Marketing Strategies for Beginners

Marketing is all about being creative. You can build consumer awareness and enhance your companies image by implementing a few of these simple marketing strategies.

1. Develop interesting and relevant content. Most of the time developing content that is relevant to your target audience is more affordable (and more effective at getting you new users) than advertising. Develop interesting content that will drive your users to learn about your service and your brand. Unique and relevant content can have legs of its own and can get you more exposure and eyeballs online than you ever thought possible.

2. Implement “Freemium” programs. You can “spread the word” about your product or service by allowing target customers to “sample” a bare bones but representative version of your product / service for free.  Over time you can entice customers to upgrade to the fully loaded version.  The Freemium model is a popular model among e-commerce businesses because it lowers your cost of acquiring a user – and allows you to eventually migrate “convinced” customers to paying customers.

3. Offer Free Trials. Unlike Freemium models, you can offer potential customers “Free Trials” of your premium (fully loaded) products for a specific time period. Think of this as allowing customers to take your high end offering for a “test drive” and closing the sale because of their positive user experience.

4. Develop partnerships based on mutually beneficial objectives. Create relationships with other organizations in the same market that are not direct competitors.  You can often accomplish more through partnerships than you can by going it alone.  With partners you can cross promote your respective businesses to your respective customers for mutual gain.  No cash outlay…just quid pro quo.

5. Find “friends” and take advantage of social media opportunities.  Social media marketing is a recurring theme these days.  However, establishing a sphere of influence for your business through social media requires considerable time and effort. If you are a one man show, it’s unlikely you will have time to regularly “Tweet” since your waking hours are consumed by launching your business. If you are convinced that social media is your channel, try to piggy back on another entity’s existing network and established influences.  You will need to be able to convince your social media “friend” why touting your product/service offering will benefit him/her/it. If you can pull this off you can gain broad exposure for your business.  Word of mouth spread by trusted “friends” is a compelling “seal of approval” and a powerful prompt to act in the right circles.

Over time, assuming business growth, your marketing mix will evolve. Always analyze, analyze, analyze your sales results versus your channels so you can selectively diversify your marketing channels.

To find out more ways to market your company, get Oozled!

-Maddie Williams