Low Cost Marketing Techniques

Advertising is the biggest item in most marketing budgets, usually overshadowing all other marketing activity.

So it's easy to ignore other strategies, many of which make advertising more effective.

I'm not saying you should stop advertising, just that your marketing can be more effective if you spend some of your budget on lower cost techniques.

Here's seven ways (of more than 60) in which businesses and not-for-profit organisations can get their message across without paying for advertising space. I use these techniques, among others, for clients and in my own marketing:

1. Write articles
Research shows articles have more credibility than advertisements.

Don't risk your credibility by trying to sneak advertising messages into an article. Editors (and readers) don't like that sort of thing.

The objective of writing an article for publication is not to sell. You may generate some inquiries, but the real purpose is to build awareness and credibility as a basis for other forms of marketing.

The key is to provide useful information and insights in a way that's relevant and interesting to the audience.

2. Exploit speaking opportunities
Speaking engagements are an opportunity to get your message across to greater numbers than is possible by meeting with individuals.

Like writing articles, speaking is not a "sell job". Rather, the audience expects to be informed and entertained, maybe even challenged.

It's important you're able to do that. If you're not totally confident of your ability to "stand and deliver", you should consider using a specialist coach.

3. Networking and encouraging referrals
This is the process of meeting with other people on a regular basis to make use of their "who knows who" knowledge (and for them to make use of yours).

It works best when the people in the group have contacts among your target market.

If you first "make things happen" for others, they will be more willing to help you, perhaps in answer to a request for a specific introduction at a later date.

4. Publish a newsletter
A newsletter is essentially a means of keeping in touch with customers, potential customers, referrers and other important audiences.

Effectiveness depends on how relevant and useful the content is for the audience, and how often it is distributed. Both content and frequency should match the results of research into your audiences' preferences.

5. Achieve media coverage
Media outlets receive hundreds of press releases every day, but most end up in the bin because they're of no interest to their audience.

Editors and journalists want to preserve their market share (and their integrity) by publishing and broadcasting material of interest.

Using an experienced professional to help identify justifiable and compelling "angles" and match them to appropriate media will markedly improve your "hit rate".

6. Create an event
Events are a great way to focus attention on an issue, a product, or a new development in a market.

From grand openings to open days, product demonstrations to special presentations, events enable you to create an audience for your message.

This can involve lots of preparation, but the pay-off is in the "buzz" you create and the impact on your audience.

7. Target key influencers
When you're seeking new customers or clients, it's easy to focus on them as if they make decisions on their own.

They don't of course. They ask others for their views - bosses, colleagues, external advisers, friends and family.

Including "key influencers" as a target for marketing communications, especially if your product or service is of high-value and/or purchased infrequently, can play a vital part in a decision in your favour.

Remember your marketing needs to be researched, planned and integrated for best effect. If you're spending time planning and writing a newsletter, why not also use some of the material in an article? What about placement of a version on a website (yours and someone else's)? What about the speaking opportunities?

Marketing Practice in Nepal: How to Craft Your Brand

Marketing Practice in Nepal: How to Craft Your Brand: "Creating a vision for the brand is the most important primary step in the brand management process. Brand Vision can be defined as the lo..."

How to Craft Your Brand

Creating a vision for the brand is the most important primary step in the brand management process. Brand Vision can be defined as the long term strategic position that the brand will take in the market as well as in the consumer mind-space. Brand vision offers a strategic intent which will act as a long term goal for the brand.

Creating brand vision is a strategic process which requires the involvement of top management. The vision dictates the future course of action for the brand with regard to its growth and future course of action.

Most of the time marketers are faced with critical decisions regarding the future growth path for the brand. There is a dilemma whether the brand should be extended to cater to new opportunities in the market or to be focused on the current category.  Sometimes marketers tend to extend the brand too much that the entire brand equity gets diluted. Without the guidance of a clear vision, brands tend to lose focus and extend into unchartered unrelated categories. Lack of vision also creates the problem of discontinuity for the brand’s strategies. There are chances that the brand compromises its equity for the sake of short-term growth unless guided by a long-term vision.

Having a brand vision will help marketers make decisions regarding the growth of the brand. The vision also helps marketers to tap into opportunities which are in line with the vision and reject others that contradict the vision. Vision helps the brand to create a brand charter which will act as a rule book for the managers. It will also help the managers to shape the brand strategies during the time of crisis.

Brand vision also helps to develop consistency with regard to brand communication. The messages derived from the brand vision will be consistent across all media. Even when the advertising & creative agencies change, the brand message will remain constant. In the absence of brand vision, the communication messages will not be connected by a common thread.

Brand vision also motivates the employees to perform better. Employees feel motivated and inspired when they are aware of the brand vision. More importantly, employees should feel that they are contributing to the realization of that vision.

Typically brand vision statements should be simple and easy to remember. The golden rule is that every employee should be able to remember the brand vision especially in the case of a corporate brand or service brand.

While drafting the brand vision, the marketers has to keep the following facts into mind

Think Big

While drafting a brand vision, marketers need to have big plans for the brand. The vision should not restrict to the category or even the industry. Instead the brand vision should aim at addressing some critical issues faced by the consumer. The vision should inspire both the consumers and employees alike.