Tips for Optimizing Budget-Friendly Marketing Programs & Levering Opportunities to Make a Lasting Impression  

If you’re launching (or own) a small business, marketing and advertising are key for the success of the business, you can’t sell what no one knows you offer, but you don’t need deep pockets to promote your brand, products or services. There are simple cost-effective ways to reach your target market and make an impact.

Identify Small Target Audiences

Conventional advertising for brand awareness, starts at the top of the funnel, communicating your brand or product message to a large audience with an expectation that a small percentage will remember your brand and take action, but with grassroots marketing you start at the bottom with individuals and small groups that can help communicate your brand and product as advocates on your behalf.

Search Websites & Social Channels
Grassroots marketing used to require face-to-face interaction, which is still an important aspect of an impactful grassroots campaign, but the internet and social platforms have made it easier to make a connection digitally.

• • • Run an internet search for groups, associations or potential partners who might be an advocate for your products.
    • Connect or follow them via websites, newsletters, and social platforms.
    • Send an email (or direct message on social channels) introducing yourself and your company, and invite them to partner by communicating the benefit to both parties for the partnership.
    • Make a physical connection by following-up with a phone-call or face-to-face meeting to deepen the relationship.

Pro Tip: Provide them with a call-to-action and promotional materials if needed. (Elevator pitch, email templates, business cards, or some fun stickers. Take advantage of our premium services at moo.com to make fun and memorable designs.)

Attend Local & Industry Events
The market is flooded with conferences, tradeshows, and seminars for small businesses or professionals in a specific industry, where you can find likeminded people and potential partners or even customers.

• • • Review your local business journals’ calendar of events to find events that align to your professional needs.
    • Run an internet search for national events that are worth the travel expenses and entrance fee. (The larger the better, but also look for events that have high-engagement activities – expos, networking events, small intimate breakout sessions, etc.)
    • Bring promotional materials to the event to handout – business cards, one-page business overview, stickers, etc.

Pro Tip: Use a postcard template for your business overview (aka one-pager):

• Use the front for branding purposes and highlight your company logo and graphic images.
• Use the back for who you are, why they care and a call-to-action.

Make Yourself Standout

Now that you’ve identified some key partners and industry events to attend, it’s important to differentiate yourself from your competition and also make a lasting impression on the people you meet and your potential partners.

Think about Brand Placement
Consumers are bombarded with brand messages, so it’s important to be strategic around placement of your brand and partnerships. For example, are you targeting health professionals? Consider placing posters and even stickers around the entrance to medical buildings, and even parking garages of medical buildings.

Get Creative
You need to be unique when you’re trying to reach new and potential customers to stand out from the crowd.

• • • Use Unique Shapes for Your Business Cards – plain, rectangular business cards are boring. Make your potential customer or partner remember you, by handing them a square, oversized or mini business card.

• • • Add Images or Graphics to Your Promotional Materials – Images and graphics catch the eye for a more lasting impression. Consider using one of your most successful Instagram photos or graphics to your promotional materials.

Leverage the Power of Print
Of course, digital promotions are the most cost-effective, but when you’re marketing at the grassroots level, physical, printed material represents a huge opportunity and doesn’t go unnoticed.

• • • Design and Print an Overview of Your business – and hand them out to everyone you meet, leave them on car windows, tables at cafes that your target customers might frequent, hotel lobbies at a convention, etc.
    • Use Posters in Areas Where Your Customers Will See Them – office buildings, parking structures, elevators, etc. They key is to place them in places, no one else is promoting material.

Don’t Use Cheap Materials
Budget friendly does not mean cheap. Limited Budget? No Excuse! You still have to properly portray your brand to your customers. So make sure your promotional materials are high-quality and communicate the right message for your brand.

• • • Always Upgrade Your Card Stock – Spend the extra $5-$10 on the level above the base cardstock for business cards and promotional materials. They are physical objects you’re handing to potential customers and partners who can feel the difference between cheap paper and quality paper.
    • Go the Extra Mile – Add color, foil, embossing, etc. Again, your customers will be touching your business cards and one-page overviews, make that touchpoint count.

Pro Tip: Take a look at our inspiration gallery to see samples from other small business owners.

It’s difficult to predict the success of your marketing efforts before execution. There’s a lot of trial and error involved for any new business. But, the key is to put in the effort, work hard, be consistent and pay attention to what works and doesn’t work and tweak accordingly. Don’t make any short-term sacrifices, focus on long-term gains.