not revive a dying medium and try and see what a print campaign could do for you?
Undercutting competition
It's the oldest trick in the book, but it's still in the book for a reason. Getting to know your competition, doing what they do better and charging slightly less than they do for it is textbook good practice for drawing in visitors. It is annoying, but the bad economy affects consumers too and they have less money in the pockets to spend on goods and services. By lowering your prices to undercut competition, you can draw in consumers who are also feeling the pinch. If your profit margins are taking a hit, work hard to reduce your overhead costs to pay for the price drop.
Leverage Social Media
As foreign as social media may be to some business owners, there is no denying that social media is almost integral nowadays to catching the attention of new customers. People use social media to interact and share, which makes it a perfect medium for businesses who need to deepen their links with existing customers and indeed make new links. Read up on all the latest social media marketing strategies or get the help of a marketing agency and devote some time and effort to your social media profiles (or set them up if you—God forbid—still don't have any). Your investment will pay dividends.
