No cost marketing tips

During this recession when cash flow is tight most small businesses tend to stop doing any kind of marketing or sales to save money for daily essentials of operation(payroll and supplies come first).

But there are things you can do that are no cost or low cost they just take strategy and intentional action.

1.Decide on what you need most right now -retention of clients or acquisition of new clients or maybe both. For some businesses they have a steady group of clients but those clients might be spending less right now. If acquisition of new clients is essential for you right now then you might be up for a word of mouth campaign and use of some social media to introduce your business to new networks of potential clients.

2.Retention and referral campaigns. Instead of costly print ads consider coming up with program to reward current clients. If someone new signs up for your service through a referral give the person that referred a discount on their next bill. Everyone appreciates reward!

3.Are you trying to break into some new networks of people? Don’t forget the degrees of connection we have with other people. If you are using LinkedIn (and you should be) you can see how with a small list of connections you can meet and introduce more people to your business and services. This networking must be intentional – checkout this word of mouth worksheet. It will get your brain thinking about how you can move into new networks without spending any money. And don’t forget that true networking is about giving – so make certain you are promoting other people.

4.Use free social media sites to let people know who you are and what you do. Then develop a campaign to do it – this is all about constancy. Twitter has just been valued at 1 billion dollars they must be doing something right. If you need help with a Twitter campaign or social media campaign. I give free 1 hour consultations on how use social media to help you marketing. Email me and set-up a time to talk. It’s free! connie@iconnie.com

5.Share your expertise! Send out what you know – share with the collective community. Be seen as a resource. Light under a rock can go nowhere. I meet small business owners all the time that have amazing stories and expertise that they are sharing with no one – that is not a growth strategy.


Spend an hour this week planning to be more intentional with your marketing – during this recession there are actually businesses that are growing. If you don’t know any do some research what you learn will surprise you.