We recently held an information packed webinar called Marketing on a Shoestring with Steve Strauss. Steve’s been writing about small businesses at USA Today and his site TheSelfEmployed.com. He shared 12 tips for marketing your small biz with very little dough and you can watch a recording of the webinar here.

We gleaned a few additional insights from Strauss that we wanted to share with you in this post:

Be prepared for growth if you’re going to grow.

If you plan to do some new or additional marketing, make sure your business is ready for it.

Staff up if you’re sending out an amazing offer that you expect with drive lots of new customers to your business. There’s nothing worse than spending money on a special offer only to drop the ball and make a bad first impression on a new customer.

Fill your shelves if you’re going to plug a specific product;  it’s  disappointing to a customer to be enticed to buy and then not be able to get what they’re looking for.

Communicate with suppliers if you think a standing order could change. Say for instance you’re a florist and create a compelling offer.  You’ll need to ensure you have the flowers to fulfill all the incoming orders. Don’t just assume  your current supplier will have what you need. Think through what your needs will be, what resources you’ll use, and come up with a plan on what do if find your business is taking off. If you get new customers coming in and aren’t ready, you may lose them for life. The old saying “you never get a second chance to make a great first impression” is one to keep in mind.

Let the big businesses figure things out and learn from them.

We wrote a post not long ago about this very thing. Just because something works for a big business doesn’t mean it won’t work for a business like yours. Let the big guys test out what does or doesn’t work when it comes to marketing in your industry. They have more resources than you do, and if something seems to be working, adapt it for your business; if something isn’t working you can skip it. Follow a business you like on social media, watch what they post and see what people engage with and what seems successful. Or sign up for their newsletter and see what kind of info they share, when and how often. You can be just as successful with your marketing as the big guys, without spending all the $$$.

Check out the 12 tips for Marketing on a Shoestring from Steve Strauss. If you haven’t run off to watch the webinar yet you should. Steve’s a very knowledgeable and funny guy, you’ll laugh and you’ll learn when you listen to him in action.

What are your favorite tips to market on a shoestring?

© 2013, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.

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