To earn money, you have to spend money. In a retail business context, this means that the more money you spend on marketing, the higher the returns will be on that investment.
But retailer marketing is not cheap. Even though it is not by any means inaccessible, you are still expected to spend some money on it. That can be a problem for some businesses who are not particularly doing well financially.
This is true whether your retail business sells electronics, Octopots (Learn More now), mens cycling jerseys, the fastest crossbow, clothes, food, or any other products. No matter what, retail marketing must be done right or you risk throwing away a lot of money.
When retailer cash flow is low and the sources of revenue dry up, adding extra expenses like marketing is the last thing businesses want. However, promoting your business on a budget is totally within the realm of possibilities.
As a matter of fact, a lot of highly effective marketing channels lean on the affordable side of the spectrum. Therefore, it is entirely doable to promote your brand and simultaneously stay within the constraints of your budget.
In this article, we explore some of the best retail solutions when it comes to promotion on a budget. We will discuss the most affordable marketing channels as well as what benefits you can expect from them.
5 Retail Marketing Solutions On A Budget
1. SMS Marketing
Mobile devices are the single most used gadgets in the world, with more than five billion owners as of 2019. SMS marketing is absolutely the best and the easiest way of reaching consumers who are accessible at all times due to having their mobile device on them constantly. The best part about SMS marketing is how much cheaper it is when compared to most other forms of marketing.
Considering its effectiveness (98% open rate and 20-30% conversion rate) it is no brainer of a choice when you want to promote on a budget. There are many SMS marketing platforms out there. For example Send SMS Global has flexible pricing system along with user-friendly software UI, as well as reliable service.
2. Social Media
Ideally, this should be your starting point. Social media networks are a decent way of establishing your business presence in the digital space. In a way, having social media pages has replaced the need for maintaining a website (which takes a lot of effort and finances), and comes with the added benefit of people having much easier time discovering and accessing your page.
Promoting your brand on social media is not only easy but also completely free if you take it in house. You may encounter some costs if you decide to run paid ads to a target audience but those are also relatively affordable.
3. Cross-Promotion
This is a joint marketing venture that involves multiple business parties agreeing to promote each other. Not only is this a good way to extend your reach (exposure to a different business’ clientele) but also a way for you to form partnerships that might come in handy in the future.
A good example of this would be if your business ran a promotion in which each purchase would give customers coupons that they could redeem in another retail store and the other company did the same for you. This way both companies would stand to earn more money and attract new clients, creating a win-win scenario for both.
4. Content Marketing
In the virtual space, content is king. The better content your business produces, the more interested people will be. You can create infographics, video ads for your business or simply write articles and blogs in your niche. People consume all kinds of digital content every day and most have developed a preference towards things they like. If you can tap into their interests with your content, you are guaranteed to earn new clients.
Not to mention if your content is good, it can potentially be shared by thousands of people, websites and famous social media websites, consequently leading to more exposure for your brand. Blogging and writing articles, on the other hand, are a chance for you to advertise your brand on different websites and provide more in-depth information about your business or industry.
5. Email Marketing
Email newsletters are the number one way of keeping your customers updated about your business. Whether you have an upcoming sale, making upgrades to your store or release a new product line, email is the most convenient way of informing your customers about it.
There are a good number of email marketing tools that can automate many related tasks for you—thus taking most of the burden away from you—that are not extremely expensive. Moreover, with email marketing you can increase customer loyalty through incentive programs and offers.
On a side note, a quick tip to increase your email database is setting an opt-in button on your live chat software, or opening a spot where your website visitors can leave their emails for further messages.
Ramp Up Your Retail Marketing Without Racking Up Debt
There are many other budget-friendly ways to promote your business, all it takes is a little bit of creativity and diligence on your part to make it work. Marketing is not exclusively a rich man’s tool and there are always affordable alternatives that you can work with. You can build the foundation of your marketing around our suggestions and work your way up from there.
