On today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, attracting your prospective customers’ attention and staying on their radar screen are vital for success – and frankly, for survival. Even if you currently enjoy plenty of repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, it’s only a matter of time before competitors start poaching current and future customers from your roster; that is, if they haven’t started already.
Yet with this being said, advertising your business needs to be strategic, affordable and controlled — not frenetic and haphazard. Otherwise, instead of generating ROI, you’ll waste time and money. To safely achieve the former and steer clear of the latter, here are three low cost, high impact ways to advertise your business:
1. Ensure that Your Website is an Asset, not a Liability
This is one of those “it goes without saying” strategies that, alas, does need to be said – because a surprising number of businesses in all sectors – including some large enterprises with substantial marketing and advertising budgets – don’t have a website that is firing on all cylinders. For example, information is often inaccurate, outdated or contradictory, usability and navigation are needlessly complex, design isn’t responsive (i.e. it may look fine on desktops but not on smartphones), and the website just isn’t set up for conversion.
Don’t assume that your website is fine and functional simply because you aren’t receiving complaints, or Google Analytics is telling you that you have traffic. Have it professionally assessed, audited, and if necessary, upgraded – or maybe even re-invented.
2. Use Mobile Advertising
Mobile advertising is growing in popularity – and with good reason. A single vehicle wrap can generate up to 70,000 impressions each day; and if you have a fleet of truck graphics, the visibility and brand exposure skyrockets exponentially.
However, to make this a rewarding investment instead of a regrettable decision, make sure that you work with a professional installer and only use high quality materials. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before your vehicle wraps start to peel, fade and fall off. Yes, your business will stand out; but sadly it will be for all of the wrong reasons.
3. Build Relationships with Local Businesses
Reach out to local businesses to build partnerships. For example, if you provide logistics services, then running promotions with storage companies and furniture deals could help you connect with qualified prospects – especially if they might not otherwise be part of your traditional target audience, and as such would be difficult (if not impossible) to reach.
The Bottom Line
Standing out in a crowded marketplace is a challenge; but it’s certainly one that you can achieve. The above ideas can help you make an impact, get top-of-mind with your prospective customers, and generate sales — but without breaking your budget!