Five Marketing Ideas on a Bootstrap
- Offer a free product/service for loyalty
- Sell gift vouchers
- Run topical themes
- Hand out Flyers
- Tell your story
The cheapest way to reward your existing customers for their loyalty is to give a free product away. Depending on the price of your product or service, offer one free when a customer has bought five or ten. What a great way to say thank you! You could print off a discount card on your computer if you prefer, just remember to ensure your vouchers/tokens aren’t easily forged. If your customer base is small enough you can keep track of purchases by customer name and mark off their purchases.
Let people purchase a gift voucher for a friend. Sell the vouchers or have a link on your website where people can pay for a service in the name of their friend.
Have themes that hook into events that are happening and how people feel about them. Watch out for sporting events or newly-released popular movies and cash in on their marketing spend. Brainstorm how to relate themes to your business.
Stand out in the Shopping Mall and pass out flyers or otherwise spread the word. Make sure you dress the part.
Even big companies benefit from the stories of their founders. Look at Richard Branson – he personifies the company that made him very wealthy. Write a personal bio on your website. Don’t be afraid to build your business around yourself, people like doing business with real people.
