Low-cost offline marketing tactics for small businesses

Marketing can be an expensive extra bill for small businesses. After all, they are just starting at the beginning and have so much to pay out for to get their business off the starting line.

Buying stock, finding a premises and hiring an employee doesn’t come cheap. But marketing is so important if you want to ensure you gain new clients. After all, it can help you to get the attention of potential clients and lead to great sales. Therefore, you do need to put money aside to invest in your marketing. However, offline marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t need to spend a fortune on huge adverts and TV campaigns. Here are some low-cost offline marketing tactics for small businesses that you should look at conducing for your company.

Low-cost promotional materials

It’s always a good idea for a small business to invest in some promotional materials. They can help you stand out from competition and gives potential clients a good idea of what your business does and why they should work with you. They are also ideal to hand out as marketing materials when you are at exhibitions or even at meetings with clients. But small businesses struggle to pay out for large brochures and leaflets when they are a small company. However, there are some good low-cost promotional materials you can buy which will make people aware of your brand.

For instance, you could get branded pens, mugs or even mints that you can hand out at events and meetings. They will use them and will be a constant reminder of your company. They are cheap to buy so won’t leave you short. You should also look at getting some business cards from a company like Colour Graphics made up as these are essential as an offline marketing tactic. You can give these out when you are talking to prospective clients and they will have all your details so they can get in touch.

Network in your area

Another marketing tactic you can do is network in your area. It’s so important to make sure you are talking to people about your business. If you make them aware of what you do, they will soon tell others. Word of mouth is so important when it comes to marketing and it’s completely free. Whether it’s other small businesses or key players in your sector, make sure you network and build up relationships.

You might also want to attend trade shows and events where you can speak to others and meet important people in your industry. You will only have to pay admission fees to get in to the event and then you can use it to your advantage to talk about your company. As this article from Humanity reveals, you can even get a speaking engagement at a conference which will help to get your voice heard. 

Talk with local press

It’s very difficult to get your business in big magazines and newspapers without having to pay a fortune for a large advertising placement. Therefore, one offline marketing tactic is to contact the local press. Send them a press release telling them about your business and focus on areas which will make an interesting story for them. If you are working with any charities, this is also a good point to tell them about.

Befriend the local journalists and then they are more likely to consider you in future for stories. You can always contribute to stories as an expert in the field so keep an eye on current affairs. As well as local newspapers and magazines, don’t be afraid to approach local news stations and radio shows too. As discussed on Entrepreneur, if you give them an interesting story about you and how and why you have started the business, they are more likely to mention you on their show.

Do giveaways and discount vouchers

Another low-cost offline marketing tactic you can use is enticing people with great offers. After all, you are bound to pull in the clients if you show you are offering a good deal for excellent products or services. Produce a leaflet explaining about a giveaway and then it will get your company in people’s minds and will produce you some new customers. And vouchers are also an excellent way to encourage people to come to your shop. Put it through homes and company’s doors to get more custom your way.